Josh Allen Is Destroying The NFL’s Dumbest Narrative
Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
There was a consensus among so-called experts that 2024 would be a rebuilding year for the Buffalo Bills. After multiple seasons of failing to reach the top of the mountain, Stefon Diggs, the receiver many believed elevated Josh Allen, wanted out. The quarterback’s new deal had kicked in, affecting the salary cap and producing a roster that hadn’t proved they were on the verge of breaking out.
Essentially, it appeared that no one believed Allen was in the tier of talent that could elevate a changing roster in the way the all-time great quarterbacks often did. Unfortunately, some of his peers agreed. Prior to the season, ESPN took a poll of 103 anonymous NFL players about the league’s quarterbacks and they named Allen the most overrated quarterback in the league.
*Cue the laughter.*
Nearly three quarters through the season, Allen has taken what has to be the offseason’s dumbest narrative and completely flipped it on his head. He’s balling out with MVP-level play week after week, all while leading one of — and perhaps the — best teams in the NFL.
Allen is proving that he is an elevator. Where people thought he would miss Diggs, he is instead lifting a nondescript set of weapons to heights above their assumed potential. The Bills already have seven receivers with 14+ receptions on the season, not counting the newly acquired Amari Cooper, as Allen has masterfully deployed a balanced attack, as opposed to last year’s Diggs-heavy offense.
“Perhaps the most impressive part of Allen’s MVP campaign is that he’s doing it without an established Robin to his Batman.” ESPN recently noted. “In the aftermath of the Stefon Diggs trade, the Bills have relied on an ensemble cast rather than an elite top receiver. Still, Allen is finding success spreading the ball around. Eleven different Bills players have caught touchdown throws from him.”
Through the bye week, Allen has a 98.2 quarterback rating with a 68.7 completion percentage and an 18-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio. He’s also added 316 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Per PFF, he has the most Big Time Throws this season with 26. No other QB has more than 21.
Oh, by the way, the Bills signal-caller broke off the biggest play in the biggest moment of the biggest game of the season thus far.
On 4th & 2 with 2:27 left in regulation, Josh Allen dropped back before breaking off a 26-yard TD run.
Allen had just a 1.2% chance of scoring a touchdown once he tucked the ball to run. It was Allen's first scramble TD run against the Chiefs in his career.
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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 18, 2024
“Josh Allen is the most effective running quarterback EVER,” Fox Sports’ Nick Wright said earlier last week. “Josh Allen scrambles are more effective and more debilitating in crucial moments than any quarterback running play ever!”
To throw some more dirt on this terrible take, how about a good old-fashioned Tom Brady comparison?
Through their first 104 career starts, Josh Allen's passing stats are INSANELY similar to Tom Brady's. Like, within hundredths of a point similar in many categories. (And Josh is a FAR better runner.)
This is crazy.#GoBills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/g3mA2WiDw8
— Josh Allen Stats (@JoshAllenStats) November 21, 2024
Maybe most important of all: Allen has the locker room firmly on his side. He is the unquestioned leader of one of the best teams in the league. The journey of an all-time NFL quarterback is often one that moves through multiple iterations. Brady won a bunch of Super Bowls, but did so with essentially four different versions of an organization. We are seeing the same thing in Kansas City, as Patrick Mahomes’ high-flying, high-scoring Chiefs teams turned into defense-first, low-scoring juggernauts.
The best quarterbacks carry their teams through. We are getting our first glimpse at Josh Allen 2.0, and it’s everything we could’ve wanted and then some. It’s the sort of performance that makes you believe he can elevate his receivers in a way that allows Buffalo to put their resources toward the less-glamourous but equally important positions on the field. Simply put, it turns out that not only was he not overrated — he may have been underrated.
None of this of course surprises the superstar himself who, when the article came out, told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “My reaction is: I’m not mad that 11 players not on my team don’t like me.”
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