New York’s Orchard Park — Josh Allen briefly bowed his head before leaving the field with his hands on his hips on Monday night after discovering the Denver Broncos’ defense had recovered a fumble.
The Buffalo Bills turned the ball over for the fourth time in their 24-22 loss to the Broncos, this time due to a mishandled pass from running back James Cook to tight end Josh Allen. After throwing two interceptions earlier in the game, Allen’s third turnover of the game was also his 14th overall.
with seven games remaining in the most recent postseason image, looking in from the outside. Coach Sean McDermott of the Bills made a significant change shortly after the game by firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who had coached Allen’s quarterbacks from 2019 to 2021. “As a human being, he’s one of the good ones,” Allen said he loved Dorsey and was sorry to see him go.
Joe Brady is currently the 27-year-old Allen’s third offensive coordinator in his career.
Where the offensive goes from here is at the top of a lengthy list of questions that McDermott, Brady, and Allen need to address. How Allen’s confidence can remain high following so many disappointing
got to be better,” Allen said. “We’ve got to be better as an offense. Turnover-wise, it’s abysmal when we lose, and there’s no secret to that. So there’s not a whole lot … it’s not like it’s broken. We’re not a broken offense, we’re not a broken team. But the splits compared to when we win and when we lose are massive. Again, that’s on my shoulders.”
When the Bills have the edge in turnover margin, they’re 3-0, averaging 41 points per game and are plus-90 in total point differential. But when they lose the turnover battle, they are 2-5, averaging 19.9 points per game with a minus-12 combined differential.
Allen came into the season with the goal of being smarter with the football after he had a league-high 19 turnovers in 2022.
“I want to be the smartest quarterback with the football in my hands. I don’t want to put the ball in harm’s way because I know how detrimental that is for a team with those interceptions and the fumbles,” Allen said in Aprix
imself — something McDermott has discussed before — but the quarterback is turning to his teammates for support.
“You rely on the guys in this locker room. You lean on each other,” Allen said. “It’s how you get back up from being knocked down. This locker room there’s been plenty of being knocked down. We’ve felt that. … I think it takes a lot to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do that’s been good, and what can I do to fix what’s been bad?'”
The task for Allen and Brady, who has been Allen’s QB coach the past two seasons, will be to restore Allen’s confidence and get him to place where he can sustain drives consistently.
Allen emphasized they needed to improve communication as an offense, and also noted “not getting bored with the stuff underneath” — likely referencing mistakes when passing on deeper routes downfield.
Allen has thrown 10 interceptions on throws of 10 or more air yards — one away from tying his career high. Since Week 6, when Allen injured his right shoulder, he has completed 15 of 38 passes of 15 or more air yards and thrown four interceptions on such throws.
The Bills have 18 turnovers on the season, tied with the lead with 19). They’ve gone six straight games without winning the turnover battle, their longest streak since 2012.
The offense hasn’t scored more than 25 points since Week 4 and at times has looked predictable. But it is still ranked near the top of the league in a variety of categories, including completion percentage (second) and offensive EPA per play (third).
“In the end, it’s about what makes [No.] 17 comfortable and what makes everyone else comfortable, and it’ll be an ongoing thing of figuring that out and trying to put together complete games on Sundays,” center and captainsaid.
McDermott made the change to inject a new energy into the offense. Getting leadership from Brady, who at 34 is taking over his second NFL offensive coordinator job after spending almost two seasons with the Panthers in the same role, is a key component of that.
“I feel strongly about this. That coordinator position, just like the head coach position, it’s a leadership position,” McDermott said.
The job for Brady, Allen and the rest of the offense on a short week isn’t easy, as they go up against a New York Jets team (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) that McDermott described as “probably the most talented defense in the league.”
Allen’s 10 career interceptions against the Jets are his most against a single opponent and tied for the second most by any quarterback against a single opponent since 2018 (vs. the Ravens, 11). Allen threw three interceptions against the Jets in a Week 1 loss. Now, ahead of a big AFC East matchup, finding that offensive flow and success will be key for the Bills to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“Listen, Josh is extremely competitive and holds himself to a high standard,” Morse said. “… I think it’s just a subtle thing. That you just tell the guy that we’ve got his back implicitly, emphatically, which we do. I mean, there’s no other guy we want to do this wit
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The quarterback question is the bottom line of the offseason.
