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It's Jack Kemp. The frustration of the four Super Bowl losses and our inability to get back to the Super Bowl under Josh Allen have convinced me that the real sign of greatness is motivating your team to win the biggest game. Kemp led the Bills to two league championships in 1964 and 1965. He wasn't as gifted an athlete as Allen, and didn't rack up the stats like Kelly. But he knew how to motivate his team to win when it counted most. I watched the '65 game when I was 8 years old. I wish every Bills fan could know what it feels like to win it all.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/598215363196346

Missed 9 games last year with a pectoral injury. Good force inside when healthy. Last year of his contract and is a $22M cap hit for Washington. Looked really good in the playoffs for Washington last year.

I don’t know what an Irish thank you is either. But I do know that one of the little secrets in life is appreciating what you have. When you know you know. Thanks to Beane for being completely competent when it comes to keeping our guy. He does well paying the rest of the guys too. But it seems like he works really hard to make sure Josh can stay here. Thanks to McDermott for knowing how good Josh is, and for being a true vocal cheerleader for our guy. Felt that that was an out of character, a stretch for him, and I’m hoping there’s more of those to come. And of course, Thank You Josh Allen. I wouldn’t want any other quarterback in the league to be our guy. Thanks for always being down to be a Bill. I appreciate you whole heartedly! 🙏 Just wanted to give thanks, apart from the nuts and bolts in the contract thread.

https://www.si.com/nfl/josh-allen-has-forever-changed-buffalo-on-and-off-the-field Congrats to Josh! It's not the MVP, but it's pretty cool that both his on the field & off the field work is being recognized as best in league. "Allen ends 2024 on a crash course to what could be his first league MVP award. At the time of publishing, Allen is first in Expected Points Added (EPA) per play, and second in a composite of Expected Points Added per play and Completion Percentage Over Expectation (EPA+CPOE), a metric that measures quarterback skill beyond typical box score statistics. After the Bills shed some of their most tenured players like wide receiver Stefon Diggs and safety Jordan Poyer this offseason, the team was expected to regress. Instead, the team is off to a 10–3 start, with a firm stranglehold on the AFC East. Allen’s fourth-and-2 game-winning touchdown run against the rival Kansas City Chiefs from 26 yards out is on a short list of the year’s best and most critical plays. But what pushed Allen over the edge for NFL Player of the Year is his relationship with the community of Buffalo and, in particular, the Children’s Hospital where Allen is a regular visitor, fundraiser and cheerleader. He is in the hospital at least a few times per season. "

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5791131/2024/10/02/nfl-player-polls-josh-allen-tyreek-hill-justin-jefferson/

Man, this is the part that hurts. All the stats in this Allen/McD showing the Bills are the "First team in history" to do this and that...and now Josh is known for being the first QB in NFL history to be winless 4 times against the same QB in the playoffs. I believe three other QB's are tied at 0-3, one being Dan Marino (vs Jim Kelly) in their playoff history. As Bills fans we can talk about all the great things JA has done for this franchise that we'll never see again,,, but Nationally this is his legacy unless something changes in the last half of his career.

Winningest QB in his first 7 seasons. With the Week 16 victory, Allen became the winningest quarterback through his first seven seasons in NFL history. According to StatMuse, Allen has an all-time record of 75-34. Allen joins Russell Wilson and Daryle Lamonica at the top of the list.

Getting ready to watch the SNL 50th Anniversary special and the wife asked me if I thought Josh would be asked to host now that he’s a league MVP? I thought it was a good question, so I will pose it to you. I think he would nail it like Peyton Manning did. I also think that having a Hollywood starlet for a fiancée ups his chances, considering how much SNL likes cameo appearances.

