A Weakness in Josh Allen’s Game Miami Could Exploit
One of the things Miami Dolphins have put a big emphasis on this offseason is forcing more turnovers in 2020. Last year they forced only 16 turnovers in 16 games. That’s one per game and that won’t cut it in this league. The Dolphins have to improve in this area as good defenses find a way to force a lot of turnovers. This training camp they started a chart on how many turnovers they could force. Last Sunday against the New England Patriots, they forced one turnover with Jerome Baker forcing a fumble that went out of the end zone for a touchback that turned the momentum and got the Dolphins back in the game. This Sunday they play the Buffalo Bills and they could have an opportunity to force more.
Bills starting quarterback Josh Allen has improved his game in so many areas and helped the team make the playoffs last year. However, for all the improvements Allen has made in his game, he still has some weaknesses in his game. The biggest flaw in his game besides his inaccurate passing, which everyone mentions, is he fumbles too much.
?NEW?Buffalo Preview (No Spoilers) #FinsUp https://t.co/GuJ02KagEC #NowPlaying
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) September 19, 2020
That gets overlooked quite a bit because the Bills have had some success and a lot of times when teams have success some of their deficiencies get swept under the rug and don’t get talked about. In 29 games as a starter including the playoffs, Allen has fumbled 25 times which is pretty alarming. The amazing part of this is of those 25 fumbles he’s only lost 6. Talk about the ball bouncing your way.
The problem with this is if Allen keeps this fumbling pace up at some point the ball is going to bounce the other way and he will have more turnovers.
Last Sunday against the New York Jets, the Bills dominated the game and it didn’t show on the scoreboard because Allen fumbled twice in the red zone and lost both fumbles. It kept the Jets in the game.
Allen has improved as a passer and has a great arm, but every game he misses some throws or tries to do too much and turns the ball over. It’s one reason the Bills collapsed in their wildcard round game against the Houston Texans last January.
Last Sunday the Dolphins made a concerted effort to try to strip the ball from the Patriots while tackling them and it’s been a point of emphasis this offseason.
It’s important for the Dolphins to keep Allen from running wild with his scrambles and stay in their lanes to make tackles, but if they get a chance to wrap him up they could force some fumbles that could swing the course of the game Sunday. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Allen is working on correcting his fumbling issue. The problem is he isn’t doing enough and already fumbling twice in the season opener in the red zone are mistakes he continues to make.
Last year the Dolphins got swept by the Bills and part of the reason was in both games they didn’t force 1 turnover. That is gonna have to change Sunday if the Dolphins are going to pull an upset. The Dolphins should try to punch the ball out on Allen if he is careless with the ball as his history suggests and the ball could bounce the Dolphins way.
