Four quarterbacks enter Sunday's Championship games. Only one doesn't already own a Super Bowl ring.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is enjoying one of the most improved seasons of any signal-caller in recent memory. Leading the Bills to two postseason wins, Allen will take the field Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champs, Kansas City, with a chance to write another chapter in his storied campaign.
"This is the next step for Josh," Bills coach Sean McDermott said during his Championship Wednesday news conference, via AJ Feldman of WROC TV. "This is what you work for, this is what he's worked for. He'll be ready and we're extremely confident in Josh."
Allen's improvement in 2020 has been evident, particularly in his willingness to hit the open receiver and not force passes. During his first two seasons, the Bills signal-caller too often swung for the home run. This year, with an array of playmaking receivers, Allen realized that a series of doubles could lead to more rallies.
For evidence of Allen's improvement, look no further to his progress when not under pressure. In his first two seasons, the QB completed 60 percent of his passes for 6.6 yards per attempt with a 20-15 TD-INT ratio and an 80.1 passer rating when not under pressure, per Next Gen Stats. In 2020 those figures spiked to a 73.2 completion percentage, 8.0 Y/A, 31-5 TD-INT ratio, and a 112.6 passer rating.
In addition, Allen's accuracy against man coverage has skyrocketed. After completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes against man coverage in his first two seasons (49.4 with 15-10 TD-to-INT ratio), Allen has become one of the most productive passers against such looks this season (65.8 with 19-1 TD-INT ratio, per Pro Football Focus).
In Week 6 versus the Chiefs, Allen played his worst game of the season, generating a season-low in completion percentage (51.85), yards (122), yards per attempt (4.52), and passer rating (73.4).
Taking the next step for Allen means learning from that loss and giving his club the best chance to win a game.
In just three seasons, Allen has gone from questioned QB to unquestionably one of the most promising young signal-callers in the NFL. A victory Sunday would cement his status.