I liked this article. It's behind a paywall, but I'll post some of the quotes. There's a bunch, but here's a sampling. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6064535/2025/01/16/josh-allen-stories-college-football-wyoming-bills/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twhq&source=twitterhq The best stories from Josh Allen’s college days: ‘People follow him. He’s very authentic’ If you know one story about Josh Allen’s college recruitment, it’s that he did not receive a single Division I scholarship offer. Overlooked at Firebaugh High in California’s Central Valley, Allen instead attended Reedley, a nearby community college, where he drafted a short email with a link to a highlight video and blasted it out to more than 1,000 college coaches. Baked into that story is a larger idea: Allen believed in himself at a time when nobody else did. His confidence and force of personality led him to the University of Wyoming, where he developed from a raw gunslinger into a top-10 pick and future franchise quarterback. Ten years later, he’s a co-favorite to win his first NFL MVP award. Allen’s talent is undeniable, but it’s only part of the reason he’s successful. To understand how he became one of the NFL’s most authentic leaders, The Athletic called his childhood friends, college teammates and coaches. For three seasons in Laramie, Wyo., Allen heaved 75-yard bombs in practice, lived off Applebee’s and charmed teammates with his leadership style, a goofy sincerity and plenty of drinking games. “His personality goes a long way as far as being a leader, ” said Tanner Gentry, a teammate of Allen in Wyoming and with the Bills. “It radiates throughout the whole team.” The stories of Allen’s college days are legendary, informative and completely college. And according to close friends and former teammates, they help explain the essence of Josh Allen, the player, teammate and leader. Craig Bohl, former Wyoming head coach: People follow him. He’s very authentic. Cooper Rothe, former Wyoming kicker: We always used to describe him as a big little kid. Vander Waal: Our lockers were right next to each other. He pulled a Nerf gun out of his locker. I’m like: “What are you doing?” He’s like: “Dude, we’re about to have a Nerf gun fight in the locker room.” Espinoza: He’ll take your watch off. He’ll shake your hand and be looking you dead in your eyes and just take your watch. Rothe: My freshman year, I’m a kicker. We’re standing on the sidelines during a team scrimmage. Sure enough, the ball ends up on the sideline. I’m holding the ball, usually the equipment managers are quick to come grab it, but I see Josh calling my name: “Cooper, Cooper, throw me the ball, let’s go.” I’m supposed to give it to the equipment manager, which is the right move, but Josh is the team captain. I don’t want to be the guy to say no to Josh. So I make eye contact with him, throw probably the best ball of my life, perfect spiral. As I release the ball, I see him look away on purpose. Best ball of my life. Going right at his head. He has his helmet on. It hits him. He flails his arm, throws his head back … “Cooper, what the hell, man?” Cameron Coffman, former Wyoming quarterback: Leadership essentially comes down to influence, and whether you’re an NFL quarterback or a 10-year-old kid on the playground at school, there are certainly people that other people are attracted to, that they’ll follow. And from the beginning, he had that characteristic. Gentry: Fourth of July trip. My grandparents own a cabin in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. We had a big crew there and it’s out in the middle of nowhere so we’re playing drinking games. It was an unreal trip. About a week and a half later, my grandma texted me that one of the trees was chopped down and the cover for the axe was still on it right by the tree. I sent it to the group and was like: “Who chopped this tree down?” And Josh was like: “That was me.” I was like: “Dude, you left the cover on.” And he goes: “Oh, that’s why it was so hard to chop it down.” Price: He’s probably the best competitor I’ve ever been around in my entire life. Hall: He always had that Kobe mentality: “I’m the best, and I’m gonna prove it today.” Pilapil: We would play Monopoly Deal and he would blatantly cheat. He went and bought another pack of Monopoly Deal cards so that he could pack his hand with the high-powered cards. Gentry: He doesn’t have an off switch. He’ll do anything it takes to win. Price: He’s always had that confidence and belief in himself, even when everyone else around him doubted. Gentry: When he was named the starter, he told me: “Dude, if I’m rolling out, don’t come back to the ball. I don’t want to throw a 10-yard or 15-yard completion. You run to the end zone and I’ll throw it up and we’ll have a chance.” Bohl: It was a cold blustery spring day, so I was standing back and we called a traditional bootleg. The rules on the bootleg were: If the fullback is open in the flat, take it. Just take the profit. If he’s not open, check the tight end. If he’s open, take that. And the third option is to run. Well, on this particular play, the fullback was open. Josh didn’t take it. The tight end was open. He didn’t take it. Instead he threw a ROPE on a backside post against a 60 mile per hour wind 60-some yards down the field. A touchdown. He was happy, much to my displeasure because he didn’t follow the rules. I said: “Josh, the rules are you throw it to the fullback if the fullback is open.” He looked at me and goes: “No, Coach, Favre says touchdowns first.” Bohl: Needless to say, there’s a cowboy in him. I think that probably captures everything about him that’s really special. Espinoza: He is just the most confident and sure-about-himself person in the world. Gentry: The mindset piece of it, he definitely believes he’s the best in the world. But you’ll never hear him talking about how good he is.

