After last night’s loss by the Bills to the Broncos, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs posted on X an observation that his brother, Stefon, needs to leave Buffalo.
The message was not deleted. Instead, Trevon Diggs has added another observation.
“Let’s not forget, he didn’t start going off till bro got there,” Trevon Diggs said.
The “he” in that message is quarterback Josh Allen. Trevon Diggs is right. Allen’s third year with the Bills was Stefon’s first. And 2020 was the year in which Allen became widely regarded as an elite quarterback.
The narrative has remained, even if the performance has not. Everyone keeps thinking Josh Allen is still Josh Freaking Allen. But is he?
Blame gets spread to the quality of the supporting cast, the abilities of the coaching staff. Blame rarely makes its way to Allen himself.
Maybe it now will. He leads the league with 11 interceptions. He had two more last night, and he dropped a ball that was meant to be handed to running back James Cook.
Now, the Bills will change on the fly to a new coordinator. It will be for Joe Brady to get Allen to play better than he has. The fact that Allen has done it before doesn’t matter. It counts only as proof that he’s capable of it.
Can he now do it? If he doesn’t, at some point it’s fair to reconsider the assumption that he ranks among the best of the best quarterbacks in football.
Maybe it’s already fair. After all, the best of the best quarterbacks in football typically don’t lead the league in interceptions.