FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There might be players in the NFL who are having better statistical seasons than Josh Allen.
Very few, however, are more valuable to their team than the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback is to his. Allen demonstrated that time and time again Sunday, authoring a strong case for why he should be the NFL MVP this season in leading the Bills to a crucial 33-21 victory over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Report Card: Bills dominate through the air – offensively and defensively – in decisive win
Allen was simply sublime from start to finish in throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover or getting sacked as the Bills moved back into first place in the AFC East. The rest of the season is simple – win out and the Bills repeat as division champions and host at least one playoff game at Highmark Stadium.
“We’re right where we want to be right now,” Allen said after the win.
For that, Bills fans can thank their starting quarterback. Allen did what he did playing behind a makeshift offensive line ravaged by both Covid-19 and a brutal injury to guard Ike Boettger, and with two of his top receivers – Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis – also on the Covid-19 list.
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Allen now has 131 total touchdowns in his career, second most in NFL history in a player’s first four seasons behind only Dan Marino (144).
“I mean, Josh makes a quarter of a billion dollars, you know? Josh is worth every penny,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “I say that jokingly, but Josh is just one of those guys that, he cares about his teammates. He's an over competitor. You see it. … 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.”
Allen certainly put that on against the Patriots. He led the offense on a 13-play, 61-yard drive on the first offensive possession that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie on a fourth-and-2 play.
In the second quarter, Allen fired a dart to Stefon Diggs for a 12-yard touchdown that extended the Bills’ lead to 17-7. After the Patriots cut the Bills’ lead in the fourth quarter to 26-21 with 7:37 remaining – leaving fans at home in Western New York surely saying “here we go again” – Allen responded by leading a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a creative, 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox for the points that all but ensured a huge Buffalo victory.
“I thought his approach during the week gave him a chance to do that today and that’s where the process comes in,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “And not just Josh, but really the entire football team. When you do things right during the week and you get yourself ready to go – this is a tough place to play against a very good football team, well-coached team – and I thought we played good football today.”
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Allen surpassed 100 career passing touchdowns, which makes him the ninth player in NFL history to reach that number in his first four seasons. He also surpassed 4,000 yards passing for the season, becoming the only player in team history to tally multiple seasons with 4,000-plus passing yards.
“That guy is unbelievable,” Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “He deserves all the accolades because he is the real deal. He works so hard and this is his life. We all trust the ball in his hands any time the game is on the line. Whether we are up or down, in No. 17 we trust. I love that guy. Very happy with his success.”
The Bills return home for a pair of games to close the regular season – against Atlanta and the New York Jets.
“We have to finish,” Allen said. “It starts off with our next one. That's all we're really going to focus on. We can't look too far into the future. It's got to be this next one.”
With the quarterback playing the way he is, Bills fans will like their chances.
2. Devin Singletary gave the offense a boost. Make it consecutive strong games for Devin Singletary, who finished with 78 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown. Singletary set the tone early, with a terrific, individual effort to gain a first down on the Bills’ second offensive play after a short completion from Allen.
“Devin, I can't say enough how reliable he is,” Allen said. “He's smart. If you watch him on any given play, whether he gets the ball or not, he is around the ball. He is helping the pile. He was following the ball in case someone fumbles. He just does everything the right way. He's everything you want in a running back.
“He's had his opportunities this year and today he had some good ones. My mind goes to that first series play. He catches the (ball in the) flat, 2 yards downfield and he turns it into a first down – allows us to skip a first down. Obviously, the touchdown run, just some tough yards and again when you have someone that you can rely on him that much – I've got so much faith in him and I'm so happy that he's shining."
The Bills’ running back scored a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, capping a terrific drive by the offense after New England had converted a pair of fourth downs on a touchdown drive to cut the Buffalo lead to 20-14.
The Bills have given Singletary 34 carries over the last two games, clearly settling on him as their featured back.
“I got started early and was able to get going and we got the win,” he said. “So it definitely helped to get started early.”
3. The game was physical from start to finish. The Bills lost several players to various injuries, the most serious of which was suffered by Boettger in the second quarter. He suffered a ruptured Achilles, which means he’s out for the rest of the season.
“I think we take this time to really feeling for our guy, Ike,” center Mitch Morse said. “That's a guy who, you know, is kind of silent but deadly. He's been a glue for this offensive line behind the scenes that no one has really seen. That was a shock for us.”
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver, cornerback Levi Wallace, Diggs and Singletary all also came out of the game and were looked at by athletic trainers at different points. Singletary suffered an ankle injury, which was the only one to be officially announced by the team, and the good news is that all those injured players were able to come back into the game.
4. The defense won the turnover battle. Safety Micah Hyde recorded a pair of interceptions of Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones – one in the second quarter after the ball was tipped by both linebacker A.J. Klein and cornerback Siran Neal, and one in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
The Bills, meanwhile, did not commit a turnover.
“Any time you can get takeaways is huge,” Hyde said. “That's what we come out here and try to do. We try to force the quarterback into (being) one dimensional, throwing the football and then from there try to take the ball away.”
Hyde has five interceptions, tying his career single-season high, and the two-interception game was the second of his career.
Quarter by quarter: Strong start on defense, Allen's 100th TD mark 33-21 win over Pats
5. Knox provided the nail in the coffin. The Bills’ tight end got some redemption with his 2-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter after an earlier touchdown catch was wiped out by an illegal man downfield penalty against guard Daryl Williams. Knox and Diggs are the second duo in team history with at least nine touchdown receptions in the same season, joining Peerless Price and Eric Moulds in 2002.
6. Beasley was in the news ahead of the game. The Bills’ slot receiver has reportedly violated the NFL's Covid-19 protocols multiple times this season. Those violations, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen, have cost Beasley in the range of $100,000.
According to the report, Beasley has been fined "multiple times." That includes once for $14,600 in August when league officials were at One Bills Drive to review the protocols, a fine that Beasley acknowledged on social media at the same time as McKenzie was fined. Beasley said he was fined for taking "five steps" into the team facility without a mask.
"The $14,600 fine has been doubled on more than one occasion via video monitoring by the league," Mortensen reported.
Despite being unavailable to play Sunday, Beasley will still collect his game check of $261,111. The agreement between the league and the NFL Players' Association allows even unvaccinated players such as Beasley to receive their full pay, even if they miss a game because of Covid-19.
According to Mortensen's report, several team executives believe that in 2022, if an unvaccinated player misses time because of landing on the Covid-19 list, that player should not be paid for the game or games he misses.
7. The Bills switched things up at running back again. Running back Matt Breida was a healthy inactive, which meant Zack Moss, who had been inactive in the past two games and three of the past four, returned to the lineup. The one game Moss was active over that stretch was the last meeting against the Patriots, in which he had eight carries for 21 yards, and another 12 receiving yards on two catches.
Moss finished with three carries for 12 yards in the win.
Breida played the last six games, following a stretch of six games in which he was inactive.
Also inactive for the Bills were tight end Tommy Sweeney and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who did not practice Thursday or Friday for personal reasons and did not make the trip.
Defensive end A.J. Epenesa also missed the game, as he’s also on the reserve/Covid-19 list.
