Orchard Park, N.Y. -- Last season when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen played the New England Patriots in his only outing against the team’s AFC East rival, he outplayed the iconic Tom Brady.

Allen threw for almost 100 yards more than Brady and they each threw a touchdown and two interceptions. The Bills lost that game 24-12, mostly because New England gashed Buffalo in the run game to the tune of 273 yards.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick saw enough out of Allen last season and through three games in 2019 to label the 23-year-old as a problem for his vaunted defense on Sunday.

“He can pretty much do everything with the ball in his hands. He’s got a tremendous arm. So every spot on the field is available: deep, sidelines you have to cover a lot of fields,” Belichick said Tuesday on his conference call with Buffalo reporters. “He’s athletic, can extend plays, and he can run with the ball. He can make yards with the ball in his hand and he’s hard to tackle in the pocket.”

The Patriots contained Allen as a runner last season, holding him to just 30 yards on five carries. But Belichick said it’s about how he uses his legs as a passer that makes him extra difficult to deal with.

“He doesn’t run to run. He can run and make yards but he can also avoid and extend plays - make big plays in the passing game on extended plays,” Belichick said." The receivers do a good job of getting open and uncovering in man or zone on those. So he is a problem because of the way he extends plays, both as a runner and a passer. He’s a very hard guy to tackle."

In the Bills’ first three games Allen has been up and down as a passer. Most agree that he’s been mostly good but the bad has been head scratching at times. He’s thrown for 750 yards (17th in NFL), three touchdowns (24th), three interceptions (6th), completed 64.1 percent of his passes (24th) and has a 83.4 quarterback rating (28th).

Most of those rankings among his peers at the position are improvements on what he did as a rookie.

Belichick said that his development has happened because of more experience, which has upped his confidence.

“(Allen) Sees things and recognizes things quicker. (Offensive coordinator Brian) Daboll keeps it moving with different personnel groups and a variety of formations,” Belichick said. “They do a lot of different things to keep the defense off balance. But you know, Allen does an excellent job of recognizing things, getting the ball to his playmakers, and extending plays when things don’t open up quickly.”

READ MORE

Patriots’ Bill Belichick: There are few game day experiences like Bills Mafia

Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots: 7 things to know about Buffalo’s Week 4 opponent

Buffalo Bills face ‘unbelievable’ challenge vs. New England Patriots, Sean McDermott says

Bills vs. Patriots ticket prices skyrocket to highest in the last 15 years