Buffalo Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen has a knack for making history. During the regular season, he became the first NFL player to throw for 4,000 yards and run for 750 yards in a single campaign, and since 2018, he's gained the second-most all-purpose yards by a quarterback. So, naturally, he added another page to the league's record book on Saturday night.
In a wild-card round matchup against a division rival, Allen delivered a flawless performance, completing 21 of 25 passes for 308 yards with five touchdowns to trounce the New England Patriots, 47-17, at Highmark Stadium. According to Pro Football Reference, Allen became the very first NFL quarterback to have a playoff game with 300-plus passing yards, five-plus passing scores, and 60-plus rushing yards. Sheer dominance in a do-or-die setting.
"I love Josh Allen. I put him a slight, slight notch below the elite quarterbacks, Brady and Rodgers. I put him in the same ballpark as Mahomes, even though Mahomes has won a Super Bowl," Boston Globe senior writer Ben Volin told The DA Show on Monday. "I still think they're in a similar realm. Allen was my preseason MVP pick. Probably won't happen, but he's playing phenomenally. The only thing, though, is he might just play really well against the Patriots...
"Obviously, this Sunday against the Chiefs is going to go a long way in telling that. But his progress through his four years in the league is just remarkable... For him to improve in completion percentage and field vision the way he has, I don't know if we've ever seen a quarterback do it like Allen has... That game on Saturday was an all-time performance, I think the Bills have a good chance to go into Kansas City and pull off the upset."
From start to finish, Buffalo's offense was relentless. Their opening drive was capped off by highlight-worthy improvisation from Allen, who scrambled away from the pocket and somehow connected with Dawson Knox for an eight-yard touchdown in the back corner of the end zone. On their ensuring possession, Allen orchestrated another long scoring drive, finding Knox once again for six.
When the Bills and Patriots faced each other in Week 16, blistering wind gusts and frigid temperatures hindered Allen's offense and limited them to 10 points in a loss. But Orchard Park's bitter wind chill played no factor in Allen's rubber match. By halftime, Buffalo led by a whopping 24 points, and when the fourth quarter clock expired, they became the NFL's first team in the Super Bowl era to score on each of its seven possessions that didn't end in a kneel-down.
With the win, Buffalo will visit the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs in a marquee divisional round battle on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Bills have a 35-percent chance to reach the conference title game and a 12-percent chance to win Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles.
The entire Bills-Patriots conversation between Volin and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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