With Josh Allen set to start his first career game Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, the rest of the Buffalo Bills offense knows it must step up to help the rookie.
The best aid Allen could receive in the Bills home opener is if LeSean McCoy woke up after a Week 1 slumber. The lead tailback took seven carries for just 22 yards in the blowout loss (3.1 YPC), and earned just one catch for -1 yard.
McCoy knows he must support the young quarterback.
"One thing I'm going to talk to the offense about, especially the skill guys, for the rookie quarterback to have a good game for them is to make it easy on him," McCoy said Wednesday, via the team's official website. "Hey, if he makes a wrong read and the ball is hard to catch, catch it. You might not get yards after the catch, but just catching the ball will give him confidence, moving the chains. In the running back room, making guys miss, breaking tackles, everything to give him the extra advantage is critical and big for this game and his confidence. He's so young. If he gets going he gets more confidence each play, so that's something I want to talk to the guys about, just executing and making it easier for him."
Allen enters his first start behind one of the worst offensive lines in football, and with a subpar cast of receivers. McCoy represents the lone skill-position player with Pro Bowl pedigree.
The lack of offensive help is one reason the Bills coaching staff seemed reticent to hand the reins to Allen. After Nathan Peterman's disastrous start to the season, however, Buffalo was left with little choice.
The concern is that early-career struggles with so little surrounding talent could lead to bad habits and crippled confidence. To help mitigate those concerns, McCoy must step up, starting with Sunday's tilt versus the Chargers.
