FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (WKBW) — Christmas came a few months early for Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The fourth-year signal caller signed a historic six-year, $258 million extension before the season began. Allen eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark on Sunday against the New England Patriots. He's also closing in on another 40-touchdown season (34 pass TDs, 4 rush TDs).
He's worth every penny. Just ask his teammates.
"Josh makes a quarter of a billion dollars, you know?" Dion Dawkins said. "He cares about his teammates and he's an overcompetitor. And you can see it. Like, the media and people talk, and Josh just keeps his mouth shut, his head down, and performs. And I wouldn't have expected anything else. Before any game, we can hear his fire in his voice of what was about to happen. And whenever that is, just be ready for a show."
"It's no worries. Just have his back," running back Devin Singletary said. "And we know he's gonna make plays."
Allen proved once again that he's capable of doing it all. The AFC's first alternate at quarterback threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns and tacked on another 64 yards on the ground. Sunday's 33-21 win over New England marked his sixth 300-yard passing game of the season.
"Rollouts, naked [bootleg]s, quick game, some deep shots, it just forces the defense to play different situations, and really, each inch of the grass," Allen said. "Our guys stepped up. We had a lot of key plays today that maybe the game's different if it goes the other way. And there's still some things left out there that we want back."
The Bills had to settle for two field goals in Sunday's win. Red zone struggles have plagued Buffalo all season long. But all three of Allen's scores came from less than 20 yards out. Two of those throws were darts. The last was a creative flip to Dawson Knox that sealed the deal in the fourth quarter. For the entire game, Buffalo never punted the ball away.
"[Bills punter] Matt Haack came out and was like, 'We need to get a picture. I've never done that in my career,'" Allen said. "We got a picture. That was pretty cool. Again, whether or not we continue going, we've got to keep going, and we can see this team in the future, and we know that."
A part of that easy day that Haack had was due to the Bills' aggressiveness on fourth down. Buffalo went for broke in those situations four times. The offense converted on three, including on the opening drive for Isaiah McKenzie's touchdown that opened up the scoring.
"Those aren't always easy decisions," head coach Sean McDermott said. "I liked how the offense had moved the ball up to that point in time. So I think it was, what, fourth and long two or three or so. Kind of in that gray area a little bit. Wanted to be aggressive."
"I think to have that trust in us, it means a lot," Allen said. "When you convert those, and you continue to convert those, what a killer it is for a defense... That's big for us. It gives us some groove and it gives us some confidence going forward. So I can't thank coach enough for putting that in position and believing in us."
The decisions had to have been at least a little easier with Allen playing the way he did. Sunday's win in Foxborough was Buffalo's last road game of the regular season; the Bills host the Atlanta Falcons at 1:00 p.m. on January 2nd.