I have seen a ton of posts talk about culture, it taking a village, and other concepts to explain why Buffalo has been so successful over the last few years. Maybe that stuff is true, maybe it's not, I really have no idea how to quantify these concepts. What we can do is look at high level QB play over a period of time and see what type of impact that had on the teams they played for. So that's exactly what I did. I used QBR to split the groupings up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_quarterback_rating not a perfect system by any stretch, but much better at accounting for total production (like running). Group one is QB's that finished the season 70 or higher and played a minimum of 10 games Group two is QB's that finished the season between 65-69.99 and played a minimum of 10 game In most seasons these groupings would yield between 8-10 total players, 2-4 in the first group and about 5-6 in the lower tier group. You can see the results below, 1 PLA and 2 PLA is just the total players in each group that year. Teams with a QB that finished the year with a 70 or better QBR are 582-208 since 2010. Good for a 73.67% winning percentage. Teams with a QB that finished the year with a 65-69.99 QBR are 475-288 since 2010. Good for a 62.25% winning percentage. Josh Allen has had the following QBR's 2020: 76.6 2021: 66.3 2022: 73.4 2023: 69.6 2024: 76.7 So three years he has been in group 1 and three years he has been in group 2. His record in that time is 61-21, 1% above the average record of Group 1 players. I intend on adding some additional data to this such as playoff appearances and results, but for now this is what I have.

Since 2000, teams with 4+ TDs and 0 Turnovers in a playoff game are 59-3 The three losses Bills vs. Chiefs in the 2024 AFC Championship Bills vs. Chiefs in the 2021 Divisional Round Chiefs vs. Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Josh Allen has 25 tds and 4 turnovers in 13 playoff games. Bills defense have now surrendered 38, 42, 27, and 32 points in all four of their losses to the Chiefs. What makes this STAT most alarming is each one of those scores was the most points the Chiefs scored that year in the playoffs. Bills have a defense issue and it is painfully obvious they will never win until this is addressed. Allen basically has to come out slinging immediately because his defense does not give him time to breathe. I've watched Mahomes, Brady, Burrow, Manning all struggle early in games only to win because their defense made multiple stops in the first half. Bills defense have serious problems against elite competition and this is year 5 of this mess.

He’s great. He’s been great in the playoffs. He wasn’t tonight. Started shaky as hell. Couldn’t run all night. Couldn’t sneak. Couldn’t get it downfield (except Hollins a few times…good on Hollins). Ran right into that blitz he didn’t see to end the game and left Shakir open for what may have been a winner. Love Josh. But let’s just call it what it was—choke job tonight. If he was great we go to the superbowl. He was far from great.

I thought it was hilarious that it what was coach Sean McVay's description of Josh. Maybe, he is.

There's a lot of debate about what type of guy Josh needs... A big physical freak like DK... A Jamar Chase etc Look what Josh did with John Brown.. arguably our offense , passing wise has never been the same since Brown left He was much better than Gabe, reliable hands good route runner and burner DeSean Jackson mold is the exact type guy we need to get Josh.. whether it's in the draft or getting a chase like guy I made a thread here years ago about wide receiver nuance in the route running.. about how the best have varied speeds in the route running.. they don't just all run full speed throughout the route that's easy to actually stop Need nuance, change of pace, leverage Watch DeSean Jackson in the clip up top.. going through multiple speeds in his route... Setting up and leveraging the safety just to go from 12 miles an hour to 22 in an instant That's real savvy route running with great speed A prime DeShaun Jackson would turn Josh unstoppable... I definitely would take Chase over DK because of route saviness and I hope we get get Josh a savvy route runner with some Wheels because that will take our offense and josh to another level

