After a pair of uneven performances – statistically speaking – to begin the 2021 campaign, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen bounced back in an enormous way on Sunday against the Washington Football Team. Not only did the Bills pick up their second consecutive blowout win, but the 25-year-old signal-caller was able to silence some of his surprising recent criticism and show his MVP-caliber form.
Midway through the second quarter with Buffalo already coasting in a 21-0 runaway, Allen was on pace to put up historic numbers.
Josh Allen vs. the WFT:
— 14/18
— 144 yards
— 3 TD
There’s over 40 minutes of football remaining.
By the break, the fourth-year pro was still firing on all cylinders and had over 250 passing yards to go with his trio of touchdown throws.
End of the half: #Bills 27 #Washington 14
Josh Allen: 22/28, 263 yards, 3 TDs
Emmanuel Sanders:4 catches, 89 yards, 1 TD
Zack Moss: 3 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD
Dawson Knox: 1 catch, 14 yards, 1 TD
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Though the aerial attack “slowed down” in the second half, Allen still finished the contest having completed 32 of his 43 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns. No. 17 added one rushing score, which made some history.
Josh Allen with his first rushing score of the year and fifth touchdown today.
Allen tallies his 26th career rushing score and breaks a tie with Jack Kemp (25) for the most rushing TDs in team history by a QB.
The emphasis on having a capable mobile quarterback on your roster has obviously grown in recent years, but what Allen has done on the ground in just 47 career NFL games is truly remarkable. The rushing touchdown mark by a Bills quarterback had lasted for 54 years by the way, as Jack Kemp’s final score on the ground came during his penultimate season in 1967.
Allen: ‘It Was a Complete Team Win Today’
GettyTight end Dawson Knox and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders celebrate a touchdown during the Buffalo Bills’ 43-21 victory over the Washington Football Team on September 26, 2021.
Breaking Kemp’s touchdown record wasn’t the only Bills history that Allen made against Washington.
Today is Josh Allen’s 5th career game with 4 Pass TD and 300 Pass yards, breaking a tie with Jim Kelly for most in Bills history.
In just his fourth season, Allen’s output of at least 300 passing yards and four passing scores also put the 2018 draft pick in some elite company.
Josh Allen has 300+ pass yards & 4 TD passes today, his 5th-career such game.
Per Elias, Allen joins Patrick Mahomes (9), Dan Marino (9), Andrew Luck (6) and Kurt Warner (6) as the only players with 5+ such games in their first four seasons.
After the rout, Allen gave most of the credit to his teammates.
Josh Allen credits offensive line for no sacks. Then he mentioned Dawson Knox and Emmanuel Sanders big catches. Credited defense playing lights out. “It was a complete team win today.”
By target share, Cole Beasley may have looked like Allen’s go-to guy against the Football Team with 11 catches on 13 looks, but Dawson Knox and Emmanuel Sanders had big games as well. The duo combined for nine catches on 11 targets for 143 receiving yards and three scores.
The touchdown catch from the tight end was his second in as many weeks, while the pair of scores were Sanders’ first since joining the Bills.
Looking Ahead to Week 4 vs. The Texans
GettyBuffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen during a January 2020 game against the Houston Texans.
Having now posted 35 points or more in back-to-back games against supposed strong defenses, the deflating week one loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers seems like a distant memory for Bills Mafia. When fans see who the team faces in week four, it appears on paper, that the squad is likely to roll past another opponent for their third straight win.
The Bills will play in the early slate of games next Sunday for the fourth week in a row to open 2021 and will be up against the hapless Houston Texans. Behind former Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the AFC South squad surprised pundits in week one with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars but since then, they’ve dropped games to the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers by a combined score of 55-30.
Taylor picked up a hamstring injury during the game against Cleveland and any remnants of a strong offense have gone out the window with Davis Mills under center for the Texans.
Bills Mafia should be well aware of the phrase “Any Given Sunday” by now, but they’ve got to be feeling good with Allen looking to be back in MVP form and perhaps the worst team in the NFL up next on the schedule.
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Josh Allen Broke a 54-Year Old Bills Record vs. Washington Football Team