Sabato: Josh Allen shows there's no need to panic as Bills rag-doll the Raiders

ORCHARD PARK — There were less than 8 minutes left on the clock when Josh Allen finally let one rip.

Allen rolled to his right to buy some more time and then dropped a soft pass into the arms of Gabe Davis for a 40-yard gain. It was the first time Allen threw beyond 20 yards all game and it was all that was necessary.

It’s hard to imagine Allen couldn’t hear the Highmark Stadium crowd erupt, but didn’t listen to much leading into the game. Allen said he didn’t turn on the television, radio or look at social media.

He didn’t listen to the noise, even though it was awfully loud.

While Allen’s performance against the New York Jets was certainly dreadful, commentary over the next six days drifted to the absurd. Allen’s three interceptions seemed to erase in any positive plays from the previous six years with the Buffalo Bills for some people.

“Imagine a bunch of people talking crap about you 24/7 the whole week,” Davis said. “You don’t want to hear that. No one wants to hear that.”

By the end of the Sunday’s 38-10 thumping of the Las Vegas Raiders, all Allen could hear were cheers as he ran off the field at Highmark Stadium.

Allen traded his three interceptions for three touchdowns. Instead of succumbing to the temptation of score-now, highlight-reel play, Allen was cerebral and efficient as he dissected the Raiders’ defense with short and intermediate throws.

It wasn’t a perfect outing, as Allen missed some reads early in the game, but the Raiders played a conservative defense that dared him to weigh the risks of throwing downfield into double-coverage. This time, Allen played risk-free while still sprinkling in some of his usual magic.

“I love feeling how I felt last week,” Allen said. “I really do because it makes the good feel that much better. It forces us to be better and I want to be the best I can be playing this game and being the best quarterback I can be for the Buffalo Bills. So I take the bad with the good, I understand it, and I’m just trying to let it fuel me and use it to my benefit.”

The start of the game didn’t initially offer much hope for a big game from Allen, who missed Stefon Diggs on third down and ran out of bounds to go three-and-out on the team’s first drive. Then on fourth and 1 at the Las Vegas 1-yard line, his first option, Deonte Harty, stumbled and Allen made a rash decision to force the ball to Dawson Knox despite having a clean pocket.

But those mistakes were the minority, as Allen finished 31 for 37 for 274 yards after starting the game 13 for 13, tying his career-high for consecutive completions. More importantly, he decided that it wasn’t necessary to constantly try to get all of his points at once.

All six of Buffalo’s scoring drives were at least seven plays, including three double-digit play touchdown drives. The Bills had more than double the Raiders in time of possession, with a 15-play touchdown drive to open the third quarter and an 11-play, 95-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

“The discipline … was present really with the whole team, in particular Josh,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “And when he does that, when he’s willing to take what they give him, and take those check-downs, and then use his legs as well in a decisive way, he makes it really hard to defend.”

And then there was also a touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir in which Allen danced around the pocket and threaded a dart through a sea of arms right before halftime that allowed the Bills to double-dip. He also, on several occasions, used his legs to extend plays to find open receivers without taking big hits or running beyond the line of scrimmage.

“It’s what makes him so good,” Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid said. “It’s just really get on the same page. It’s only game two of the regular season. Obviously there’s a lot to learn and grow.”

Perhaps a little growth is necessary for viewers — fans and media members, alike — because nothing that happened against the Raiders was a new occurrence.

Allen’s 20 multi-interception games are certainly too high — but that also means he has 59 games where he didn’t throw multiple picks. And after the Jets game, some acted as if he had never played a good game or ever would again.

Based on the first two opponents, teams are going to continue to attempt to test Allen’s patience and the Bills won’t always have balance like they did against the Raiders, running for 183 yards, including a career-high 123 from James Cook.

So there will be games when Allen has to carry the Bills, just like he has in the past. Which is why some players appeared bewildered when asked if they were surprised by Allen’s performance.

“Josh is Josh, man,” Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “Nothing’s gonna faze him. He’s a dog. A dog’s always gonna bounce back.”