Dolphins DC offers bulletin board critique of Bills QB Josh Allen before Week 9 clash

It's a bold strategy. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

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To play on the oft-used national comparison that likens Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen to Superman, turnovers are perhaps his kryptonite.

Buffalo’s franchise signal-caller is unequivocally one of the league’s most dynamic players, and few are genuinely arguing the point at this juncture. He’s tallied an astonishing 238 total touchdowns throughout his seven-year career, the most of any player in NFL history through the same stretch. He’s totaled over 40 scores in an NFL-record four consecutive seasons, earning league MVP votes in three of those four campaigns. 

He’s good, and nobody is saying otherwise.

He has, however, struggled with turnovers throughout large swaths of his professional career; in fact, he entered the 2024 campaign with 102 career turnovers, which, per ESPN, was the most of any player since 2008. The 28-year-old has largely mitigated this concern through the first eight games of the 2024 campaign, throwing only one interception while tallying five fumbles (losing two); that said, some pundits, players, and coaches around the league still believe that Allen is prone to turning the ball over if placed in the situation to do so.

Related: Dolphins vs. Bills: 5 keys to victory in NFL Week 9

Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is seemingly among this camp, offering a critique of Allen’s ball security ahead of his team’s Week 9 divisional clash in Orchard Park. The first-year defensive coordinator told reporters that the former All-Pro isn’t necessarily taut with the ball when escaping the pocket, something that will give his unit a chance to force turnovers this weekend.

“The one thing about Josh is, he gives you a chance to get the ball, right, because he is so strong,” Weaver said. “He reminds me a little bit like Steve McNair, Ben Roethlisberger back there where, when you get there, you have to make sure you not only try to tackle him, but you almost have equally as good of a chance as tackling the ball, because he just kind of hangs it out there like a loaf of bread. I think the biggest thing is to throttle down, first thing, let’s make sure we secure and try to get the sack, and then try to attack the ball in doing so.”

Weaver’s critique isn’t necessarily wrong; though suggesting that he handles the ball like “a loaf of bread” may be too hyperbolic a comparison, Allen is demonstrably susceptible to the occasional fumble (he’s recorded 64 fumbles throughout his career, losing 26 of them). That said, giving Allen, who is constructing an MVP-caliber résumé through the first eight games of the campaign, any sort of chip to place on his shoulder is bold, especially considering his prowess against the Dolphins; the quarterback has an 11-2 career record against Miami, posting a passer rating of 110.0 while he’s thrown for 34 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

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This is a quarterback whom the Dolphins have consistently struggled to combat, and to give him bulletin board material before facing him in his house is… a unique strategy.

It’s important to note that Weaver was otherwise complimentary of Allen during his press conference (even likening him to two legendary quarterbacks in his critique). He circled the quarterback as one of the primary reasons why the Bills have been as successful as they’ve been in recent years, stating that there are few deficiencies to his game. 

“Oh man, where to start?” Weaver said of the Buffalo passer. “You say this about so many of these guys in today’s game, where they can beat you both from in the pocket and with their feet. He’s a guy that, he doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses in his game. Just a tremendous amount of respect for him, they’ve had the success they’ve had there in recent years for a reason, and he’s a big part of that.”

Whether Allen uses Weaver’s (admittedly light) criticism as motivation this week remains to be seen, but in a game where Buffalo can move to 7-2 and strengthen its already commanding early-season AFC East lead, giving him even an inch may prove an uncalculated bargain for Miami.

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