ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The “M-V-P!” chants inside Highmark Stadium began with 3:25 still left in the first quarter.
Though excitedly premature, Buffalo Bills fans weren’t wrong.
They simply couldn’t know Josh Allen was merely beginning his onslaught Monday night. By halftime, he’d already had one of the greatest statistical games of his career. But what was truly remarkable was how Allen went about his nasty business in a 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
We spent months analyzing and guessing and kvetching about how Allen would perform without Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis anymore. Diggs and his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, insinuated on social media it was the receiver who made the quarterback, not vice versa.
So whom would Allen throw to?
Whomever he damn well pleases, apparently.
GO DEEPER
Josh Allen, Bills dominate Jags in 47-10 throttling: Takeaways
At the intermission, he’d completed passes to nine teammates while guiding Buffalo to touchdowns on each of its five possessions. He was 22-of-28 for 247 yards and touchdowns to four players: tight end Dalton Kincaid, rookie receiver Keon Coleman, receiver Khalil Shakir and tailback Ty Johnson. Oh, Allen also led both teams with 22 rushing yards, 3 more than Jacksonville’s entire roster, while protecting his injured left hand.
And there were 30 more minutes left in the game.
“M-V-P!” indeed.
Right around then, a minted MVP tweeted this:
I really like watching Josh Allen play football! 🏈
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2024
Bills edge rusher A.J. Epenesa knows how LeBron feels, at least on this topic.
“As a defensive player, I get to watch him a lot, up close and personal,” Epenesa said. “I’ve seen him do some crazy things and it’s just … . He’s one of one. I don’t even want to say ‘It’s miraculous’ because he just does his job to the best of his ability, and he does it so well and is such a great leader for us.
“Josh defines what a Bill is.”
When Johnson snagged Allen’s 16-yard lob in the end zone 19 seconds before halftime, he became the sixth Bill with at least one touchdown reception this year. No other club has as many TD catchers.
Winking locker room sources confirmed it was no coincidence that, two offensive plays into the third quarter, Allen made sure to get the lone first-half straggler, Mack Hollins, a reception. It was the 10th time in club history at least 10 players caught a pass.
And then there were 25 more minutes left in the game.
“It’s paying dividends of what we’ve worked on through the entire offseason and through training camp of the ‘everybody eats’ mentality,” Allen said. “It could be your play this play. You never know when it’s going to happen. That’s the beauty of it, when guys buy into this and really understand, like, ‘I may not get the ball four or five times thrown to me a game, but the one or two times I do, I’m going to have opportunities to be in the end zone.’”
To wit, Coleman didn’t play the entire first quarter because he was punished for a tardiness issue. But on his third snap, he caught his first NFL touchdown with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter.
Rookie Keon Coleman scored his first NFL touchdown in the Bills’ win against the Jaguars. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
“It’s a fun and wonderful thing,” Allen said, “when you’ve got a bunch of guys that don’t care about the stats. They don’t care about the touchdowns.”
Davis, meanwhile, didn’t make Bills fans miss him Monday night. He caught two passes for 18 yards, both in the third quarter. Diggs has played decently for the Houston Texans, catching 20 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. But he’s running the shortest routes of his career and he’s 4.0 yards below his career average per reception. The Bills visit Houston in two weeks as part of a grueling upcoming schedule. More on that below.
Shakir has emerged as Allen’s security blanket. They remained perfect, with Allen completing all six of his attempts sent Shakir’s way for 72 yards and the second-quarter touchdown. Shakir this year has 16 catches on 16 targets for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
You having fun yet, #BillsMafia?
📺: @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/v5FY4RWvFY
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2024
“I can say this over and over: He’s a freakin’ football player, emphasis on ‘football’” Allen said. “He loves the game. He does things the right way. He’s so selfless in his approach throughout the week. He might get two passes in practice, and he just keeps finding ways to be in the right spot at the right time.”
The Bills scored 34 points through two quarters for the fifth time in club history, including playoffs, a feat unaccomplished since 1992. The regular-season record for largest halftime blowout was 48-10 over the Miami Dolphins in 1966. The Bills led the Los Angeles Raiders 41-3 in the 1990 postseason.
Allen passed for only 16 yards in the second half (the Hollins completion) but still posted the fattest Week 3 fantasy football total among all quarterbacks and was second only to San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings in non-PPR leagues. Allen also was the game’s leading rusher with 44 yards at the time Mitchell Trubisky relieved him with 9:58 remaining.
The Bills are 3-0, but the schedule gets arduous from here. Buckle up.
Their next three games — four of their next five games and five of their next six games — are on the road, starting Sunday night with the Baltimore Ravens.
Allen, unsolicited, made an MVP Award reference himself. He knows the measuring stick.
“We got a short week, and we’re going into a hostile environment with the Ravens and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson,” Allen said. “We’re going to turn this real quick and start focusing on them real quick.”
Then the Bills visit the Texans and New York Jets before they return to Highmark Stadium. Their bye is in Week 12, sandwiched between a pair of home games against last season’s Super Bowl teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers.
“You don’t win a Super Bowl or get in the playoffs with only three games,” Allen said. “I think this team understands that. We’ll watch this film and put this behind us as quickly as we can.”
The Ravens defense, on the other hand, will be watching Allen’s footage on a loop all week.
They’ll see what LeBron did, but to them, it won’t be nearly as amusing.
(Top photo: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)