Before leading the Buffalo Bills to their fifth-straight win in the NFL’s wild-card round, quarterback Josh Allen appeared to have a message to his critics.
The Bills dominated the Denver Broncos in a 31-7 win on Sunday, controlling the ball on offense and shutting down rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the Broncos on defense. Allen had an efficient day, making no mistakes while advancing to the Bills to the divisional round.
Allen also appears to have sent a message to the voters that kept him off the All-Pro list and knocked him out of his frontrunner status for the MVP award.
Josh Allen Gives Subtle Shoutout
As Syracuse.com reporter Ryan Talbot shared in a post on X, Allen walked into the stadium wearing a hoodie from friend and Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo’s clothing line. Talbot noted that the hoodie seemed to have a message for those critics.
“Happy coincidence or a message after the #Bills were snubbed in All-Pro and Pro Bowl voting? Josh Allen’s FEA hoodie (made by @danielricciardo’s Enchanté) stands for F*** Em All,” Talbot wrote.
Allen entered the week as the betting favorite to win the league MVP award, but the odds shifted sharply after the All-Pro list was announced and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson earned 30 of the 50 first-place All-Pro votes to Allen’s 18. The media members selecting the All-Pro list are the same group voting on the MVP award, flipping Jackson to the favorite to take home the honor for the second straight year.
Allen has repeatedly pushed aside questions about the MVP race this season, saying his only concern is winning the Super Bowl. After he led the Bills to a 40-14 win over the New York Jets in Week 17 — clinching the No. 2 seed in the playoffs — Allen was asked whether the performance would help him lock up the award.
Allen said it wasn’t much of a concern.
“I don’t really care about that,” Allen replied.
Bills Set Up MVP Showdown
Allen had a strong performance against the Broncos, helping the Bills dominate the time of possession and avoid turnovers. The Bills quarterback completed 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Allen also ran eight times for 46 yards.
Buffalo’s win over the No. 7 seed Broncos sets up a game between the top MVP candidates. The Ravens are set to travel to Buffalo for next week’s divisional round, a rematch of the divisional round playoff game in 2021 that the Bills won to advance to the AFC title game.
Allen said after Sunday’s game that his team will have their hands full with Jackson next week.
“They got after us earlier this year so we have a lot of film to watch,” Allen said in a postgame interview on CBS. “It’s a great team who has a great quarterback with Lamar doing what he is able to do. He is one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic quarterback in the league, he is so fun to watch, but I’ll be watching their defense this week. That is our focus.”
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Bills QB Josh Allen Sends Message to NFL After All-Pro Snub