Is Josh Allen the MVP? His Bills teammates say: ‘Just turn the tape on'
2025-01-08
Category: sports

Josh Allen was bleeding from the mouth. That was abundantly clear to his teammates because the Buffalo Bills quarterback was smiling widely — though maybe not brightly because the blood leaked down to his teeth. It was the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10, and Allen had just taken a hit to the face after completing a pass that converted a third down. The Bills were the better team, but the scoreline wasn't quite reflecting it — not yet. In the huddle, Allen called the next play. And then gave a simple message. "Let's go get this s--- done," Allen said, licking the blood from his lips. The Bills scored a touchdown a few players later and put the game away. That was what tackle Spencer Brown considered Allen's MVP moment. In speaking to nine different Bills players, every single one of them had a different MVP moment from 2024. Actually, safety Damar Hamlin didn't bother pointing to any single moment. "Every f---ing day. Every Sunday. Every f---ing Sunday. Like, it's no specific moment. It's every f---ing Sunday he gets out there, lines up and proves it. Just turn the tape on," Hamlin told FOX Sports. Running back Ty Johnson, however, picked the obvious choice: Allen's fourth-down, game-winning rushing touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11.  The Bills players are, of course, biased. If we'd spoken to nine different Ravens players, they'd assure us that Lamar Jackson also had an infinite number of MVP moments. Because he did. No matter who wins the award, he will be deserving.&nbsp; It's a question of taste.&nbsp; Jackson has been electric in leading an atypical offense, in which he has thrown for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed for 915 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers make an excellent case on their own. Hamlin's message resonates with some MVP voters: Turn on the tape. Because Allen's stats pale in comparison (3,731 passing yards, 28 passing TDs, 6 INTs; 531 rushing yards, 12 rushing TDs). But his tape shows a player who is, arguably, most valuable — even more than Jackson. Allen is elevating his offensive teammates in a way that Jackson is not. "When the season started, everybody counted our whole team and organization out," Brown said. "They said we weren't going to make the playoffs. We were going to have the worst record that we'd had in the last five years. We were going to be last in our division, because everybody left." This skill group pales in comparison to what the Bills had last year. That's a big part of the case for Allen as MVP. Receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis left this offseason, and they were the team's No. 1 and No. 2 wideouts. That thrust Khalil Shakir, a slot receiver, into a role as the primary option. And it's not like that was the plan. Buffalo likely wanted tight end Dalton Kincaid, receiver Keon Coleman or receiver Amari Cooper to assume that alpha role. None of them did. Still, Allen made the best of what he had. The Bills have sold this offensive identity as "everyone eats," which is wholesome. But that doesn't work for everyone. The Chiefs have deployed that identity — and it really only works because of Patrick Mahomes. New England tried that identity, and it only ever worked with Tom Brady. The Patriots went humpty-dumpty after Brady left — for many reasons, one of them being that New England never found elite playmakers to support their post-Brady QBs. Nobody ate. The dirty little secret about "everybody eats" is that you have to have a chef who can handle the rigors of feeding everyone. That chef is Allen.  "You put on the film, you could tell he's the best player in NFL right now," backup QB Mitchell Trubisky said. "As you get older in this league, you figure out, like, how to play well, and then how to play really well and win. … It just seems like he's got total control." Allen is a master of creativity, with a unique ability to run his progressions patiently in the pocket — while also realizing he needs to make something happen when that progression fails him. How many times have we seen Allen roll right, gesture a receiver to go a certain direction and then the QB hits the guy with a dart? (A lot.)  Allen isn't just converting these explosive plays. He's also avoiding the turnovers that plagued him last year. He logged just six interceptions this year despite putting up 18 in 2023. Allen is so adept at converting improbable third downs that it has become a bit of a running joke for safety Cole Bishop, who is on the punt coverage team. "[We] get ready to go out. And then he just does something amazing. [It happens] a lot. It'll be third-and-15 and he'll do something cool. And we go sit back down," Bishop said. "So that's been one thing that's been pretty cool."  These sorts of plays require an unspoken connection — anticipation and rapport. And Bills players were quick to talk about Allen's value as the centerpiece of the locker room, not just the offense. It's Allen who organizes golf meet-ups in-season and during the offseason. Allen hosts big contests of "Settlers of Catan," a board game that's high stress and intensely competitive. He organizes cornhole matchups within the quarterback room to help wind down after the most stressful days. Allen is the glue guy.&nbsp; Allen is the MVP of the Bills. But they think he's more than that. "He's the best player in the league," Hamlin said. Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;@henrycmckenna. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? 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