Josh Allen is one of the NFL's biggest stars, but inside the Bills' quarterback room, criticism is encouraged.
Backup quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele, along with quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree, spend every week challenging Allen's ideas, critiquing his mechanics and helping prepare him for Sunday's opponent.
Game day in the NFL is the most important day of the week. But behind the scenes, the Bills quarterback room uses every day of the week to their advantage.
From film study to position meetings, to sharing likes and dislikes for specific play calls, each day has a purpose.
Monday serves as both a review and reset day. The group studies the previous game to identify what worked, what didn't and which adjustments need to be made moving forward.
One topic in particular that is usually top of mind is Josh Allen's throwing mechanics from the previous game.
"I speak mechanics to them all the time, and I feel like they have a pretty good grasp of that, and they have a good grasp of seeing how I'm doing, how I'm throwing it," Josh said.
Kyle and Shane have a unique vantage point on helping Josh work on his game, spending time with other NFL teams over the course of their careers, also relating to playing the position at the highest level.
"I think Kyle and Shane do an incredible job on the sidelines and throughout the week of just hitting coaching points," head coach Joe Brady said. "Different guys are looking at his feet; different guys are talking to him in terms of coverages."
Both backup QBs are now in their second stints in Buffalo. Kyle Allen has played for six different teams in his nine-year career, while Shane Buechele has bounced back and forth between the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs throughout his first six years in the league.
"They've both been in really good offenses in the past, been around some really, really good play callers, been around some really good quarterbacks," Josh said of his fellow QBs.
Tuesday brings the first look at the upcoming opponent, watching cutups from their previous matchups and brainstorming ideas for what would work well on game day.
With the hours throughout the week spent in meetings heavily outweighing the amount of practice time, finding time to enjoy their preparation is important.
This includes playing games like Pro Football Reference's Immaculate Grid (but only picking QBs), while also trying to make each other laugh as much as possible through the long periods of time in the room.
"It's a fun vibe in our room," Josh said.
Josh values the relationship he has with his fellow signal-callers, knowing that they have his best interest at heart. That's one reason why a player of his caliber doesn't take offense when his mistakes are pointed out.
"I think you can get in rooms and kind of be scared to tell a guy like Josh Allen, who's won an MVP and is the best in the league; you can kind of be scared to tell him what to do, but he invites it," Shane said.
"He invites criticism if we have any," Shane added. "And that's what I really admire about him: a guy of his talent and a guy who has won an MVP, still takes ideas and different things from the room. We all hold each other accountable, which I think is important for a QB room."
Kyle Allen has self-proclaimed himself as "one of Josh's biggest haters," bringing seriousness to the room that has helped the pair never stay complacent. The pair have a brother-like bond, both trying to make the other better any way they can.
"We're just competitive in everything we do. And so, you want to be better than him, and that's turned into... Josh is also my biggest hater," Kyle said. "So, it's the same way. It's healthy hate."
But what does "healthy hate" look like in practicality?
"You just want to be better than the other person. You're just always in competition mode. Never comfortable; we're not soft with each other. We hold each other accountable and call it how we see it. We obviously love each other, but we're the biggest haters too," Kyle added.
Josh and Kyle have known each other since before either one had ever suited up for an NFL team, dating back to when they both came out of the 2018 NFL Draft.
"We're basically family; we've been close for a really long time," Kyle said. "It's cool to be able to be on the same team with him and support him in his role and try to help this team win."
Wednesday is a long day of work for the group and the first true day of prep for game day. They fully install first and second down play calls, watching games and cutups from around the league throughout several meetings.
They then hit the practice field to begin the physical work ahead of the game, where the "work hard, play hard" mindset remains evident.
After practice concludes, they hop in a meeting again to talk over the session and intro what Thursday will look like. Again, Josh relies on his room, wanting Kyle and Shane to let him know what they're seeing from his mechanics, how practice went, and what he can work on during the next day of practice.
"He trusts them, and their opinions matter, and I think that's important, and it's important to him," QB coach Bo Hardegree said. "If there's something that we're fifty-fifty on, he's going to ask them, 'What do you guys think?'"
Bo leads the meetings as the coach of the room, taking on a teacher-like mindset.
He keeps the group engaged by quizzing and testing them throughout to ensure the information is being retained, not moving past any steps without making sure they're all on the same page with the game plan.
