Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10, 2023.
Even though the Buffalo Bills will be watching from home again this year, quarterback Josh Allen is still getting some love at the Super Bowl.
Allen earned a shoutout from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy as he met with reporters ahead of Sunday’s title game. Purdy shared some admiration for Allen, giving a nod to the Bills quarterback for his strong statistical season.
Brock Purdy Sharing Love
Speaking to reporters on February 5, Purdy was asked who he would put on a fantasy football team. The 49ers quarterback started by running through all of his teammates at skill positions, including running back Christian McCaffrey.
If he had a fantasy team, @BrockPurdy13 would draft all the @49ers skill players with Josh Allen at QB 🏆
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“We’d have our whole team on my fantasy team,” Purdy said, before pausing for a moment to pick a quarterback. After a reporter told Purdy that Allen was among the statistical best at the position, Purdy made his pick.
“Josh Allen, balling,” he said. “There you go, Josh Allen.”
It would have been a wise choice. Based on ESPN’s fantasy football scoring system, Allen was the second-highest total points for the season, trailing only Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb. Allen’s rushing prowess certainly helped as he and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts both tied an NFL record for quarterbacks with 15 rushing touchdowns.
Purdy could have also picked himself, as he was the 11th-ranked player in fantasy football for 2023.
Josh Allen Had Other Plans
While he would have preferred taking the Bills to the Super Bowl, Allen was able to find a way to stay occupied with his other favorite sport, golf. For the third straight year, Allen skipped out on the chance to play in the Pro Bowl to instead compete in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and this year got the chance to beat a longtime foe.
Allen partnered with PGA Tour pro Keith Mitchell, finishing in sixth place for the tournament and beating out fellow quarterback Tom Brady by two strokes. As the Buffalo News reported, Allen made a side bet with Brady ahead of the competition.
“It feels real good. We had a minor bet, not monetary, but some good pride and some other things,” Allen said. “Felt good to beat him. Wish I would have (had) that happen on the football field, but we’ll take it where we can get it with him.”
Allen has opened up on his love of golf, saying in a May 2023 interview that he enjoys the personal challenge of the sport.
“Golf is so mental, it’s so challenging,” Allen said, via the Buffalo News. “It’s always on hole 17 or 18 you hit that really good shot and you’re like, “Why can’t I do that every time?’ ”
Allen added that golf is a good counter to the intensity of football.
“It keeps bringing you back and pulling you back,” Allen said. “You’re playing against yourself and then you get to go out and hang out with guys, the new golf, blast some music out there and it’s four and a half hours where you put your phone away, you kind of feel like you get connected with nature. It’s a definite change of pace, but again it’s that mental fight you have with yourself that kind of pushes you to be better.”