How Josh Allen's 'Humility' Helped Lead To Bills Win vs. Raiders
Sometimes less can be more, and for Josh Allen, that brought the best out of him in the Buffalo Bills' 38-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Allen completed 31 of 37 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. The performance was a complete 180 compared to Week 1, when he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in Buffalo's 22-16 loss to the New York Jets on Sept. 11 at MetLife Stadium.
The Bills quarterback was much more efficient and avoided the costly errors that haunted him against the Jets. For as much as Allen is lauded for his physical ability, his ability to overcome a rough performance and a tough week leading into Sunday was just as impressive.
"The thing with this game is it gives you the lowest lows and the highest highs," Allen said. "I love feeling how I felt last week. I really do because it makes the good feel that much better. It forces us to be better, and I want to be the best I can be playing this game and be the best quarterback I can be for the Buffalo Bills."
Bills head coach Sean McDermott credited Allen's ability to bounce back to his mentality and approach.
"It's humility," McDermott said. "When you approach every week with humility, you start in the right spot mentally and that's important. Not that he normally doesn't do that, but when you have games like last week, it forces you to be rather humble."
Nine players had a catch for the Bills, and four players ran the ball for positive yardage. Gabe Davis led the receiving game with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Stefon Diggs also played well, accumulating seven catches for 66 yards.
"We're behind him 100 percent," Davis said. "He's the best quarterback in the NFL, in my eyes."
Dawson Knox and Khalil Shakir also had receiving touchdowns.
"The best players in this league have the shortest memory," Knox said of Allen. "You've just got to forget about things. You can't let it linger. You can let it help you learn lessons, but you can't just be thinking about or it's just going to be bad in the long run. He's so good at being able to put that stuff behind him [and] be the player he knows he is, and we all know he is. Everyone in that stadium knows that's Josh Allen out there."
James Cook led the way on the ground with 17 carries for 123 yards, marking the first 100-yard game of his career. Veteran running backs Latavius Murray and Damien Harris each ran for a touchdown.
With a newfound balance on offense, a much-needed weight was taken off of Allen's shoulders, and he delivered. If Buffalo's offense can continue to perform as they did against Las Vegas and Allen continues to be more efficient, they can continue to thrive as its schedule gets tougher.
