Falcons have plan for Bills’ reigning MVP, Josh Allen: Rush, then chase

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons have a Josh Allen expert.

During his four seasons with the New York Jets, Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich faced the Buffalo Bills’ dynamic quarterback, Josh Allen — the reigning league MVP — twice a season.

The Falcons (2-2) are set to host Allen and the Bills (4-1) on “Monday Night Football” at 7:15 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Ulbrich, who went 2-6 in those matchups, doesn’t remember the games fondly.

“You don’t get a lot of sleep on this week, for a lot of reasons,” Ulbrich said. “There’s productive paranoia. There’s a lot of things that occur. He just challenges you in so many ways.”

Allen, taken seventh overall in the 2018 draft out of Wyoming, is 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds. He has developed into a better passer and has been a fearless runner as a dual-threat quarterback.

Last season, he was named the NFL MVP for the first time.

“You can make the argument that he’s the best football player in the NFL right now — offense, defense, otherwise,” Ulbrich said. “So, he’s tough. He’s going to challenge our guys’ discipline as far as the way we rush him. He’s going to challenge us on the back end the way he throws the ball.”

The Bills have surrounded Allen with offensive weapons, including former Georgia running back James Cook. He leans on his tight ends, Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Wide receivers Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir are solid.

“He’s surrounded with a skill group now that’s better than he’s had, in my opinion, in the last couple of years,” Ulbrich said. “So, that’s a problem as well.”

The Bills are coming of a 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, who held Cook to 49 yards rushing. The Patriots defense rallied to Cook while daring the wide receivers to get open.

“When they get the run game going and they got everything popping, it can make it a very difficult task,” Ulbrich said. “So, we’re going to have to play our best football. It’s going to be, like I told the guys, we’ve got to earn the right to win this game.”

The Bills have been to the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons, including two trips to the AFC championship game. The national audience may not be not expecting much from the Falcons, who have had seven consecutive losing seasons.

“It’s got to be championship-level prep, as it always is, but we’ve got to go to another space,” Ulbrich said.

Allen’s running to pick up first downs could be an issue for the Falcons.

“He’s just a playmaker,” Terrell said. “The play is never dead. You have to play all the way through the whistle, continue to compete at a high level all the way throughout the game.”

Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss, who has blitzed 23 times this season, will be a part of the attack plan.

“He’s a super special player,” Elliss said. “He’s got his team competing for a Super Bowl each and every year. He’s a very special player. Getting to go against the best is fun, brings a challenge. Yeah, linebackers have got to help corral him.”

When Allen leaves the pocket to run, the Falcons will need to gang tackle. The Bills will also have some designed runs for Allen.

“He’s so good,” Elliss said. “Every season, his talent grows. His athleticism. Shaking off defenders. Running. All the things that he does great.”

Allen is also a student of the game.

“He’s also very cerebral,” Ellis said. “He’s very good at using his cadence. Very good at using the entire play clock. He gets to the ball fast enough so that he can go through all his checks and give you cadence, try to get you to show what you’re going to do.”

Allen has been studying the Falcons.

“Their safeties fly around,” Allen told the Buffalo media Wednesday. “(Xavier) Watts and (Jessie) Bates (III), they do a good job of really holding their shell and not tipping which way they are rolling down or if they are staying high. Their front is doing a good job of flying around and rushing the quarterback. They’ve been forcing a couple of turnovers, getting the ball out.”

Watts is looking forward to his “MNF” debut.

“I mean, it’s awesome,” Watts said. “It’s pretty cool. I don’t think about it too much, like, off the field.”

He knows Allen is special and likes to use his tight end.

“I’m not going to be like, fanboying over (Allen) but, I mean, it’s going to be cool,” Watt said.

Bates is ready for the matchup

“Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in this league for a reason,” Bates said. “He does a really good job of playing on time and then being able to extend plays. … We have to work together this week, for sure.”

“Yeah, he’s one of those guys that he’s got elite trust in all of his skills,” Ulbrich said. “The way that he just distributes the ball tells you that. It’s funny, the progression might say, go here with the ball. So, I know sometimes they’re trying to spread the ball around a little bit more than maybe they have in the past. But at the end of the day, it’s like he gets to that fourth and fifth read on a consistent basis.”

In the 2022 victory, the Jets ran the ball for 174 yards and won the time-of-possession battle (32:44 to 27:15). Basically, they played keep-away from Allen, who threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. Allen finished with a 46.8 passer rating.

In the 2023 victory, Jets returner Xavier Gipson scored on a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown in overtime. Allen threw three interceptions and was sacked five times. He had a 62.7 passer rating.