Getty Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates with lineman Jon Feliciano during their matchup with the New England Patriots.
If Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen could go back to last year’s playoff loss against the Houston Texans and change everything he would.
But, Allen’s also glad he can’t do that because that game is one of the most important games of his career.
Although the Bills lost that matchup on a 28-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal in overtime and Allen fumbled twice while looking chaotic at times throughout the contest, he learned so much during that game. In the long run, it ultimately contributed to his manifestation as an NFL MVP candidate.
“I think the main lesson was not to press and to understand the situation that we were in, obviously if I could go back and change things I would but I am glad it went down the way that it went down,” Allen said during a video conference call on Tuesday. “I was able to learn a lot from it and hopefully, I can carry that playoff experience into Saturday’s game.”
Allen and the Bills will play in their third playoff game in four years on Saturday when they take on the Indianapolis Colts in front of 6,700 Bills fans at 1:05 p.m. Just three years after breaking a 17-year playoff drought the Bills have earned the No. 2 seed and tied a franchise high for 13 wins in a season.
The former Wyoming signal-caller has been one of the biggest keys to Buffalo’s success this season. He’s completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns while throwing just 10 interceptions. He’s also carried the ball 102 times for 421 yards and eight touchdowns.
With his first-half performance against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Allen became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 4,500 yards, more than 35 touchdowns, and run for five or more touchdowns. He’s having a breakout year and there are a lot of things that have contributed to that, but that loss has a lot to do with it.
“I’m glad I learned the lessons that I did throughout the game and really throughout the three years that I’ve been playing so far,” Allen said on Tuesday. “Without failure, people don’t know success.”
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Taking Everything One Play at a Time
During the first four weeks of this season, Allen lit the league on fire, passing for 1,326 yards and 12 touchdowns as the Bills jumped out to a 4-0 start. He was immediately thrown into the MVP conversation. But, during losses to the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 5 and 6 the third-year quarterback was humbled.
Both teams threw different looks at the exciting new Buffalo offense and Allen reverted to his old ways. He wanted to get everything in one play and tried to throw deep balls downfield. But as the season has carried on, Allen has suppressed that trait. He’s taken what defenses have given him and then he’s torn them apart.
He’s rewritten the Buffalo Bills single-season record book as he’s thrown for 300 or more yards eight times this season and he’s also thrown for more than 400 yards twice. As the season has gone on, he’s taken things one play at a time.
“Not getting too high and not getting too low. Whatever happens in the flow of the game, the next play you gotta let it go and focus on the task at hand,” Allen said. “There were some crazy things that happened in that game last year. Obviously some things we can’t control but ultimately our mindset, our attitude, and our effort are the things that we can control throughout the game.
Drew Bledsoe Congratulate’s Allen On Record Breaking Season
Allen has been breaking records all season long and although he only played in the first half on Sunday, it was no different.
With his 224 passing yards, Allen broke Drew Bledsoe’s previous single-season mark of 4,359 that he set in 2002. On Monday, Bledsoe gave a quick shoutout to Allen and congratulated him on breaking his record.
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