Of course

Title says it all. Don't be a hatr

I watched Josh Allen’s presser yesterday and it firmed up some of what I thought before: he is now 100% the boss of football operations for this franchise. McDermott coaches at his will and probably has even adjusted his personal approach in part to work well with Allen. Firing Dorsey, drafting Keon… all those things don’t happen without Allen’s OK (and perhaps even his pushing). He’s very loyal but maybe also a little comfortable in that role, and in his day-to-day. There is a fine line between being loyal and comfortable though… it is a potential path into Rodgers or Peyton territory. From the Bills end, I do absolutely get it, he is the franchise. You need to do whatever it takes to keep him happy, particularly while he’s still this good. I think ‘management’ gets it. This also 100% explains the Diggs situation. I thought this before and when I saw Allen’s year end presser last year, I predicted Diggs was done. Diggs was not unhappy because he wasn’t getting the ball… he was unhappy because he wanted to win, and he disagreed that having the QB ‘run’ the organization was the best way to win. He’s a fairly smart and thoughtful guy, and also super competitive. I don’t think he hated Allen, I just don’t think he liked where this was going. They all handled the situation I think as well as they could, but Diggs had a fundamental problem with how the Bills operated, and he wasn’t going to get through to Allen on what he thought the Bills should do, so he was out. I’d guess he was among those who was not happy with McDermott’s abilities as a coach. I’m not saying Allen runs the defense or makes all the signings or anything like that, I’m just saying he’s extremely powerful now in the organization. Like, he’s the most powerful QB right now in any organization (more powerful than his closest peers: Mahomes, Burrow or Lamar). What that will mean in the long term I don’t know… it may keep them from ever winning a Super Bowl with him (in fact if they don’t I would argue it was the biggest reason why they didn’t, I would agree with Diggs). But right now, I do think it’s hard to argue against the Bills’ approach, because what choice do the Bills have? This approach hopefully keeps Allen from being disgruntled, and it keeps the head coach in a job. I don’t think Allen is outwardly power-hungry or anything like that, in fact, I don’t think this necessarily comes from a bad place beyond him not wanting to disrupt a life he currently enjoys. He wants to be the consummate leader, and often will shoulder too much of the load. In fact, my gut is he was satisfied with the defensive performance against Kansas City, and feels like he probably should have scored at the end of the game to win the game (I wouldn’t agree with him… the defense was bad). My hope is given that McDermott has been able to swallow his pride to this degree at this point, he may even be willing to significantly alter his defensive philosophy and priorities in player acquisition to better suit what the team needs when they play top level competition in the playoffs. I think that’s the Bills’ best chance going forward.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DC-FITTRHu4/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Not sure if this has been shared but I thought this was awesome. He is truly a unicorn who put in so much work to become the player he has become. Truly impressive.

I would think that this will happen. I'm going to assume he will end up with top 3 money overall. I also think though he will make it as cap friendly as possible to help the team, with a ton of it up front in bonus. For the capologists out there what would the implications of this be? How much cap flexibility could it open up for Beane?

At around 30:30 mark where Beane said Josh "busting his chop by texting him, say this QB or that QB gets a deal, dropping him down the line."

I don't want to sound like Debbie downer here, but if we're being honest with ourselves, he'll be 29 this year and probably has 5 or 6 good years left. Typically, qbs start to decline around their mid 30s. Hopefully he doesn't and plays till he's 40, who knows. Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but the bills have to have some urgency here when it comes to winning a superbowl. My confidence is so low in beane drafting guys at this point, that I almost don't care if he trades most of our picks away to bring in proven guys. Obviously this won't happen, and I know beane has drafted some really good players but, I'm sorry I think we're past the point of being able to develop guys from the draft and wait 2 or 3 years and see. Anyways just my Sunday thoughts, need some free agent and superbowl urgency this season

OK, we all know the correct answer is nobody, but if you had to pick somebody who would it be?? I am going to go with Randall Cunningham. They both are equipped with a cannon arm, elite athleticism, and an uncanny ability to escape the pocket under pressure. The only differences are Josh is much bigger 6-5 240 to Cunningham 6-3 212, and more driven to be the best where the knock on Cunningham was he was more interested in the fame than being great. However, Cunningham played in a time where the rules were different...QB's and WR's were not protected like they are now, and coaches did not use the QB as a dual run/pass threat like they do now. I think if you "time-machined" an in his prime Cunningham to the present, he would be the third best QB in the league right now behind Allen and Mahomes, IMO. For you Millenials and Gen Z'ers out there go on Youtube and watch some Randall Cunningham highlights!! What do you think??