Getty Josh Allen leads teammates onto the field before a game against the New York Jets.
With the Buffalo Bills on the goal line and time for just one more play in the first half against the New York Jets, it was clear what call Josh Allen wanted to make.
There was a lot on the line for the Bills in Sunday’s season finale, needing a win to lock in a second straight AFC East title against a Jets team that had just played Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers down to the wire the previous week. As a new video showed, Allen wanted the team to take an aggressive approach against their divisional foe.
The latest Bills news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Bills newsletter here!
Allen Pleads His Case
New sideline video from Buffalo’s 27-10 win over the Jets on January 9 shows Allen passionately pleading with head coach Sean McDermott to let the offense stay on the field and go for the touchdown for the final play of the first half. The Bills were holding onto a 10-7 lead at the time in the unexpectedly tight contest, and Allen was ready to go for the kill.
Allen’s passion couldn’t win him the argument, however. McDermott ultimately decided to send out the field-goal unit, allowing Tyler Bass to hit a chip shot and give the Bills a six-point lead going into the half.
Josh Allen looks to be pleading his case to go for it here on last play of second quarter 3 yd line. He ends up going out to huddle only to be called back. McDermott decided to go for three and make the score 13-7 Bills at the half. Smart call. Love the passion in #17.
McDermott’s approach paid off in the end, with the Bills defense stifling the Jets all day — holding them to a franchise-low 53 total yards of offense — and Buffalo’s offense breaking through for two late touchdowns.
Allen Happy with the Result
While he may have lost the argument about what to do at the end of the half, Allen said after the game that he was thrilled with the result, winning to clinch the AFC East in front of a raucous home crowd in chilly conditions. The Bills quarterback said that after a year with no fans through the regular season, it meant so much more to be able to clinch the division at home in front of them.
“Especially given last year with not too many people in the stands and really only for the playoffs, to do that and to feel the energy from the crowd,” Allen said. “I know that [winning the division] hasn’t been done here in a long time. So, to go out there and do that and just get to experience that with them, that’s something I’ll remember for a while.”
McDermott added that the home crowd gave the team a nice push.
“Listen, to play here, it wasn’t even packed out there but if you could feel the crowd,” McDermott said. “Playing at home, playing in Western New York, especially late in the year, it’s been a long time since these fans, because of the situation last year, since the fans have been able to watch a home playoff game and in full capacity. So, listen we love playing in front of our fans, and it’s a special place to play. To me, it’s the best place in the NFL, and we look forward to next weekend.”
#Bills game outlook for Saturday night. @wgrz #StormTeam2
Buffalo could be a difficult place to play for the Wild Card showdown with the New England Patriots, with early forecasts showing the potential for single-digit temperatures in Orchard Park on Saturday night.
READ NEXT: Analyst Predicts Monstrous Year for Bills’ Josh Allen, Makes New Prediction