Bills rookie Josh Allen may have a long way to go before he’s a polished NFL passer, but as a runner, he’s already doing things with his legs that no other quarterback is doing.
Allen is has 490 rushing yards this season, putting him first among all NFL quarterbacks -- even though he missed four games with an elbow injury. Allen has gained that yardage on just 66 carries, about 30 fewer than Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Carolina’s Cam Newton, who are second and third among NFL quarterbacks in rushing.
In his eight NFL starts, Allen has 464 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. In his first eight NFL starts, Michael Vick had 418 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Allen has been particularly excellent in the last three games, since returning from an elbow injury. In those three games, Allen has averaged 111.7 rushing yards a game. That’s not just great for a quarterback; that’s great for a running back: Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher, averages 97.1 yards a game this season.
Realistically, running like this is probably not sustainable for Allen: Defenses will catch up to what he can do with his legs, and if he keeps trying to run so much, he’s going to open himself up to injuries. Suffice to say, Allen is not going to be running for 111 yards a week, week after week.
But right now, he is doing things with his legs that few quarterbacks in NFL history have ever done.