Coach Sean Payton benched with two games remaining in the 2023 season. The five-year, $242.6 million contract extension the Broncos agreed to in 2022 is now a significant factor in what the Broncos will, or even can, do moving forward if Wilson is released (as many in the league expect).
Owner/CEO Greg Penner said just after the season that “the financial part of it is a significant component, in terms of how this works out in the future, but that’s not what will drive the decision. The decision will be driven by what’s in the best interest of this football team winning games.”
Ahead of the NFL combine, let’s sift through what the Broncos could do at quarterback:
One more year? Releasing Wilson before free agency would bring an $85 million dead money charge to the Broncos salary cap over the next two seasons.
That would be a move general manager George Paton dubbed “extreme” just after the season, even as he said the Broncos were “prepared for any scenario” with the salary c
During Super Bowl week, Payton said he and Wilson had a “great relationship” and that a decision hadn’t been made. But Wilson’s Denver home is up for sale and multiple sources close to him have said he expects to be elsewhere.
After the very public benching and Wilson’s assertion that the Broncos threatened to bench him halfway through the season if he didn’t adjust his contract, many personnel executives in the league consider the chances of him giving the team a break on his contract very small. One termed it “infinitesimal
Trading up into the top two or three picks to get one of the best quarterback prospects on the board would require capital — and plenty of it. Last season the two first-round picks (’23 and ’24), two second-round picks (’23 and ’25) and wide receiver move from No. 9 to No. 1.
The Bears hold the No. 1 pick this year because of that trade, so to think they would accept anything that doesn’t rival what they received last April is a pipe dream. They know what it’s worth.
The Broncos haven’t had a first-round pick since they selectedn 2021 and have had just three picks among the top 45 in the past four drafts combined.
Denver has the No. 12 pick, so it would need to bulk up any potential trade offer to move up near the top. Including Surtain or other high-profile players in a trade would also reduce the talent on a team that hasn’t finished above .500 since 2016. The Broncos have six picks in the April draft and no second-rounder.
Essentially, they would be attempting to bring a rookie quarterback prospect to a depth chart that was carved up to get him.
Viability level: Sure, it’s possible, but the price tag is knee-buckling.
Beyond a possible $35.4 million cap hit in 2024 if they release Wilson, the Broncos have on the books for a $7.3 million against the cap. Overall, they are projected to be
Wilson’s release would also limit what aisle of the free agent quarterback market the Broncos could work. Paton has said the team didn’t expect to be in the “first wave” of free agency this time arounlikely performed his way out of a Broncos’ post-Wilson budget. ould be fits in Payton’s offense if the price is right, but the question of whether any veteran the Broncos could sign on a limited budget will play better than Wilson’s 26 touchdowns in 15 games will follow the team for an entire season.
Viability level: Still the most likely, but limited resources to
Payton put Stidham in the lineup for a “spark” with two games remaining in the season. The Broncos went 1-1 as Stidham went 40-of-66 passing for 496 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Broncos scored 14 and 16 points, respectively, in those games, among their lowest outputs of the season.
Economically, the easiest path to absorb the cap implications of Wilson’s release would be if Stidham, who signed a two-year deal before last season, is rewarded the job. Stidham said at season’s end he was “very confident I can be the guy for us.”
It could also be a significant indicator that the Broncos have decided to point to 2025 to really dig in for a quarterback solution.
Viability level: A likely outcome if free agency doesn’t bear fruit.
The Broncos could simply ride it out at No. 12 in the first round and see the quarterback frenzy unfold in front of them. If the quarterback they like somehow comes down to them, select him and prepare him to play, whenever that time comthe last pick of the 2022 draft, is the current patron saint of mining for draft gold on Day 2 or 3. But he didn’t start a game until Week 14 of his rookie year and the 49ers had a 13-4 team around him.
Or having seen the frenzy, the Broncos could trade down, get some much-needed draft capital, take the best players available when they’re on the clock and grab a quarterback they believe has developmental qualities.
That puts Stidham, or another veteran, at the top of the depth chart, at least initially. The wild card is that many leagues scouts and personnel executives already say they are not overly enthused about the potential 2025 quarterback draft claEven with just six picks, one of them should be a quart
