Josh Allen stats: Bills survive despite QB’s uncharacteristic playoff interceptions vs. Dolphins

It was widely expected that the Bills would be able to easily handle the Dolphins in their Super Wild Card Weekend meeting on Sunday. Instead, Miami and its third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson gave Buffalo a run for its money.

The Dolphins put forth a strong effort against the Bills and even led in the second half against Buffalo. The Bills were ultimately able to pull out a 34-31 victory, but it certainly wasn’t their best performance.

That was particularly true for Josh Allen. The Bills quarterback made some stellar plays in the second half. Most notably, he completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Davis that turned out to be the game-winner.

Allen to Davis! Incredible TD puts the Bills up by 10. @gabedavis13_ @joshallenQB

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— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

However, Allen also endured his share of struggles throughout the game. In particular, he was plagued by turnovers, which were a problem for him during the 2022 regular season but hadn’t previously been an issue for him during his playoff career.

Here’s a look at Allen’s performance against the Dolphins and what he needs to do moving forward in order to lead the Bills on a deep playoff run.

MORE: Bills edge Dolphins in tightly fought wild-card battle

Josh Allen stats vs. Dolphins

Allen’s final stat line against the Dolphins was solid. The fifth-year quarterback logged 352 passing yards, the most he ever has logged in a playoff game, and totaled three touchdowns in the Bills’ 34-point outing.

Below is a look at Allen’s full stat line from the Buffalo win:

So, what was the problem with Allen’s performance? He gifted the Dolphins too many scoring opportunities.

Allen was responsible for three turnovers in the Bills’ win — two first-half interceptions and a fumble, scoop-and-score in the second half. The Dolphins were able to score 18 points off those turnovers.

STRIP SACK FUMBLE RECOVERY TOUCHDOWN DOLPHINS LEAD. #SuperWildCard

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— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023

Turnovers were a problem for Allen during the 2022 regular season. He threw 14 interceptions — tied for the third-most in the NFL — and those picks were largely what kept him out of the MVP race after the early stages of the season.

However, Allen had largely avoided negative plays and turnovers in his previous playoff starts. As such, this start differed greatly from his previous postseason starts.

MORE: Who will the Bills play in the AFC divisional round?

Josh Allen playoff stats 2019-21

Allen had played in six playoff games in his first four NFL seasons. He fared very well in those games, recording a 14-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

That, in addition to his rushing prowess, made Allen one of the best postseason quarterbacks in NFL history. Below is a look at just how good he was during his first three postseasons:

On a per-game basis, Allen averaged 286.3 passing yards, 2.5 touchdowns and 0.2 interceptions with 61.8 rushing yards to boot.

The Bills would certainly prefer that type of stat line from Allen compared to what he did against the Dolphins on Sunday. Why? Because the turnovers helped spark an otherwise sputtering Miami offense that gained just 231 yards compared to Buffalo’s 423.

The Bills were still able to escape with a narrow, three-point victory over the 7-seed Dolphins. Still, Allen will have to play a lot better for Buffalo to knock out the likes of the Bengals and Chiefs and make a deep playoff run,