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Abstract

e in the amount of passing attempts and passes completed after 2 seasons, we will be able to see not only how much more involved in the passing game these quarterbacks got with time, but how much more accurate they were as their passing volume increased.</p><figure id="06a8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*9TGxYIT3GONmB_ygJ9uPXg.png"><figcaption>Source: The Author</figcaption></figure><p id="8b6e">In his rookie season, Josh Allen had 320 passing attempts in which he completed 169 of those, resulting in a <b>52.81%</b> completion rate. A year later, he went 271 passes completed out of 461 attempts with a <b>58.79%</b> completion rate.</p><p id="eaa3">Josh Allen was the 2nd most improved rookie out of this list with a <b>44.06%</b> increase in pass attempts, <b>60.35%</b> increase in pass completions, and a <b>11.32% </b>increase in completion rate (Only 2nd to Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019).</p><h1 id="9e4e">The Rushing Game</h1><p id="8aa0">The last couple of years have witnessed the increased need for teams to have dual-threat quarterbacks, which refers to quarterbacks who are just as lethal in the rushing game than in the passing game. Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019 is the greatest example of the importance of this attribute, when he passed for 3127 passing yards and rushed for nothing short than the historic 1206 rushing yards. Due to the rising importance of this skill, how tuned in is Josh Allen to his rushing game?</p><h2 id="ad7e">Rushing Yards per Attempt</h2><figure id="78cb"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*mH3d5hIwlpszC_x_sQjUMw.png"><figcaption>Source: The Author</figcaption></figure><p id="5212">It is safe to say that Josh Allen’s rookie season was nothing but impressive. In his first year in the NFL, he rushed an average of 7 yards per attempt, making him the most efficient rookie rushing quarterback in this list. To put this into perspective, <b>rookie Josh Allen was a more efficient rusher than Lamar Jackson in his MVP season.</b> Nothing short of amazing. However, his efficiency in 2019 went down by <b>33%</b>, which seems to correlate to the increase in his passing efficiency in that same year.</p><h2 id="321f">Rushing Yards vs Rushing Attempts</h2><p id="4b29">While we have discussed how efficient these quarterbacks were in the rushing game in their first two years, we can also compare how involved they were in the rushing game with the volume of rushing yards each QB contributed to their teams.</p><figure id="0ef9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resiz

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e:fit:800/1*2OqU0aXztv6Q-Mv-DCD4Aw.png"><figcaption>Source: The Author</figcaption></figure><p id="76c3">To absolutely no one’s surprise, the first evident outlier in the graph is Lamar Jackson. Both his rookie and MVP seasons were something the league had never seen when it came to rushing. However, Josh Allen also put impressive numbers himself. In his rookie season, he rushed only 64 yards less than Lamar Jackson, but only took him 89 attempts to Lamar’s 147, showcasing again how efficient Allen is in the rushing game. We can also see that even with a 33% decrease in rushing efficiency, he was still 2nd in this list when it came to rushing yards and rushing attempts in only his second year.</p><h2 id="41f4">Passing Touchdowns vs Rushing Touchdowns</h2><p id="7749">We’ve discussed how important passing and rushing efficiency is for these quarterbacks, but at the end of the day it all comes down to converting that efficiency into tangible results: Touchdowns. By doing so, we will be able to see the impact these QBs have on the outcomes of their games.</p><figure id="f45c"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*iVevOpI29g_q6a6VFLiVSQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="9845"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*LSAaOC6vwRndb76rA5PjVw.png"><figcaption>Source: The Author</figcaption></figure><p id="650b">It is here where we can truly see how promising Josh Allen is as a franchise quarterback for the Bills. We can observe that in the passing game, Josh Allen was struggling to convert passes into touchdowns in his rookie season ( 32 passes per touchdown) while excelling at scoring through the run. However, in his 2nd year, he was able to not only double his passing touchdowns, but increase his already impressive amount of rushing touchdowns. When compared to the other quarterbacks, he lead among QBs in rushing touchdowns in both of his first 2 years in the NFL and is on his way to continue this trend in 2020.</p><h1 id="f22e">So, is Josh Allen the Franchise Quarterback the Bills Need?</h1><p id="27c6">The responsible answer would be that only time will tell. However, by benchmarking the stats Josh Allen put in his first 2 years with other franchise quarterbacks in the league, we can clearly see a trend that tells us that Bills Mafia might finally found the generational talent they so much deserve in Josh Allen.</p><figure id="d230"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*1FDR06JWxZUxwk50G6C50w.jpeg"><figcaption>Source: BleacherReport</figcaption></figure></article></body>

Is Josh Allen the Franchise Quarterback the Bills Needed?

