Josh Allen is working on his throwing mechanics, and the Bills quarterback acknowledged it affected his approach Monday night after finally getting his first career victory in an overtime game.
Buffalomade the most of a second chance after blocking a Los Angeles Rams field goal, winning 37-34.
Allen's assessment afterward went beyond the resulting victory to get into why he did his damage on the ground and not in the air with his arm. He felt he had passed up shorter completions while trying to sort out his delivery.
"Just didn't feel like I was in a rhythm [early], wasn't taking some of the underneath stuff. Fighting mechanically some stuff right now that I'm working on," Allen said. "But I felt like in that second half I got into a rhythm. Guys
made some plays. It's awesome stuff."
The admission offers some context for an uneven offensive night. It does not identify a specific flaw in Allen's motion, nor does it establish that every missed opportunity came from the same problem, but he notably put up modest passing numbers compared to his monster ground game.
What Allen did identify was a decision he could change: taking the available completion rather than leaving an underneath option unused. After all, it worked out pretty well on short passes to Ray Davis and Khalil Shakir who took them for big gains downfield. Allen has gone for knockout punches often in the past, but remembers he needs to work the jabs on check downs and open men as well.
For head coach Joe Brady, there is also a balance between helping Allen make adjustments and keeping those adjustments from becoming another distraction during a possession.
He's so unique that sometimes, mechanically he thinks he it's some something might be off when when something isn't," head coach Joe Brady said about the QB to the media after the win. "He's so great that sometimes a mechanical thing to somebody else, he can just fix in a second, where some guys need off seasons."
Allen's finish showed the difference. In the fourth quarter and overtime, he completed all five of his passes for 121 yards and tossed a touchdown pass to Keon Coleman.
That late improvement is encouraging, and the big plays exciting, yet Buffalo would benefit from finding those easier completions before it needs a big comeback. And Allen and Brady both seem to realize that.
For a team trying to capitalize on its Super Bowl window under Brady, a steadier passing game matters. Monday showed the team can find ways to win, though it could have gone differently easily if not for a few big plays in all three phases in the final minutes of overtime.
Allen found enough rhythm to help Buffalo win, but he still has things to work out ahead of their next game.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills' Josh Allen mentions issue with throwing mechanics after Rams win
