Tony Dungy says Josh Allen's accuracy is no longer a topic of conversation as he looks to lead the Buffalo Bills to Super Bowl glory; watch the Bills face the Tennessee Titans live on Sky Sports Main Event on Monday Night Football from 12.15am in the early hours of Tuesday
Monday 19 September 2022 23:12, UK
Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy says the Buffalo Bills have displayed traits of a Super Bowl favourite after their dominant season-opening victory over the defending-champion Los Angeles Rams.
Sean McDermott's team out-schemed and out-classed their way to a 31-10 victory at SoFi Stadium on the opening night of the 2022 season, riding a rampant defensive performance and the excellence of quarterback and MVP contender Josh Allen.
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey excelled in his first regular-season outing since succeeding now-New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
"They really did make a statement, we knew about their offense and Josh Allen, they looked fantastic moving the football," former Super Bowl-winning head coach Dungy told Sky Sports.
"But I was really impressed with their defensive front. Their defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier told me he was going to play some conservative coverages to protect this young secondary and he was counting on the front to really hold up and they did a great job stopping the run, rushing the passer they got after Matthew Stafford.
"I thought that improvement on the Buffalo defensive side really made them look like Super Bowl favourites."
The Bills had been 13 infamous seconds away from reaching the AFC Championship Game and potentially going on to meet the Rams in the Super Bowl last year when they saw the Kansas City Chiefs kick a late field goal to send their Divisional Round thriller to overtime where Andy Reid's team would run out eventual 42-36 winners.
Despite the loss, the season played stage to Allen's continued and monumental growth under center following the overwhelming doubts that had greeted him upon arriving in the NFL as a 2018 first-round pick.
Thursday night's showcase teased an even more improved Allen as the Bills seek to maximise their Championship window this season. He finished the game 26 of 31 passing for 297 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while running the ball 10 times for 56 yards and a score.
"He really does look like he's got timing and chemistry with his receivers," Dungy added. "He's very confident with his throw, he doesn't make outlandish things, he doesn't throw into traffic.
"I have been really impressed with his maturity and that thing we talked about 'how accurate is he going to be?', that's not even a topic of conversation anymore."
Dungy also insisted he was not worried by the volume of carries Allen received on the ground in a rushing attack that had been finding success through Devin Singletary.
Allen's threat outside the pocket has been evidenced through 2,325 rushing yards for 31 touchdowns over the previous four seasons, including 763 yards for six scores at a league-high 6.3 yards per carry in 2021.
"He's a big man, he's strong and of course you can get hurt on any play but I don't think I would be overly concerned about that," explained Dungy.
"The thing I noticed, just watching the game and seeing the pre-game warm-ups, just even the features we did on the Bills before the game, he is unquestionably now the leader of that team.
"I think in the years gone past he was a young guy, exciting and they were wanting to see him do more and more things, but right now everybody on that team is looking at him.
"He's the bell-cow and I think they're going to follow him a long long way, he looks sensational to me."
Watch the Buffalo Bills in action live on Sky Sports Main Event on Monday Night Football when they face the Tennessee Titans from 12.15am in the early hours of Tuesday.
