'The Greatest:' Josh Allen's 6-TD outburst a message to the NFL... and the Bills

The Bills have issues. But they also have the ultimate solution — dare defenses to punt the ball back to Josh Allen in the fourth quarter. The MVP is back.

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Isolate on Josh Allen when things go haywire and you’ll pick up on a theme. After dropped passes, wrong routes, missed blocks — mayhem to any degree — the Buffalo Bills quarterback expresses zero emotion. It’s strange. Quarterbacks of his competitive breed typically cannot help themselves. Brady and Rodgers and Manning chastised teammates. Even his equals today, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, have been caught on camera completely fed up.

Allen’s refusal to ever show up a teammate or a coach is admirable… about 99 percent of the time. Because let’s face it. There’s been times Allen shouldn’t play Mr. Nice Guy. Through all the playoff defeats, one teammate who’s close to the quarterback lamented the reality that Allen would never, ever go to Terry Pegula’s office with demands. Simply, it’s not his nature to wield his power as the most important person in the entire building.

The reigning MVP didn’t do anything demonstrative behind the scenes in the wake of a humbling loss to the Miami Dolphins.

And on Sunday, all Allen did was resemble an all-time great.

Again.

His way.

Afterward, wide receiver Khalil Shakir called his quarterback “one of the most positive dudes” he’s ever met in his life. Year to year to year, he sees him smile through the hard times.

“For all of us to be around him and see him with a smile on his face,” Shakir says, “it’s contagious. It brings the rest of us along. He has the best attitude ever.”

Allen, 29, is exactly 134 games into what should be a Hall of Fame career. This is Season No. 8. Fans begging for a pit bull will forever get a golden retriever. He’s not going to change. Nor does anybody inside this locker room want him to change.

“He’s the best leader I’ve ever been around,” Shakir says. “His contagious energy brings everybody along. It’s unreal how he leads. I’m blessed.”

The takeaway from this 44-32 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Never try to make your best player somebody he is not. That applies to personality and that absolutely applies to play style. If the Bills embrace this simple truth as an organization, they’ll stay firmly in the Super Bowl mix this season and beyond. Highmark Stadium was the site of vintage Josh Allen in Week 11. He threw for 317 yards, ran for 40 more and scored six total touchdowns.

Through all of NFL history — including the playoffs — a quarterback has had three passing and three rushing touchdowns in a game only three times. Allen has now done it twice. Otto Graham (1954) is other.

Buffalo’s run defense is still a mess. The wide receiver drafted in 2024 to elevate this passing game blew off a Friday meeting — Strike 3 — and was promptly benched. Nor did Keon Coleman seem to care much about his demotion. Nobody at One Bills Drive knows for sure if he’ll grow up. The team’s No. 1 pass catcher (Dalton Kincaid) was out with a hamstring injury. The team’s workhorse back (James Cook) averaged only 3.0 yards per carry. Hell, the receiver Buffalo handed a four-year, $53 million this offseason (Shakir) finished with minus-3 yards on one catch. But none of it matters when Allen goes full psycho mode. There are more complete teams in the AFC: the Colts, Broncos, Patriots, even the Ravens. This game was a loud reminder that Allen is the rare quarterback who can serve as a human eraser to all problems on a roster.

He’s fully capable of throwing a team on his back.

The first 2 ½ months of the season, the Bills have resisted the urge to let him do so.

I get it to an extent. The season is a marathon. It’d sure be nice if the defense could carry Buffalo through a stretch of victories. The sight of Bijan Robinson and De’Von Achane and, uh, Sean Tucker dashing to daylight no doubt made it clear that the Bills must unleash their Spanish Fighting Bull of a quarterback.

It’s as true now as it’s been since 2020. Through Allen, the Bills must dictate the terms. Afterward, I asked players what this quarterback can do that others cannot.

Tyrell Shavers speaks with emphatic pauses for effect.

“The greatest. To Ever. Play the position.”

I give him a chance to soften his stance.

Ever?

“Yes.”

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All evolutionary steps Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott took make practical sense. When the Cincinnati Bengals KO’d their roster in the 2022 divisional round, it was time to toughen up on the line of scrimmage. Despite playing in the NFL’s most wintry climate, the Bills were built for a dome. One prominent starter on that defense once ripped the make-up of that roster as incapable of winning in Western New York. When Patrick Mahomes effortlessly picked apart this defense for a fourth time in the playoffs — he has completed 74 percent of his passes for 1,163 yards with 12 total TDs and zero picks in all — it was time to load up with new defensive personnel. A herd of free agents. Five straight picks in the draft. It made sense.

All of which is fine. You’ve got to try something new to get over the hump. Short of hiring a new head coach, it’d be insane to try the same thing year-in, year-out.

As long as it all doesn’t come with collateral damage.

The last thing the Bills should ever do is ask Allen to be a game manager. Turning him into a Handoff Machine would be self-immolation. Constantly harping on the need for this QB to slide, to step out of bounds, to throw the ball away dulls what makes him special. In this regard, McDermott is no different than any other defensive coach. But spam the brain of any creative in any industry with doubt and they’ll be unsure when it is time to improvise. Allen looked remarkably unsure and scattershot through Buffalo’s blowout loss in Miami. Early on, it appeared as if he was in danger of a similar slopfest against these Bucs.

From his own 5-yard line, Allen threw one of the worst interceptions you’ll ever see.