The quizzes feed into the competitive mindsets from the group, giving them a chance to one-up each other. Bo has learned how to set his group up for success throughout his first year in Buffalo, also growing his bond with each one of the QBs as the season progresses.
"That's my job obviously, as their quarterback coach to set the table, but also my job is to read the room too," Bo said. "And whether that's taking a break or go get a coffee, or it's after we just installed a bunch of stuff, asking them constant questions.
"These guys are competitive athletes, so you have to teach them that way, too. It's different than some other things, how people learn. And it is about how 17 [Josh Allen] learns. And I've got to get Kyle and Shane going too, because they're all obviously one play away."
Thursday, the focus shifts to down and distances, with an emphasis on third down. They get back on the practice field again, getting a chance to work on stuff they've talked about from Wednesday.
Shane is constantly looking for notes to give Josh for these practices. The 28-year-old prides himself on learning as much about the game as possible, with many seeing him as an extension of the coaching staff.
His coach-like mind has been an asset to Josh in preparing for each matchup, diving deep into what teams are doing around the league and giving his input throughout the week.
"I've done a lot of work off the field, in the film room, just to be able to see it from a coaching point of view and really understand schemes and defenses and different things, and I think that's helped me see it from that point of view," Shane said. "But also, I'm on the field too, and I'm a player, so I see it from the player standpoint too, because when you're in the line of battle, it's a whole lot different than seeing it from the sideline. I think seeing it from both sides is important."
Friday, the final practice day of the week, is red zone day for the QBs, also going through what to expect in short yardage, at the goal line and making any last major fixes from Wednesday's base down work.
The pair of backups are usually some of the last ones off the practice field at the end of the day, staying out there to get their necessary work done.
"This offense is really complicated," Kyle said. "I'm one play away [from having to play]. So, it's making sure that you're just super comfortable with everything on the play sheet. You've got to go through it all, make sure you have an answer for whatever the opponent can bring."
"It's important to make sure that we're doing the work for ourselves that we need too, just in case anything happens," Shane said. "We always say that we've got to work like we're the starter just in case, God forbid anything happens, that we're ready because there's not a lot of opportunities in the league. So when an opportunity comes up, we've got to be ready, and you don't want that to happen, obviously, but if it does, we'll be ready."
Saturday is the final day of reflection, with no practice, but walkthroughs of situations and any other last-minute details. The group makes sure they all feel comfortable taking on anything in the playbook any given week.
"The most important thing is to go into Sunday and make sure Josh is comfortable with every call on that call sheet," Bo said. "That for him as a quarterback, he's never going to a game and kind of like, 'Eh, I didn't really like that play.' So that's talking about it throughout the week, every single day when we come in, 'Hey, how'd you feel about this?' And just making sure by the time the ball's kicked off, he's comfortable with every call on the sheet."
Sunday is where all the work comes together. While Josh Allen is the engine behind the Bills offense, Kyle, Shane and Bo are always putting their heads together on the sidelines throughout the game to relay to Josh what they're seeing from their angle.
They meet on the sidelines to look over screenshots from previous drives on the tablets, pointing out anything that stands out. The group is a well-oiled machine when making changes on the fly.
"In a game like [Week 6 against the Raiders], where you're making all these adjustments in-game, having those guys to make sure to calm it all down and Josh to not blink makes life a lot easier," Brady said.
Spending more hours than they can count in meetings together gives them the best outlook as to how Josh is seeing things on the field. They can relate the film from the week to what's happening mid-game, doing all they can to set the team up for success.
"They talk to him; they communicate with him," offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said. "It's all supportive, even if they feel like they might have an improvement for something, but I think there's just a ton of communication along those lines. Those three guys, they love the game, and their passion for it and their communication with each other is really special."
After Sunday's game comes to an end, they look forward to doing it all again. The opportunity to improve and put the work in excites the group, always making sure that Josh is at the top of his game.
"It's all about 17 and making him comfortable and confident, and the guys around him feel that, he feels it, and then they can go out and they can play free and play fast and score a bunch of points," Hardegree said.
"Having a good room is important, like the QB room that we have, and then it's just about putting in the work," Buechele said. "I love to work, and that's one thing that we do here, man. We work hard, but we also have a great room. There's not a lot of places like this… Buffalo, it's a special place."
