Buffalo Bills Josh Allen says he is 'playing free and not fearing consequences' against the Chiefs

Sean McDermott's message inspires Josh Allen and Buffalo Bills to change their playoff fortunes against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's AFC Championship game.
Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen knows the team must come into Sunday's AFC Championship against the Bills with a different mindset if they want a different result. While his regular season record against Kansas City is an excellent 4-1, the playoffs - a time when players can get a little tight under the pressure - have proved a hurdle the Bills have been have been unable to leap, losing all three playoff contests to Mahomes and the Chiefs.

However, Allen recently revealed to reporters a seeming change in approach, perhaps stirred by Bills head coach Sean McDermott's message to the team earlier in the week:

It's hard to win if you're playing scared to lose.

Sean McDermott, Head Coach

RELATED: Travis Kelce praises Josh Allen leading up to Bills-Chiefs AFC Championship

When asked what McDermott's words meant to him, Allen quickly responded, "Playing free. Not fearing consequences of messing up. And, again, it does go back to feeling if we've prepared and we've given ourselves everything we can throughout the week then, on Sunday, let it loose and go from there." (3:37 mark in link below)

It's a sound philosophy. Highly successful athletes and teams, the ones who win the big ones, often have a 'prepare and then let if fly' mentality including, notably, the Super Bowl quarterback who will be on the other side of field on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes knows a thing or two about playing free.

josh allen
Bills quarterback Josh Allen carries the ball during second half action against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, Nov.17, 2024. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To hear Allen's words - and see how completely relaxed he is saying them - it's not a leap to think to believe that this newfound fearless freedom may just be the thing that pushes the Bills past their poor postseason record and delivers them to the Super Bowl.

josh allen
Bills quarterback Josh Allen / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Brian Letscher
BRIAN LETSCHER

A Michigan native, Brian graduated from the University of Michigan in another century, where he earned a degree in economics and a Rose Bowl Championship ring while playing football for the Wolverines under Head Coach Gary Moeller. Brian went on to coach Division 1A football for several years before becoming a full-time writer and actor while maintaining an unhealthy interest in sports. He is currently developing a scripted television series, THOSE WHO STAY, based on a series of historical fiction articles he wrote about Bo Schembechler's Michigan football program as they struggle to unite and win the championship - which requires beating #1 Ohio State - during the tumultuous civil rights and anti-war movements of 1969.