Josh Allen's Top 10 Performances

[The Firebaugh Kid]

11 hours ago, mrags said:

💯

Lost forever in the shuffle is his game winning td pass to Stef Diggs against Arizona because of the Hail Murray. 

What an incredible throw. 

[corta765]

I have two honorable mentions that won't get the love maybe the way they should but I understand also why given the criteria:

 

2019 Bills Jets Week 1 - So this will never make the list due to stats as Josh had four turnovers in this game while getting 2 TDs and 292 yards total. BUT the proverbial eye test was far different as three of those turnovers were not his fault (Cole Beasley bobble INT lol), he actually moved the offense pretty well throughout, and led an awesome comeback capped by the 40 yard TD to Brown with just 3 mins to go. I understand some people view best performance on stats and I think that is cool, but at the time for a QB who was entering his 2nd year with still a lot of doubters he certainly proved himself in a big way.

 

2022 Bills Dolphins Week 15 - For some reason this game has been ignored by fans ever since it happened with how freaking good he was and how much he had to do to get the win. For the first time since the Bills had reign on the AFC East they had a legitimate challenge for the division in a game at home and to Miami's credit they pushed the Bills in the game. Had the Bills lost Miami was then a game back with the tie breaker in division. Josh had 4 TDs and nearly 400 yards combined while bringing the Bills back from an 8 pt deficit with 12 minutes left in the game. I know by this point in the season people were hyper critical of the offense and its performance in general, but Josh literally did everything needed to get the W and the stats backed up how good he was.

[The Firebaugh Kid]

41 minutes ago, YattaOkasan said:

Would add 2020 playoff game against colts.  thought the bills got outplayed that game but Josh saved us (he did have a late fumble that we recovered)....  That broke the playoff win drought so i think that context puts it on my list

Cried like a damn child when that ball hit the ground at the end. Many of us did. 

Can't wait to win it all. 

[Albany,n.y.]

32 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Both are true to an extent though though. Josh Allen was pretty bad at times as a rookie. But there were flashes where you saw the talent level. Now that still wasn't a guarantee of anything but I said on here at the end of his rookie year (as someone who didn't like the pick) "he is ahead of where I expected him to be." It was a steady growth from Allen through his first two seasons. And when 2020 began he arrived as a bona fide elite level QB. I'd ay 2018 was mainly bad but with some moments of great. 2019 was mainly pretty good but with still some head scatching bad. 2020 is the best year of his career so far. It was his most consistent season and the one where he played the Quarterback position the best. I don't think it is coincidental that the 2020 oline was the best he has had in Buffalo. Whether it was empty stadiums helping with timing and communication or something else the line played above average in 2020. If they can get back to above average Josh can win the MVP and the Bills can win the Superbowl.

The 2020 line, when D. Williams had a good season at RT, was the best Allen has had,  Hopefully, the 2023 line will become the vest so far. 

One of the things I point to about the 2018 season is that the Bills had a bad O-line & possibly the worst group of receivers on a Bills team in many years.  In spite of that, Josh led the team to 5 wins in 11 starts (it could have been 6 if Peterman hadn't been put in the Houston game after Josh got injured) and made a pedestrian WR like Robert Foster look like a solid NFL player. Even as a raw rookie, he was elevating the talent around him. Yes, he made some bad decisions at times, but the good far outweighed the bad (at least IMO).   

[MJS]

2 hours ago, Albany,n.y. said:

This shows the difference between fans who don't see the games & rely on stats and those who watch every game.  The most critical people in the media were national guys who rely on stats & highlights and never saw a full Bills game in 2018.  There were also plenty of fans who didn't like the pick & were ignoring those flashes of brilliance.  I remember on another board telling a Josh critic "You don't know how to watch football".   

Yes. That last game of his rookie season showed me everything that I thought he was missing before then. The short, efficient passing and patience. The ability to read the defense and make good decisions. It showed me he had all the tools to be successful.

[MJS]

46 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Both are true to an extent though though. Josh Allen was pretty bad at times as a rookie. But there were flashes where you saw the talent level. Now that still wasn't a guarantee of anything but I said on here at the end of his rookie year (as someone who didn't like the pick) "he is ahead of where I expected him to be." It was a steady growth from Allen through his first two seasons. And when 2020 began he arrived as a bona fide elite level QB. I'd ay 2018 was mainly bad but with some moments of great. 2019 was mainly pretty good but with still some head scatching bad. 2020 is the best year of his career so far. It was his most consistent season and the one where he played the Quarterback position the best. I don't think it is coincidental that the 2020 oline was the best he has had in Buffalo. Whether it was empty stadiums helping with timing and communication or something else the line played above average in 2020. If they can get back to above average Josh can win the MVP and the Bills can win the Superbowl.

