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The Buffalo Bills earned the second seed in the AFC with a 13-4 record thanks in large part to an MVP-caliber season from quarterback Josh Allen and a balanced offensive attack that made NFL history in 2024. The Bills became the first team to ever record 30 passing touchdowns and 30 rushing touchdowns in a single year. And the architect of that potent attack, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, is drawing interest from teams looking to hire a new head coach.
Realizing how valuable Brady is to the Bills’ success, Allen isn’t quite ready to part with his OC. The seventh-year passer tried his best to quell the hype surrounding the coordinator when he was asked what Brady brought to Buffalo’s offense this season. “Nothing. Teams should stay away from him,” Allen said, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on X. Unfortunately for Allen and the Bills, that probably won’t be enough to take Brady off teams’ short list of head coaching candidates.
Brady joined the Bills in 2022 as the quarterbacks coach. Midway through the 2023 season, Buffalo fired OC Ken Dorsey. After the move, Brady was promoted to interim coordinator. Then the team hired Brady as full time offensive coordinator prior to the 2024 campaign.
Brady’s success has come from taking pressure off of Allen by running a more balanced attack on offense. Over the first six years of his career, the Pro Bowl QB was the entire offense. But Brady emphasized the rushing game, which has done wonders for Allen’s career.
Josh Allen is thriving under Bill’s OC Joe Brady
Although 2024 wasn’t Allen’s best year statistically, he’s led one of the top teams in the league this season and he’s considered one of the frontrunners for MVP. But aside from individual success, the team presents a far greater challenge under Brady now that they’re not so one dimensional.
Naturally starting running back James Cook also benefits from the new scheme. Like Allen, Cook didn’t have the best statistical season of his career in 2024 in terms of total yards. But he was highly effective in Brady’s deployment. Cook was tied for the league lead in rushing scores with 16 and he was second in total touchdowns with 18.
The switch in offensive philosophy under Brady did not diminish Buffalo’s potent offense. The Bills became the first team since the Peyton Manning-era Broncos to score 30 or more points in eight straight games. They reached that total in 12 of 17 games this season. Buffalo boasted the second-best scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 30.9 points per game, behind only the Detroit Lions.
The Bills will take on the scrappy Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round on Sunday afternoon. Denver will travel to Buffalo as the Bills look to exploit the inexperience of promising rookie passer Bo Nix.
