Josh Allen has always been different, but this season he's winning in a different way.
The Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback is completing a career-high 75% of his passes, dissecting defenses with more precision than ever. He's become more surgeon than gunslinger with seven touchdown passes, no interceptions, and just one turnover heading into Sunday night's matchup against the Ravens.
Trying to contain Allen is priority No. 1 for Baltimore, and that's a huge challenge for a Ravens defense that has given up the most passing yards in the NFL.
Allen has been making the right play, seemingly not as obsessed with making the big play. That approach has made him even tougher to defend, adding another layer to a quarterback who can still win with powerful runs or deep throws downfield.
Allen's air yards per pass attempt ranks just 21st in the NFL among starting quarterbacks through the first three weeks, according to NextGen Stats. However, the Bills lead the league in scoring (37.3 per game) and have won their last two games by an average of 29 points.
After trading star receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, Buffalo's offense has become more equal opportunity. Allen completed passes to 10 different receivers in Buffalo's 47-10 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3, and his four touchdown passes were thrown to four different targets.
When Allen drops back to pass so far this season, good things usually happen.
"You really don't know where the ball's going to go," Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said. "All of his receivers are liable to get the ball at any point in time, including their running backs, including their tight end. That's what makes them a tough offense to defend, besides what he does with his arms and his legs.
"In years past he had a Pro Bowl, All-Pro receiver (Diggs), sometimes in certain situations (he'd) lock in. Now, he's spreading the ball around even more."
The Ravens have a unique player in All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who they will use as a chess piece to help keep Allen in check. From play to play, Allen will try to anticipate where Hamilton will line up and who he will cover. However, Hamilton said Allen's unique skillset makes him hard to contain even when he's forced to adlib.
Allen has only been sacked twice this season, and both of those came in Week 1. He's hard to tackle, difficult to keep in the pocket, and has the arm strength to make accurate throws on the run.
"He has great arm talent and a great feel for the game," Hamilton said. "If you cover everything, he can escape the pocket and get a first down. There are not a lot of quarterbacks in our league like him. It will be fun to go against him and the Bills this week."
It will be more enjoyable for the Ravens if they win, but it won't be easy. The Bills are the only team to score at least 30 points in each of their first three games, and they've become more explosive since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator in the middle of last year. The buzz has already begun that Brady could be a hot head coach candidate next offseason if Buffalo's success continues.
Veteran pass rusher Kyle Van Noy has seen many offensive attacks, including some of the Tom Brady era in New England, and thinks the Bills have something special going.
"Josh Allen is just an incredible player who's playing at such an extremely high level," Van Noy said. "I think he and (Joe) Brady calling the plays, they're in sync right now, and they have a great pulse of their offense, with their identity, and they're doing an extremely good job of just getting everybody involved.
"That's kind of the biggest difference that I've seen – is there's not one person who you could be like, 'Oh, you've got to stop this person or that person.' It's, 'Oh, you've got to have all 11 guys be locked in every single play,' because the quarterback is playing really well, and the guys that he has empowered around him are playing really good football."
The Ravens believe facing an opponent like Buffalo could bring out the best in their defense. Nobody expects Baltimore to remain ranked 23rd overall in total defense and 24th in points allowed. M&T Bank Stadium will be rocking Sunday night, with the Ravens decked out in all black for "Darkness Falls" night.
Allen and the Bills' offense have gotten the league's attention. It's the job of Baltimore's defense to get a victory.
"I think this week is a great week to prove ourselves, but it's also every week in this league." Hamilton said. "Everybody is good, and everybody can throw for 300-plus yards on you if you allow them to. I think it's about us being consistent out here in practice and carrying over to the field with communication, execution [and] all that stuff, which I know we're more than capable of."