To me, it was not a question of whether he could be successful or not, it was just if he could become a legit elite QB. After his rookie year I knew he had all the tools and the talent, but I didn't know of he would realize it or not. After his 2nd season I felt better, thinking he could eventually be something consistently special. After 2020 it was clear he had arrived as an elite QB.

 

I don't think he was mainly bad in 2018, just inconsistent. There were times where he made the most accurate, difficult throws you have ever seen. Other times he would miss simple throws. And, he had no talent around him.

[ganesh]

12 hours ago, mrags said:

I’d have to have that Chiefs game as his #1. Maybe not statistically. Maybe not result driven. But his game against the Chiefs in the divisional round was by far the best play we’ve likely seen out of any Buffalo player in its history and will likely never be beat. Shame on McD and Frazier for screwing us out of greatness. 

I would also put the Dallas Thanks giving game rather than the Pittsburgh game.  This is the game where he had his coming out party as a NFL Super star on National TV.  That 4th and 1 call was brilliant and showed what this game means to Josh.

[BringBackFlutie]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Both are true to an extent though though. Josh Allen was pretty bad at times as a rookie. But there were flashes where you saw the talent level. Now that still wasn't a guarantee of anything but I said on here at the end of his rookie year (as someone who didn't like the pick) "he is ahead of where I expected him to be." It was a steady growth from Allen through his first two seasons. And when 2020 began he arrived as a bona fide elite level QB. I'd ay 2018 was mainly bad but with some moments of great. 2019 was mainly pretty good but with still some head scatching bad. 2020 is the best year of his career so far. It was his most consistent season and the one where he played the Quarterback position the best. I don't think it is coincidental that the 2020 oline was the best he has had in Buffalo. Whether it was empty stadiums helping with timing and communication or something else the line played above average in 2020. If they can get back to above average Josh can win the MVP and the Bills can win the Superbowl.

 

If he hasn't already developed bad habits from assuming he'll never have adequate OL play. 🙁

[Dopey]

15 hours ago, arcane said:

San Francisco was the best start-to-finish quarterbacking I have ever seen in a Bills uniform, and probably a top 5 performance in my 18 years watching the entire NFL (I know, not that long). But I'm cool with the 2 playoff games above it because of the stakes and how he basically dragged the team kicking and screaming through the KC game. 

 

Fun list to read and think back on, hope he adds a few more to it next year.

Great game by Allen, for sure. If you were around to watch the Bills vs. SF in 1992, you might say Kelly had a top 5 moment. What a game that was. Not a single punt.
Great list MJS

[GunnerBill]

24 minutes ago, BringBackFlutie said:

 

If he hasn't already developed bad habits from assuming he'll never have adequate OL play. 🙁

 

Yea it can happen. There were times last year when Josh dropped his eyes, for sure. Understandable when you are being hit that much. I'm hopeful that the line this year will be much improved. Fingers crossed.

[Franco_92]

8 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Great game by Allen, for sure. If you were around to watch the Bills vs. SF in 1992, you might say Kelly had a top 5 moment. What a game that was. Not a single punt.
Great list MJS

I've watched that more than once on YouTube during the dreary summer wait for football!

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Albany,n.y. said:

The 2020 line, when D. Williams had a good season at RT, was the best Allen has had,  Hopefully, the 2023 line will become the vest so far. 

One of the things I point to about the 2018 season is that the Bills had a bad O-line & possibly the worst group of receivers on a Bills team in many years.  In spite of that, Josh led the team to 5 wins in 11 starts (it could have been 6 if Peterman hadn't been put in the Houston game after Josh got injured) and made a pedestrian WR like Robert Foster look like a solid NFL player. Even as a raw rookie, he was elevating the talent around him. Yes, he made some bad decisions at times, but the good far outweighed the bad (at least IMO).   

 

OL is tough too as they had a new coach last year and in general offensive line play does vary naturally year to year which is also tough. The encouraging thing is the Bills added too younger guys in McCovern and Cyrus so that helps as Dawkins is pure prime. They really need Brown to be at least average and they need a plan for Morse as his days are not too much longer.

[MJS]

3 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Great list. 

No arguments on the the list or the order.

I would add one shout out game that I think goes overlooked. That is the Hopkins Hail Mary Cardinal game. Allen's come from behind drive and TD pass to Diggs is one of the great passing TD in Bills history. Absolute incredible throw leaning backwards across the field in front of future HOF Patrick Peterson.  