He returned to the sideline, stared into his tablet, took the field again and refused to play scared. Nor did McDermott hold him back.

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On fourth and 4, down 3-0, he knifed a slant to Gabe Davis, who outmuscled cornerback Zyon McCollum for the sort of contested catch Buffalo thought it’d get from Coleman. Moments later, Allen blasted ahead on a keeper for a third-and-2 conversion. Moments after this, he rammed in for a TD on third and 1.

The next drive, down 10-7, the Bills spread out Tampa Bay with five receivers on third and 3. Against a three-man rush, Allen danced around the pocket. Not in panic, not in disarray, as if he knew someone was bound to shake free downfield. In the corner of his eye, Allen saw Shavers streaking down the sideline and gunned a touchdown diagonally across the field 50+ yards in the air.

Down 26-24 with less than 4 minutes to go in the third, he laced a 25-yard strike up the left sideline to Cook. His pass was in-rhythm, on-the-money. The type of throw he has airmailed when mired in a funk games past. This day, he was Steph Curry launching 3’s from the logo.

Because while the Favre-tier arm and no-no-no-YES! scrambling is what’s always brought this stadium to its fever pitch, what’s equally dangerous at this point of Allen’s career is his vision. There may come a time in the playoffs when the Bills do need to lean heavily into those three-TE sets and pay homage to the 60s teams that first occupied this stadium. That brand of offense should not serve as the foundation. This day, offensive coordinator Joe Brady spread the Bucs out and let his quarterback perform open-heart surgery on Todd Bowles’ defense.

Pick any Hall of Fame quarterback in any of their defining Super Bowl moments.

What’s most remarkable about game-winning drives orchestrated by Mahomes and Tom Brady is how unremarkable they are. Coaches simply scatter the field with options and both made the correct decision repeatedly. Allen is now capable of doing the same thing in the same playoff moment.

Unleashing his game isn’t only a matter of letting him run through linebackers and going for it on fourth down at midfield. It’s allowing Allen to use all corners of his football brain with receiving options dotting the field.

Imperative considering the Bills’ run defense is currently hanging on for dear life each week. It doesn’t make any sense for McDermott to shorten the game — to handcuff his QB to any degree in the name of turnover avoidance — when the opposition is gashing his defense for six yards a clip. Instead, go on the offensive. Throttle this offense into high gear and dare teams to punt. In truth, the Bills won this game with 7:38 remaining when Bowles inexplicably opted to punt on fourth and 2. His Bucs trailed, 37-32, from their own 39-yard line. For some reason, he thought the odds of his Tampa Bay defense stopping an unstoppable quarterback were higher than his own Baker Mayfield-piloted unit gaining two yards.

A throwback to McDermott cowardice past. (The Bills coach has grown immensely in this department.)

Buffalo made Bowles pay with an eight-play, 85-yard drive that iced the game and ought to register as an epiphany for the 2025 Bills.

When Allen’s feeling it, two yards from any part of the field are attainable.

He’d never say it in a microphone. But this sure appears to be the way Allen wants to play.

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Vibes are good again in Orchard Park. What a satisfying afternoon this was for Shavers, a receiver who’s been patiently waiting for his opportunity since 2023. The reserve wideout is essentially Bizarro Keon. At the very bottom of this Bills roster, nothing’s been handed to him. There’s a reason Allen lit up like a Christmas tree when asked about Shavers’ breakout game. All he’s done is work… and work… and work… and wait for the chance to catch a few passes on Sundays. Unlike the immature 33rd overall pick, Shavers is a professional.

The Lewiston, Texas native who cycled through three different colleges (Alabama, Mississippi State, San Diego State) was finally able to see the fruits of his labor.

“Amazing, honestly. It’s what you work for,” says Shavers, who caught four balls for 90 yards. “I knew the opportunity was going to come eventually this season. It was just a matter of when. For me, it’s just always staying ready so I didn’t have to get ready.”

Of course, it doesn’t matter if Peak Stefon Diggs, Undrafted Tyrell Shavers or The Xtreme Discount Mattress Guy with slicked back hair is Buffalo’s leading wide receiver. Everyone should be in agreement that this team is at its best when the quarterback is applying constant pressure on the opposition. Don’t fear shootouts. Dare a team to exchange body blows. Dare more coaches to punt on fourth down.

When I ask running back Ty Johnson that same Allen question — What makes him different? — he mentions his arm, his legs but is sure to finish with the most valuable tool in his arsenal: “his mind.” Allen was able to settle in and pick a defense apart. This was a breakout day for Brady, too. The OC turned 11-on-11 into a game of 3-on-3 with a perfectly designed swing pass to Johnson. One block by Curtis Samuel, one pin from Shakir and off Johnson went for a touchdown of his own.

The third-down back fully expects a fine from the league office for his risque celebration.

“But,” he points out, “it wasn’t three pumps. It was two.”

Very true. Maybe the suits show him some mercy.

Next up is the most difficult defense the Bills will face all season — the Houston Texans — on a short week.

If things don’t go well against Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr. and this ferocious pass rush, Josh Allen won’t throw up his arms in disgust, roll his eyes or cuss out anyone. It’s not his nature. But if the Bills are able to take up residency in the end zone, this entire team will again take its cue from its joyful quarterback. We’ll see second, third, fourth pumps and nobody will give a damn if they get fined.