Bills' McCoy: Offense needs to make Allen's first NFL start 'easy on him'

Buffalo Bills veteran running back LeSean McCoy seems to be taking it upon himself to help rookie quarterback Josh Allen find success in his first NFL start on Sunday.

Allen was named the Bills' starter on Wednesday for their home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 22-year-old Wyoming product was made the seventh overall pick in April's draft. He now finds himself at the helm of the Bills' offense just one week into the 2018 season after replacing Nathan Peterman against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.

McCoy wants to make sure Allen is able to build some early confidence.

"One thing I’m going to talk to the offense about, especially the skill guys, for the rookie quarterback to have a good game for them is to make it easy on him," McCoy said, according to Kyle Silagyl of BuffaloBills.com. "Hey, if he makes a wrong read and the ball is hard to catch, catch it.

"You might not get yards after the catch, but just catching the ball will give him confidence, moving the chains. In the running back room, making guys miss, breaking tackles, everything to give him the extra advantage is critical and big for this game and his confidence."

Peterman was given the Week 1 start following the trade of veteran AJ McCarron at the end of the preseason. The sophomore quarterback struggled mightily against the Ravens, going just 5-for-18 through the air for 24 yards and two interceptions.

Allen was forced to enter in relief and completed 6 of 15 pass attempts for 74 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

McCoy said he was quickly impressed by Allen at the Bills' minicamp in June, calling the rookie "pretty good" despite admitting he's not a big fan of rookies.