What a heart breaking loss that was. That should have been a defining win for Allen and Diggs, but instead we only remember it for a fluke play at the end that lost us the game. Kind of similar to the 13 seconds game too.

 

But yeah, what a throw and what a catch. Incredible.

3 hours ago, YattaOkasan said:

Would add 2020 playoff game against colts.  thought the bills got outplayed that game but Josh saved us (he did have a late fumble that we recovered)....  That broke the playoff win drought so i think that context puts it on my list

That was a hard game to leave off too. Ultimately, I went with other games with better stats, but that was an example of Allen willing the team to victory, and it was a huge game for Gabe Davis too. We don't win that without those two amazing catches of his.

 

Really, it's a testament to how great Josh is. There are 5 or 6 more games that are deserving of being on a list like this.

[MJS]

2 hours ago, corta765 said:

I have two honorable mentions that won't get the love maybe the way they should but I understand also why given the criteria:

 

2019 Bills Jets Week 1 - So this will never make the list due to stats as Josh had four turnovers in this game while getting 2 TDs and 292 yards total. BUT the proverbial eye test was far different as three of those turnovers were not his fault (Cole Beasley bobble INT lol), he actually moved the offense pretty well throughout, and led an awesome comeback capped by the 40 yard TD to Brown with just 3 mins to go. I understand some people view best performance on stats and I think that is cool, but at the time for a QB who was entering his 2nd year with still a lot of doubters he certainly proved himself in a big way.

 

2022 Bills Dolphins Week 15 - For some reason this game has been ignored by fans ever since it happened with how freaking good he was and how much he had to do to get the win. For the first time since the Bills had reign on the AFC East they had a legitimate challenge for the division in a game at home and to Miami's credit they pushed the Bills in the game. Had the Bills lost Miami was then a game back with the tie breaker in division. Josh had 4 TDs and nearly 400 yards combined while bringing the Bills back from an 8 pt deficit with 12 minutes left in the game. I know by this point in the season people were hyper critical of the offense and its performance in general, but Josh literally did everything needed to get the W and the stats backed up how good he was.

That 2022 Dolphins game you mentioned is one I literally wrote up everything for to include on the top 10 list until I realized I had 11 games and had to remove it, so it is my 11th game.

 

That Jets game was really interesting. The Bills were dominating, but kept turning it over at the least opportune moments. It was a game that I felt confident we would win because of how well Josh was moving the ball, and we did win it. Good game.

[corta765]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

That Jets game was really interesting. The Bills were dominating, but kept turning it over at the least opportune moments. It was a game that I felt confident we would win because of how well Josh was moving the ball, and we did win it. Good game.

 

The Jets game was classic beating yourself when your beating them. Once though they got the first TD you could see they smelled blood. Like I said I loved in year 2 game 1 to see Allen had already progressed so much even if it wasn't perfect. Gave a lot of confidence for the season in total.

[smward8]

Not sure it's a top ten performance, but the second half against Tampa Bay was incredible. If it wasn't for a poor first half and some questionable officiating at the end, it would be one people would talk about for a long time. He put the whole team on his back and carried them to a big comeback.  

It showed his desire to win and his ability to elevate the play of both the offense and defense.  

 

[MJS]

25 minutes ago, smward8 said:

Not sure it's a top ten performance, but the second half against Tampa Bay was incredible. If it wasn't for a poor first half and some questionable officiating at the end, it would be one people would talk about for a long time. He put the whole team on his back and carried them to a big comeback.  

It showed his desire to win and his ability to elevate the play of both the offense and defense.  

There just seems to be no end of games to point to. He is going to retire as one of the greats.

 

Let's just cross our fingers he gets through this crowded AFC for a Superbowl sometime in the near future. It has to happen.

[Another Fan]

11 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Honorable Mention to the 2018 @ Miami game that the Bills loss. Allen was running all over the field that day and making big time throws to JAG receivers. That was the first game I watched Allen and thought this dude has all the tools to be an elite QB AND will likely put them together eventually. 

I recall that game pretty well.  

 

I still thought Josh had to work on his accuracy after that day but Charles Clay really gypped him of a miraculous winning touchdown on 4th down.  All he had to do was run up that last throw a little more.  

[harmonkillebrew]

It's concerning that only 2 of those were from last year and both early in the year. I hope Allen hasn't peaked.  Last year was not up to his standards.

[HappyDays]

16 minutes ago, harmonkillebrew said:

It's concerning that only 2 of those were from last year and both early in the year. I hope Allen hasn't peaked.  Last year was not up to his standards.

 

Did something maybe happen halfway through the season?