NFL Coordinator: 'Not Sure' Bills' Josh Allen Can Consistently Win as Dropback Passer

Despite once again putting together an MVP-caliber campaign in 2022, Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen still inspires a level of skepticism around the NFL.

The Athletic's Mike Sando canvassed 50 coaches and executives to rank the league's quarterbacks in various tiers. Six of the respondents put Allen into Tier 2, which is reserved for a QB who "can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently" as the top tier.

"I'm not sure he can win you a game as a dropback passer consistently, which is part of the Tier 1 description," one defensive coordinator told Sando. "I think Allen, Lamar (Jackson) and Jalen (Hurts) all fit into that high Tier 2 category. The running is a weapon, but if you are down two scores or 10 points, you might have an issue."

A similar refrain came from an NFL scout who compared Allen to the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes in a quarterback poll by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

"His top 20 plays in a game are as good as Mahomes," the scout said. "But then Buffalo will go nearly a half and do next to nothing. That doesn't happen to Kansas City."

Allen's performance in a 27-10 AFC divisional round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals might have been at the forefront of the coordinator and scout's minds when they made their assessments. The two-time Pro Bowler went 25-of-42 for 264 yards and one interception and was outplayed by his opposite number, Joe Burrow.

Still, it's a bit odd to see the 27-year-old fall victim to the same narrative that often surrounds a mobile quarterback.

Allen has exceeded 4,000 passing yards for three straight seasons, each of which saw the Bills crowned as AFC East champions. He's averaging 291.8 yards through the air and has a 99.6 passer rating in the playoffs as well.

Not for nothing, but one of the Tier 2 quarterbacks cited by that coordinator (Hurts) just took his team to the Super Bowl too.

You can quibble with where Allen falls among his peers. He was the third-ranked QB in Sando's and Fowler's exercises.

But questioning whether the Bills can win when he's pressed into more traditional passing duties is an odd critique.