Josh Allen said the Buffalo Bills’ first half against the Baltimore Ravens was not good enough by their standards, and that he was the one pressing. Buffalo won 36-10 on Sunday to improve to 6-1, but it led only 16-7 at halftime. “The couple turnovers in the first half, it’s not winning football,” Allen said afterward. “I think early on I was, for whatever reason, felt like I was pressing. So we can’t do that.”
A reporter noted that Allen’s passer rating was 39.8 at halftime and that he finished at 96.3. Allen finished 21 of 34 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and he ran in a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Asked how he stopped pressing, he said: “Take a breath, settle down, settle the feet down” and go through his progressions. He said the message at halftime was simple: “We’re way better than this.”
“He’s an absolute stud”
DJ Moore returned from a shoulder injury that had kept him out for two games, and he finished with four catches for 82 yards and an 11-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Allen said Moore changes how the offense can work. “That’s the type of spark that he gives us where we don’t have to go these long sustained drives,” he said. “He gives us that downfield presence.”
Allen praised the “unbelievable” big post Moore caught, then made clear the receiver has work to do. “We gotta clean up the ball security. He knows that,” Allen said, adding that he threw an interception himself. Moore lost a fumble after a 19-yard catch in the first half. “He’s an absolute stud, and the more we can get him the ball, the better it’s going to be,” Allen said.
The defense, and the Ravens’ quarterbacks
Allen said the defense carried the night. “Our defense balled out tonight,” he said. “They played lights out.” Baltimore lost Lamar Jackson on its first snap and used Tyler Huntley and Joe Fagnano the rest of the way, and Allen said he hoped Jackson and Huntley were doing okay. “You hate to see guys go down in this game. It’s an extremely violent game,” he said. He also credited Fagnano, who wears No. 12, with having “made some really good throws” after being thrown into the game. Fagnano finished 10 of 21 for 91 yards with an interception.
The touchdown record: “It’s not just me”
The win made Allen the Bills’ all-time leader in career touchdown passes, including the playoffs, with 260, ahead of Jim Kelly’s 258. A reporter asked whether he ever pictured himself holding that record. “That’s the goal, right? To go out there and be the best quarterback that you can be,” Allen said. “It’s cool. But like I understand, it’s not just me, right? There’s a lot of guys that have put a lot of work into this that have helped me get to this spot right here.” He added: “I don’t take that for granted to be the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.”
Back to Baltimore, year nine
The reporter also brought up Allen’s first NFL game, a rain-soaked game in Baltimore in 2018 when he came in off the bench. Allen said it feels like yesterday, even in his ninth season. “I can remember that game and the feeling of the football, the tackiness of it,” he said. “It was downpour.” He said the first play he ran was a play called Superman. “Time flies when you’re having fun. I love this game.”
The Bills now turn to a Monday night game against the Vikings in Week 9. “I know we’re Monday night next week, so get an extra day to kind of digest it and continue to get better,” Allen said.
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