Bills’ Josh Allen makes MVP statement, hands Chiefs first loss of season
Thanks in large part to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, there are no more undefeated teams remaining in the NFL this season.
The Bills were able to hand the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season with a 30-21 win on Sunday, and it was Allen that did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Bills.
He made such an impact that it might have vaulted him into the lead in the NFL’s MVP race.
Allen was not perfect by any means on Sunday, passing for just 262 yards and throwing a brutal interception in the first half on a fourth down play. But Allen made the biggest plays, in the biggest moments, to help the Bills get the win.Â
The biggest of those plays came late in the fourth quarter on a 4th-and-3 play that produced what CBS announcer Jim Nantz called the play of the year.
He is not wrong to call it that.
With the Bills clinging to a two-point lead and not wanting Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to get the football back with a chance to win the game, the Bills elected to pass up the three points and go for the knockout punch.
Allen delivered it. Emphatically.
According to NextGen Stats, Allen had only a 1.2% chance of scoring a touchdown on the play when he decided to tuck the football and run.
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
That is the type of play that separates Allen from almost every other player in football.
He is an elite passer, and is also a game-changer with his legs. He might not be the runner that, say, Lamar Jackson is, but he runs with a fearlessness and ferocity that no other quarterback in the league does. He does not care if he is going to get hit. He is not going to slide early or give up on a play. He is going to invite contact and probably run through you and then smile while he does it.Â
On Buffalo’s offensive possession before this, Allen led the Bills on an equally impressive 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel.Â
Allen is an elite player that is doing it all for the Bills and has them with a 9-2 record in a season where they entered with quite possibly their lowest expectations in years. He is playing more efficiently, cutting down the turnovers and playing winning football.Â
This is a huge win for the Bills because the one big thing that people always hold against them is, “but can you beat the Chiefs?” They showed on Sunday they can. At least in the regular season. Now they still have to do it in the playoffs. They might get the chance again this season.Â