Josh Allen Felt Comfortable in First Start Against Chargers

BUFFALO BILLS QB JOSH ALLEN

 

Q: All in all, Josh [Allen], what’s your biggest takeaway from your rookie starting debut?

A: It’s hard to win a game in the NFL. It is. I think most quarterbacks who play the game will tell you that. You know, we didn’t get off to a great start, and that’s always going to hurt when you get down like that. You go three-and-out, you put your defense in some vulnerable situations. There’s a lot of lessons to learn from this game, and we’ll go from there.

Q: Josh, you made some halftime adjustments there… the read-option seemed to work well for you in a little more heavy personnel in that first drive of the second half. Can you just maybe talk about the kind of traction that gave you guys on offense?

A: I mean, yeah, it’s just another element in our offense. When [Bills’ Offensive Coordinator Brian] Daboll sees something, he’s going to call it. He told me to be aggressive, and I think play-calling in the second half was a little more aggressive. It was kind of a tale of two halves. We came out in the second half and we played harder, we wanted it a little more. Ultimately, in order to win a football game in the NFL, you’ve got to play a full 60 minutes.

Q: Josh, what was your thought process going into this week knowing you were getting the nod [to start] this week?

A: I really didn’t change much in my preparation. Always trying to get in early to watch some film and stay late. As cliché as it sounds, that’s how an NFL quarterback should be doing it. So, just trying to develop the routine of a starting quarterback. Obviously, the mindset coming into this game was ‘I’m here to play.’ You know, obviously I’m not going out there to put our team in bad situations. I’m trying to put points on the board and help move this offense.

Q: How comfortable did you feel in the course of the game? When you were out there, was your comfort level always there, or did you have moments where you just felt like a rookie?

A: I felt comfortable for the most part. There’s some things that [Los Angeles] did that we didn’t see on film, and I didn’t see on film. But that’s being a rookie. That’s the part of it. You know, a defensive coordinator is always going to try to throw you something different and get you out of your element, and I have to be better with the pass protection. I have to be better with getting the ball out quicker. Ultimately, taking care of the football. Two interceptions, they were just two plays that I could’ve changed. The one that I was trying to throw to [RB Marcus Murphy], I was held up, and I should’ve just taken a sack or thrown it away. The one to [TE Jason Croom], he was running over the top, and I just made a bad ball. I should’ve allowed him to run under it, but I put it out in front of him and didn’t put enough air on it. That was all my bad.

Q: Is it a matter of convincing yourself to trust what you see out there? You know, you were saying you felt like you held onto it too long…

A: Yeah, for sure. Just trusting what I see. [Daboll] was 100% confident in me. He told me, ‘Let it rip. I’m not going to hold you back at all. When you see something, go ahead and take advantage of it.’ Like I said, a couple times, the comfortable-ness wasn’t there for me, so I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be a better quarterback for this football team so we can start winning football games.

Q: At the end, you stick it in there. That’s a nice way to finish. You know, you don’t get the win, but a nice way to finish. You build on that for next week?

A: Yeah. Obviously, we wanted to come out and we wanted to score on that last two-minute drive in hopes that we were going to get the ball back on an onside kick. We were down three possessions still, but… to go out there and execute on that last drive, it’s always going to produce some momentum for the next week. But I think moral of the story from today’s game was starting fast. We can’t put ourselves in that position again. 

Q: You were on the sideline at a point in the second half where you were really trying to talk to the defense and exalt them. What were some of the telling those guys? What were you feeling at that time?

A: I mean, it’s an emotional football game. I play with a lot of emotions, and after that touchdown drive, I wanted the defense to know that I’m in this thing. I want them to go out there and do their thing, and they did, for the most part. They held Philip Rivers and the Chargers to… I couldn’t tell you, three or six points in the second half? Whatever it was… in the second half, they came out and did their part. As an offense, we have to continue to move the ball, and when we get to the red zone, we have to put the ball in the end zone. It’s as simple as that. They went out there, and they played hard. I just wanted them to know that I was with them on that.

Q: Is that a leadership moment?

A: Yeah, for sure.

Q: Josh, personally for you, that long pass to Zay Jones in the second quarter… was that sort of a, ‘Hey, I can make it in the NFL’ sort of moment for you?

A: No. It was just a play. I saw him running deep, and I underthrew him a little bit. He made a really good play, and I was just trying to make something happen. We were on our little two-minute drive there, we wanted to double dip going into the second half, because we were getting the ball at halftime. It was just an opportunity, and I gave Zay a chance, and he made the play.

Q: Were you able to watch Philip Rivers play at all today, and if you did, did you take anything away from watching a veteran quarterback like that?

A: You know, he gets the ball out super quick. He’s not afraid to throw it one yard in front of him. Sometimes, that’s what you’ve got to do as a quarterback – get the ball out quick and to your skill guys, let them make some plays for you. Some of the protections… always allowing the play clock to dictate what he was going to do. Letting it run down, still trying to figure out what the defense was going to do. He was going to make checks at the line to put their offense in the best situation possible. 

Q: Did you see [Philip Rivers] after the game?

A: I did.

Q: Did he say anything to you?

A: Yeah, we talked a little bit. Just kind of a weird moment. You know, he, five or six months ago, in southern California in March, he was out there with me and Sam Darnold and Kyle Allen and he was talking to us about the process. So to have my first start against him, a guy that kind of helped mentor me in that time span, was definitely kind of cool.

Q: Josh, you know, when you dream about your NFL debut… what did you dream about? Win the game, I suppose? What can you take away from today?

A: I’m playing this game to win football games and that’s the only reason why I’m playing. At the end of the day, we didn’t get the job done today, and I’ve got to do my part and I’ve got to be better. Like I said, this is a tape that we’re going to learn a lot of lessons from, including myself, and we’re going to get better.

Q: Would you like to run more [run-pass options]?

A: I mean, I just want to run whatever Coach Daboll calls me, and we’re going to go out there and execute it. That’s as simple as I can get.

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Tagged with: Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen, Los Angeles Chargers