Well, his stats are nothing short of amazing

The start of the 2020 NFL season has like nothing we had ever seen or imagined before. Empty stadiums, thousands of dollars in penalties for coaches nor wearing masks, re-scheduled games, Tuesday Night football, and many new things that are yet to come have been the main talking points for every NFL fan. However, something just as important is happening in Bills Stadium and that is: They are finally found their franchise QB in Josh Allen.

Game 1 of the 2020 season? One rushing and two passing touchdowns against the New York Jets, which resulted in his first-ever 300-yard passing game.

Game 2 of the 2020 season? Just 417 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Miami Dolphins. That makes Josh Allen 1 of the only 4 QBs to throw for over 700 yards, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions in the first 2 weeks of the season. That puts him on the same list as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes. If that is not promising enough, how well does he hold up when compared with the rest of the league’s elite?

The Passing Game

In the NFL, we can define team efficiency as a team’s ability to gain the most passing and rushing yards per offensive attempt while allowing the least yards per attempt on defense. To see Josh Allen’s progression, we will analyze the evolution of his passing statistics in his first two years compared to other quarterbacks in the league over the same period of time.

Passing Yards per Attempt

The chart above shows the change in the average passing yards per attempt in the first 2 years of some of the league’s best quarterbacks. We can observe that while Josh Allen only had a 3.07% efficiency increase in passing yards per attempt, he was 1 of the only 4 players to increase their passing efficiency after their rookie season. The others being: Aaron Rodgers with 9.3%, Lamar Jackson with 9.8%, and Russell Wilson with 5.06%.

Passing Attempts vs Passes Completed

By analyzing the change in the amount of passing attempts and passes completed after 2 seasons, we will be able to see not only how much more involved in the passing game these quarterbacks got with time, but how much more accurate they were as their passing volume increased.

In his rookie season, Josh Allen had 320 passing attempts in which he completed 169 of those, resulting in a 52.81% completion rate. A year later, he went 271 passes completed out of 461 attempts with a 58.79% completion rate.

Josh Allen was the 2nd most improved rookie out of this list with a 44.06% increase in pass attempts, 60.35% increase in pass completions, and a 11.32% increase in completion rate (Only 2nd to Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019).

The Rushing Game

The last couple of years have witnessed the increased need for teams to have dual-threat quarterbacks, which refers to quarterbacks who are just as lethal in the rushing game than in the passing game. Lamar Jackson’s MVP season in 2019 is the greatest example of the importance of this attribute, when he passed for 3127 passing yards and rushed for nothing short than the historic 1206 rushing yards. Due to the rising importance of this skill, how tuned in is Josh Allen to his rushing game?

Rushing Yards per Attempt

It is safe to say that Josh Allen’s rookie season was nothing but impressive. In his first year in the NFL, he rushed an average of 7 yards per attempt, making him the most efficient rookie rushing quarterback in this list. To put this into perspective, rookie Josh Allen was a more efficient rusher than Lamar Jackson in his MVP season. Nothing short of amazing. However, his efficiency in 2019 went down by 33%, which seems to correlate to the increase in his passing efficiency in that same year.

Rushing Yards vs Rushing Attempts

While we have discussed how efficient these quarterbacks were in the rushing game in their first two years, we can also compare how involved they were in the rushing game with the volume of rushing yards each QB contributed to their teams.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the first evident outlier in the graph is Lamar Jackson. Both his rookie and MVP seasons were something the league had never seen when it came to rushing. However, Josh Allen also put impressive numbers himself. In his rookie season, he rushed only 64 yards less than Lamar Jackson, but only took him 89 attempts to Lamar’s 147, showcasing again how efficient Allen is in the rushing game. We can also see that even with a 33% decrease in rushing efficiency, he was still 2nd in this list when it came to rushing yards and rushing attempts in only his second year.

Passing Touchdowns vs Rushing Touchdowns

We’ve discussed how important passing and rushing efficiency is for these quarterbacks, but at the end of the day it all comes down to converting that efficiency into tangible results: Touchdowns. By doing so, we will be able to see the impact these QBs have on the outcomes of their games.

It is here where we can truly see how promising Josh Allen is as a franchise quarterback for the Bills. We can observe that in the passing game, Josh Allen was struggling to convert passes into touchdowns in his rookie season ( 32 passes per touchdown) while excelling at scoring through the run. However, in his 2nd year, he was able to not only double his passing touchdowns, but increase his already impressive amount of rushing touchdowns. When compared to the other quarterbacks, he lead among QBs in rushing touchdowns in both of his first 2 years in the NFL and is on his way to continue this trend in 2020.

So, is Josh Allen the Franchise Quarterback the Bills Need?

The responsible answer would be that only time will tell. However, by benchmarking the stats Josh Allen put in his first 2 years with other franchise quarterbacks in the league, we can clearly see a trend that tells us that Bills Mafia might finally found the generational talent they so much deserve in Josh Allen.