Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Normally, my article after a Buffalo Bills game will have many different thoughts and opinions that come to me over the course of the game.
I'm going to do something different this time. I'm just going to focus on one player: Joshua Patrick Allen.
If the Bills' franchise quarterback doesn't win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award this season, I'm not sure he ever will.
Allen locked up the award with his play over the last four games. Three of those four games were in a national television window, so hopefully all the MVP voters have been watching Allen as he goes through the best season of his NFL career.
Against a Detroit Lions team on Sunday that had won 11 games in-a-row and had the best record in the NFC, Allen put on another show for the world to see at Ford Field.
As has been the case in almost every game this season, Allen was in complete command and control of the Bills offense. Like he did one week earlier against the Los Angeles Rams, Allen orchestrated scoring drive after scoring drive, and continually frustrated the opposing defense by making plays with his right arm and his legs.
I thought it would be fun to recap some of Allen's top moments from the Bills' 11th win of the season. Let's start with the first half:
First drive:
- A 33-yard drop in the bucket throw over a defender to running back Ty Johnson.
- On 3rd-and-5, Allen runs to the right sideline and stops before threading a pass back to the middle of the field. A 24-yard catch for Johnson eventually leads to a Bills touchdown. (7-0 Bills)
Second drive:
- On the first play, Allen scrambled around to extend the play and then threw a 28-yard pass to running back James Cook. This drive ends in a touchdown to give the Bills a 14-0 lead.
Third drive:
- On a 4th-and-2, Allen connects with Johnson again, this time for 31 yards. It eventually lead to another touchdown to put the Bills up 21-7.
Fourth drive:
- On the first play, Allen runs to the right sideline and then heaves the ball more than 50 yards in the air to wide receiver Keon Coleman, knowing full well he was about to get crushed. The 64 yard play doesn't lead to any points, because Tyler Bass missed a 24-yard field goal attempt.
Now we can move on to the second half:
Fourth drive:
- On a 3rd-and-4, Allen makes a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid for 29 yards. The Bills get a field goal on this drive to go up 38-21.
Sixth drive:
- Allen runs for seven yards on 3rd-and-4 to keep this important drive going. Allen later makes a crazy chest pass touchdown throw to tight end Dawson Knox, but it's wiped out by a penalty. The Bills settled for a field goal to go up 48-35 with two minutes left in the game.
The significance of the possession on the sixth drive, specifically, is Allen putting together a 10-play drive that took six minutes off the clock and added the three points.
This came right after a Lions touchdown reduced the Bills' lead to 10 points. It also came at a point when the Bills defense literally couldn't stop the Lions, who scored a touchdown on each of their last four possessions of the second half.
Related
Allen ended up with 430 total yards of offense (362 pass, 68 run) and four touchdowns (two through the air and two on the ground). He also had no turnovers, and continues to exhibit his best decision-making and ball security of his career.
This was Allen's 10th game without an interception this season, which ties his single-season career high.
The Bills offense had 11 possessions and produced six touchdowns, to go along with a pair of field goals. The 595 total yards of offense was the fifth-most in a game in Bills history, and a new career high for Allen.
Overall, the Bills averaged an eye-popping 8.2 yards a play.
The Bills were 5-for-7 in the red zone, and converted 50% on third down.
Allen spread his 23 pass completions around. Running backs had eight catches, wide receivers had nine, and tight ends accounted for six receptions. Allen had seven explosive pass plays (20 yards or more) to five different targets.
In case you were wondering what the numbers are for Allen, when you include the Rams game, he has accounted for 855 total yards of offense and 10 touchdowns.
The Bills scored more than 40 points in back-to-back games for just the third time in franchise history. Two of those are from Allen (the other time came in 2021), and the other from Hall-of-Famer Jim Kelly in 1990.
I feel like it needs to be said again: Joshua Patrick Allen: 2024 NFL MVP.