On a windy night in New Jersey, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills went back and forth with Aaron Rodgers and the host New York Jets.
It was a game rife with missed field goals, penalties and amazing heaves from both quarterbacks, but the Bills prevailed over the Jets on Monday night, 23-20, with Allen tallying three touchdowns before clinching the win on a 6-yard first down run.
Allen emerged from the third-and-4 conversion screaming in celebration with his Bills firmly atop the AFC East, having survived a crazy game by rebounding from a disastrous performance just the week prior.
“It was great, I wanted to just come out and play a clean game, get to my reads quickly,” Allen said. “I’m not sure what I finished with, but felt like we were pretty efficient on the offensive side of the ball.”
Amid the chaos of the evening — which saw three missed field goals and 22 accepted penalties — Allen’s efficiency saw him complete 19 of 25 passes for 215 yards, two touchdown passes and a 127.9 rating, along with nine carries for 18 yards and a third TD.
“Josh was seeing the game, he was seeing their defensive looks and going through his progression, getting the ball out when he needed to,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “And then he made some loose plays, like he always does.”
It was Allen’s 21st career game with multiple passing TDs and at least one rushing TD, which trails just Cam Newton (22) for the most all time, per NFL Research.
It was also a massive return to form after he was a dreadful 9-of-30 for 131 yards, a TD and a 56.4 rating against Houston last Sunday in a game with the exact score as Monday’s, only with Buffalo on the losing end.
Unlike the Week 5 loss to the Texans, Allen was back to being himself, a must-watch whirling dervish.
Following an opening-drive march keyed by rookie running back Ray Davis and concluded by a 1-yard Allen sneak for six, the Bills had a 7-3 lead.
It was Allen’s amazing arm talent that lifted the Bills to the game’s biggest lead after back-to-back TD drives in the second quarter.
Both of his scoring strikes were sensational.
The first was a quick-release laser over the middle to Mack Hollins for an 8-yard touchdown.
The second was a confounding scramble and throw in which Allen initially appeared to be sacked, but somehow eluded two Jets pass rushers, swept left and fired to Dawson Knox for a 12-yard score inside the pylon.
It was, however, a play that led to the Hollins score which encapsulated Allen’s otherworldly abilities with his legs and arm combined.
Seemingly in peril and at risk of taking a safety, Allen rolled right, outran the rush and heaved a deep ball to an airborne Davis, who hauled in a 42-yard gain. It kick-started the 90-yard drive that ended with Hollins’ score.
“Our quarterback is Josh Allen, you’ve got to be ready for anything,” Davis told NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo of the play. “That man was going out of bounds, launched a rocket, and it was about just catching it. I’ve got to make him look good. So, at the end of the day it was about catching, getting the ball down and just getting us in the best position to go out there and score.”
Remarkably, Allen was running 16.26 mph when he released the throw to Davis, per Next Gen Stats. It’s the fastest speed a QB has been traveling on a deep completion (20 or more air yards) over the last two seasons.
It was the Jets who ended the first half celebrating, though, after a Rodgers Hail Mary was caught by Allen Lazard. For the most part, the Bills’ offense was held in check in the second half.
Allen was able to drive his squad 64 yards in the fourth quarter for a Tyler Bass field goal, which would stand as the 23-20 game-winner following a Rodgers interception and Allen’s aforementioned 6-yard run that allowed Buffalo to run out the clock.
It was hardly perfect, but it was no doubt a sigh of relief for the Bills to see Allen snap back into MVP form and end Buffalo’s two-game losing skid.
It was also the continuation of a season in which he’s now thrown 10 touchdowns with no interceptions. He had 18 INTs last year. So far this campaign, he’s cleaned up his biggest bugaboo.
After last week’s misstep, Allen once again was running fast, throwing long and making great decisions. A one-man roller coaster in a Buffalo Bills uniform, Allen got back to his ridiculous ways on Monday night.
“The first half was very good, and we’ve got to find a way in that second half to keep that momentum going,” Allen said. “Lot to learn from, we got a little sloppy there at the end, some penalties, but that was a team win.”
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