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Loss highlights why Bills should trade for Jonathan Taylor
Jonathan Taylor. Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Embarrassing Monday night loss highlights why Buffalo should trade for Jonathan Taylor

By Eric Smithling  |  Last updated 9/12/23

Buffalo's 22-16 overtime loss to New York on Monday night highlighted its limitations. The Bills will go as far as Josh Allen will, and it's time to realize he's far too turnover-prone to trust completely.

Buffalo needs a running back to get the ball out of Allen's hands more frequently. Luckily for them, an All-Pro back is sitting on the shelf in Indianapolis. It's time for the Bills to trade for Jonathan Taylor.

Allen's four-turnover performance against the Jets cost Buffalo a game it should have easily won after Aaron Rodgers was ruled out with an ankle injury four plays into the season.

That's not to take anything away from the Jets defense, which proved last season it's elite and showed why it likely will continue to be this season. But Allen shouldn't lose a quarterback duel with Zach Wilson once, let alone twice.

When factoring in his sacks and rushing totals, Allen gained 253 net yards in 52 dropbacks while being responsible for four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble) and only one touchdown.

Since 2018, only Baker Mayfield (64) has thrown more interceptions than Allen (63). As ESPN's "SportsCenter" notes, his 84 turnovers are the most in the NFL during that span.

The Bills have all the pieces of a Super Bowl contender, including at quarterback. While Allen's continued recklessness is a huge concern, he's proven capable of leading Buffalo on deep playoff runs, most notably in 2021 when he threw nine touchdowns and no interceptions in two games, the last a gut-wrenching 42-36 overtime loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

What Buffalo doesn't have is a dominant running game it can lean on so it won't have to rely as heavily on Allen's decision-making.

The Bills only ran 22 times against the Jets, with six attempts from Allen. He was second on the team with 36 yards while James Cook led the team with 46 yards on 12 carries.

While Allen is capable of great things, if someone constantly wrecks a Porsche, you stop giving them the keys.

Far too long have people discussed Buffalo's need to be less reliant on Allen to produce so much of its offense, and Monday night was a prime example of that.

Colts running back Taylor is on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and can't play until Week 4, but would be a perfect addition for the Bills. 

Not only is he one of the game's elite running backs, but he'd also take an enormous strain off of Allen. Taylor's 3,841 rush yards are the fourth-most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2020. In 2021, he led the league with 332 attempts, 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Is dropping Allen back 50 times a game really the path Buffalo wants to go down again this season? It might work against the lesser teams in the league, but ones with excellent pass rushes and secondaries will relish that game plan.

It will also give head coach Sean McDermott a panic attack, much like on this late second-quarter play on Monday when Allen unnecessarily jumped in the air well short of a first down instead of sliding down to avoid contact.

Buffalo would do itself an enormous favor by trading for Taylor to curb Allen's roller coaster routine.

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