Josh Allen, the guy everyone thought was maybe, just maybe, starting to slip after a rough 2025, just pulled off one of his signature disappearing acts, dropping a mind-blowing 7.1% pressure-to-sack rate against the Patriots. It’s official: the magic is back, and the rest of the league needs to start worrying.
What Was Going On In 2025? And The Shaky Start To 2026
Let’s be real, last season was a tough look for Allen when it came to avoiding sacks. He took a career-high 40 sacks during the regular season in 2025. That “hidden superpower” everyone raved about, his incredible ability to conjure elusiveness and make something out of nothing? It totally faded. His pressure-to-sack rate, which is literally just how often a pressure turns into a sack, shot up to 18.6%. That was his highest rate since 2019, and it ranked him a dismal 28th out of 45 qualifying quarterbacks. For context, if you’re hitting 20% or more, you’re really struggling. This led a lot of people to speculate that at Age 29, Allen was starting to decline. And the start of the 2026 campaign didn’t exactly calm those fears. In the first three games leading into Week 4, Allen was sacked eight times! His pressure-to-sack rates looked shaky, hitting 16.7%, then 11.8%, and then a truly whopping 33.3% in one game. You saw those numbers, I saw those numbers. We were all wondering, “Is this it? Is the wizard finally done with his tricks?”
The Resurrection: Magic After The Bye Week
Well, folks, to borrow a line, the reports of the death of Allen’s ability to evade sacks were greatly exaggerated. Big time. In the last three outings, Allen has absolutely summoned that sack-eluding magic again, and it’s been a show. He’s only been sacked three times, and his pressure-to-sack rates? Get this: 7.1% against the Patriots, 9.1% against the Rams, and a stellar 7.7% in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Seriously, these numbers are elite-level stuff. Even better, these incredibly low rates came after there was serious talk about a potential knee injury he sustained from a hit to his leg in the second half against the Chargers in Week 3. Talk about overcoming adversity! When a quarterback is hovering near 10% in pressure-to-sack rate, that means he’s probably the most elusive guy in the entire NFL in those high-pressure situations. Allen is back squarely in that territory. In fact, throughout the 2020s, no quarterback has been better than Allen when it comes to dodging sacks in the face of pressure. Even with that “shaky-ish” start to the year, Allen’s overall 2026 pressure-to-sack rate entering the bye week is 13.9%, which is almost identical to his career average of 13.7%.
So what’s the deal here? It means Josh Allen is still *that guy*. He’s still the wizard in the pocket, defying expectations and making defensive coordinators rip their hair out. After a down 2025 and a bumpy start to 2026, he’s back to his elite form, showing everyone why he’s dominated this stat for years. This isn’t just a good stretch; this is Allen reminding everyone exactly who he is.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Buffalo Rumblings.
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