To stop Josh Allen and Bills, Broncos must stop the run

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills feature Josh Allen, a dynamic seventh-year quarterback who has enjoyed the most mistake-free season of his career while maintaining his dynamic quality. He’s never been better at dicing an opponent to shreds from the pocket, even though he can still torpedo a defense when he goes beyond structure and operates with his legs and on the move.

And yet the key to stopping the Bills may be to let him do what he does through the air, while neutralizing Allen, running back James Cook and the rest of the backfield corps on the ground.

For the Denver Broncos, it sounds kinda counter-intuitive, right?

But it might be the path to keeping their season alive beyond Sunday.

Containing the Bills on the ground involves not only the Broncos being stout at the point of attack and winning up front, but in maintaining pass-rush discipline against Allen — and as Denver’s defenders noted this week, not “rushing selfish.”

“You can tell when teams are just kind of rushing selfish, especially against a guy like [Allen], when you see wide-open rush lanes and for him to just run through and you can see those 30-, 40-yard runs down the field,” edge rusher Nik Bonitto said.

Against Buffalo QB Josh Allen, Broncos Pro Bowl edge rusher Nik Bonitto cautions that when you attack in pass rush, you can’t “rush selfish,” because when you do, “you see wide-open rush lanes for him to just run through & you can see those 30-, 40-yard runs down the field.” pic.twitter.com/Rcst6adUg8

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 10, 2025

“You can kind of see when a guy or a group of D-linemen or rushers are working well together, you can see when [opposing quarterbacks] are kind of panicking in the pocket, trying to find ways to maneuver out of it when there’s nothing really there.

“So, just keeping him in the pocket is going to be the main thing for us.”

And in the pocket, Allen can’t do damage with his legs — which can often lead to trouble, as the first of this week’s pregame three numbers notes.

17-0

Buffalo’s record when at least 25 percent of the touches by Josh Allen are runs. But what is interesting is that there isn’t a similar correlation with rushing yardage; the Bills are 3-9 when Allen runs for at least 80 yards, including 0-3 during the only 100-yard rushing games of his career.

Part of it is how frustrating the runs can be for a defense.

“I mean, you can pinpoint, shoot, at least five to 10 times a game where, you think you have him wrapped up and he slips out of it,” Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. “He does a good job of escaping and. And he does a good job of using his stiff arm to make plays and using the [defender] to his advantage.”

33-0

That’s Buffalo’s record in games started by Allen when they run more than 50 percent of the time — including 5-0 this year.

1 EVERY 6.3

That is Von Miller’s pressure rate, according to Pro Football Focus, with one pressure every 6.3 pass-rush snaps.

Sunday’s game will feature a cluster of the sport’s most efficient edge rushers. Of the 110 NFL edge rushers with at least 150 pass-rush snaps, five of the NFL’s top 25 in pressure rate will be on display.

Miller ranks ninth in the NFL this season in that statistic. Nik Bonitto (one pressure every 6.7 pass-rush snaps) is 14th, with Dondrea Tillman (one pressure every 6.8 pass-rush snaps )16th, Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau 20th and Denver’s Jonathon Cooper 25th.