'Recipe for Success': Bills QB Josh Allen Cooks Up MVP Statement in Blowout at Rams

If Allen continues to play at, or above his current level, Bills fans may have cause to celebrate in February.

The Buffalo Bills entered the 2022 NFL season considered by many to be among the most complete teams in the NFL.

They wasted little time - well, maybe one first half of time - in proving themselves worthy of the hype with a dominant 31-10 win over the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Los Angeles Rams, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Thursday night. 

They did so, thanks largely in part, to a statement performance by quarterback Josh Allen.

Despite tossing two interceptions in the first half, Allen kept his composure and led the Bills on a second-half surge, which would decisively tilt the contest in their favor. 

“There’s a lot to learn, but that second half, that’s who we want to be, going out there and executing that way,” Allen said. “We were 90-percent (conversions) on third down. That’s a recipe for success.”

The Bills did indeed go 9 for 10 on third downs while racking up 413 total yards. Allen completed 26 of 33 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He also was the team's leading rusher with nine carries for 57 yards and a score; scrambling for a four-yard touchdown in which Allen’s outstretched arm drove the ball past the line with 13:27 to play.

As such, his showing against a formidable opponent, who just hours earlier unfurled their championship banner, has Buffalo believing that their beloved Bills have the chance to return to a stage on which they have not performed in nearly three decades.

Exactly how long has it been?

The date was January 23, 1994. The Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 30-13 at Rich Stadium in the 1993 AFC Championship Game. Buffalo would head to Super Bowl XXVIII and a return date with the Dallas Cowboys.

While Bills Mafia would rather forget the outcome of that Super Bowl, the fan base is hoping to make some positive history of their own at season’s end. 

If Allen continues to play at, or above his current level, Bills fans may have cause to celebrate in February.

Still, his stellar performance in Buffalo’s 2022 season-opener is not the only reason for justifying Buffalo’s bravado. Allen began to lay the foundation for such optimism last season.

Allen played some of the best football of his career in 2021. Throughout the regular season, the 26-year old threw for 4,407 yards with 36 touchdowns, against 15 interceptions. His dual threat capabilities in both the passing game and the run game made him a metaphorical nightmare for opposing defenses.

In the postseason, Allen was equally as masterful. Albeit in a losing effort, Allen’s quarterback play was more-than deserving of a win in the divisional round against the Chiefs. During the final two minutes of the tightly contested game, Allen threw two go-ahead touchdowns to wide receiver Gabriel Davis as the Bills and Chiefs exchanged leads three times before ending regulation tied at 36. The Chiefs won 42–36 in overtime after winning the coin toss and scoring on the opening drive. Allen and the Bills offense never touched the ball.

Ultimately, Allen took the field at SoFi Stadium with the intent to win, but also to put the rest of the league on notice. In the process, he also helped to cleanse the bad taste of last season’s playoff defeat from his palate.

His 83.9 completion percentage eclipsed the Bills' regular-season record, previously set by Trent Edwards in 2008. At the time of his 53-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in the fourth-quarter, Allen was traveling 13.6 MPH leading up to the throw. According to Next Gen Stats, it was the fastest a quarterback has run on a completion of at least 50 air yards since 2016.

Allen also demonstrated his toughness. Though he took his share of hits, he showed that he is capable of getting physical, as well. With the game tied at 10 in the third quarter, Allen stiff-armed Rams defensive back Nick Scott as he powered his way to the first down.

“We’re going to make the plane do backflips on the way home tonight,” said Von Miller, the Ram-turned-Bill who had two sacks for his new team. “We’re going to celebrate this win, because you have to, but then we’re going to go back to the lab.”

Though it may only be one game, Josh Allen appears to be cooking up something special in that "lab.'' That is great news for the Buffalo Bills … not so much, for the rest of the NFL. 

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