ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Josh Allen calls it “slotted.”
That’s when he feels his throwing mechanics are locked in and the football is spinning out of his hand with optimum precision.
“I’ve been working really hard over the last couple weeks,” said Allen, “trying to get back into that feeling and had a good feeling early on in the game.”
Allen’s coach sensed what was about to happen, too.
“When he’s rolling like that,” Sean McDermott said, “I know he’s vibing and we go.”
Allen accounted for as many touchdowns Sunday afternoon as he threw incomplete passes. With legendary quarterbacks Joe Ferguson and Jim Kelly hyping up Highmark Stadium before the game, Allen broke his Buffalo Bills record for passing efficiency in a 28-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Allen connected on all but three of his 26 attempts for 273 yards and a touchdown and ran for two TDs. His 88.5 completion percentage was twice that of Patrick Mahomes, who recorded a career-worst 44.1 percent.
Buffalo committed no turnovers, yet it still was a one-score game with Kansas City taking deep shots into the end zone before it was over.
The Bills, only three weeks ago, were betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, but a two-game losing streak in primetime combined with the Chiefs’ recent resurgence flip-flopped them. The Bills entered Sunday as 2.5-point underdogs, the most generous home spread since they rested their starters in Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins five seasons ago.
Allen hasn’t always played like a repeat MVP candidate, either. As bananas as it sounds, the best way to beat Buffalo has been to eliminate running back James Cook and let Allen try to manufacture yards with his dubious group of wideouts.
“I like our chances if people are saying that,” Bills left guard David Edwards said with a laugh.
In a Goodyear Blimp game and with the division-leading New England Patriots winning earlier Sunday to keep the pressure high, what a fine time for Allen to have a career performance.
Even so, the worrisome wideouts didn’t do much again. The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday, and Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane should be working the phones to find Allen more help for the homestretch. Khalil Shakir caught seven passes for only 43 yards. Keon Coleman was the next busiest receiver with two receptions for 17 yards. Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers had one catch apiece. They all combined for 12 catches, 91 yards and zero touchdowns.
Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady made it work — with significant help from Cook, the first running back in two years to hit triple digits against the Chiefs. Cook carried a career-high 27 times for 114 yards and added an 11-yard reception for a crucial third-down conversion before the two-minute warning.
James Cook was the first running back in two years to rush for 100 yards or more against the Chiefs. (Mark Konezny / Imagn Images)
Buffalo piled up 400 yards for the fourth time this year, running for 141 yards, throwing for 263 yards and keeping the ball for 9:30 more than Kansas City.
“When we can do that, I feel like we’re just the best team in the league,” Bills right guard O’Cyrus Torrence said. “When the situation was to throw it, we threw it. When the situation was to run, we ran it.”
Allen’s tight ends were his star targets — stargets? — all afternoon. They snagged four of Buffalo’s six longest gains.
Dalton Kincaid posted six receptions for 101 yards and two TDs. His 47-yard catch and run set up Ty Johnson’s 3-yard TD rush in the second quarter. About six minutes later, Dawson Knox gained 30 yards to pop the first of Allen’s two TD sneaks. Rookie tight end Jackson Hawes added an 18-yard reception.
“We feel like this is more of who we are,” Allen said. “Let James go and do what he does, being able to run play action, find completions, and when we need to be able to drop back, especially on third down, we got the guys capable to go make plays for us.”
NFL NextGen Stats charted Allen for a career-high 38.5 percent of his attempts behind the line of scrimmage, but he also completed six of his seven attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown on throws that traveled 10 or more yards downfield.
Oh, and Allen broke Cam Newton’s record for quarterback rushing touchdowns, including playoffs. Allen also passed Earl Campbell and Pete Johnson for 24th on the NFL’s all-time list. Two more and he’ll catch Thurman Thomas for the club record with 81.
Allen is the fourth in league history to rush for at least six TDs in each of his first eight seasons, joining Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson.
“That’s craaaaazy,” Edwards said. “There’s so much history in this league, and for him to continue to ascend and keep breaking records … I just think of what a tremendous player he is and it seems like every year I’ve been here, there’s some record he’s broken that speaks to the player, the talent, the scheme, the preparation.
“But what’s really cool to me is Josh is such an incredible guy. All these records he breaks? You would never know.”
McDermott, marveling especially at all the kids who get to watch, called Allen “a moment” in Buffalo history. He breezed by Ferguson’s numbers long ago and is approaching Kelly’s club passing records despite playing dozens fewer games.
Allen, of course, isn’t the slam-dunk answer for greatest in Bills history, not as long as he hasn’t reached the Super Bowl or even beaten the Chiefs in the playoffs.
Allen is 0-4 against Kansas City when it truly counts, although his stats are sensational: 65.2 percent completions for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns with one interception, 41 carries for 267 yards and two TDs.
What happened Sunday is a fantastic sign that the Bills are finding their overall identity. McDermott repeatedly cited they’re channeling the proper “attitude,” and much of that emanates from the franchise quarterback. But victories such as these have happened before and not meant anything in January.
“They’re the pinnacle of what you want your franchise to be,” Allen said. “They’ve been that for the last eight years. Any time you get a chance to play the best and can come away with a victory, you’re going to be feeling pretty good.
“There’s a lot to be happy about, but as I alluded to earlier in the week, it’s never as good, never as bad as you think.”