ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills planned to throw it.
“But I’m kind of anxious,” receiver Amari Cooper said. “It’s fourth-and-2!”
You can forgive Cooper. He’s still pretty new here. He hasn’t fully absorbed the Josh Allen Experience.
Allen soon would vaporize any tension and leave nothing but euphoria in Highmark Stadium, chants of “M-V-P!” booming into the Sunday night sky.
“Some guys are just made to play ball in the position that they play,” Cooper said later at his locker stall, “and he’s definitely one of those guys.”
The Bills insisted all week and in the immediate afterglow of their 30-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs that Sunday merely was one of 17 games, no more important than, say, beating the Tennessee Titans a month ago.
But the showdown absolutely meant more. The two-time defending Super Bowl champs were undefeated, and although the Bills are correct to downplay a regular-season result — win or lose — as relatively insignificant in the master design to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy, games and moments such as these achieve gravitas.
Allen established himself as the NFL’s no-doubt best player Sunday.
On a day when the league’s three active MVPs looked pedestrian by their standards and a couple new candidates also stumbled, Allen flourished against a formidable defense and delivered a signature play in a career stuffed with highlights.
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“He’s played close to 100 games, and it seems like he does it every game,” Bills tight end Dawson Knox said. The number actually is 104 in the regular season, 124 counting playoffs. “It still never gets old.
“It’s weird. You get to the point where you kind of expect it.”
Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo didn’t. Not on this play, at least. Spagnuolo declined to dispatch a spy on this play — Cooper’s aforementioned fourth-and-2 with 2:27 remaining — to keep Allen from running wild.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott, clinging to a two-point advantage and intimately aware Patrick Mahomes devours one-score leads like sunflower seeds, kept Allen on the field rather than ask Tyler Bass to try a 44-yard field goal after he missed an extra point in the first quarter.
“Down (five points) with the game on the line — I’ll tell you what — they like their odds in that situation,” Allen said.
In shotgun formation, Allen stood immediately between tailback Ty Johnson on the right and receiver Khalil Shakir on the left. Cooper was the left end, Knox the right end. Mack Hollins flanked right.
Johnson blurted left into motion behind Allen “to create some eye candy,” the quarterback said, making the Chiefs think.
The play was a mesh concept, underneath crossing routes meant to schmozzle a man defense. Shakir was the primary read on an out route through the line and into the right flat. But the Chiefs switched coverage at the snap.
“They dropped out into zone,” Allen said. “I was just trying to create and keep the play alive.”
Allen instinctively pump-faked a pass toward his left to Johnson and scrambled to the right. Buffalo’s offensive linemen had their assignments well-blocked, with center and left guard David Edwards on defensive tackle Mike Pennel, right guard O’Cyrus Torrence walling off all-world defensive tackle Chris Jones, and right tackle Ryan Van Demark on edge rusher George Karlaftis.
Allen wasn’t going to throw it anymore. Maybe he knew before McGovern even snapped the ball, but Allen bolted upfield between the right hash marks and the numbers.
Karlaftis dove in vain. Allen feigned another throw at the 30-yard line. That’s where he outran Pennel.
“By the time I turn my head around, you know, ‘What’s happening?’ I thought the ball was going to be thrown to somewhere else,” Knox said. “As soon as I saw him get past the line of scrimmage, I kind of knew he was scoring even though there’s a linebacker and two DBs right in front of him.”
The rest of the sequence was a little tougher than that.
Bryan Cook was the last line of defense on Josh Allen’s fourth-quarter touchdown. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
Allen swerved to buckle Drue Tranquill darn near to the ground and glided past cornerback Nazeeh Johnson’s ankle-diving attempt.
At this moment, with Allen approaching the 15-yard line, Hollins on the left side of the field already was pointing toward the video scoreboard, choosing to watch the rest of Allen’s romp on the screen, but Allen had more defenders to foil.
“He’d been sliding all game,” Cooper said. “When I used to watch him back in the day, he used to take a lot of hits. I wasn’t sure he was going to go for it, but he knew the situation. You know, ‘We need to score!’ He had this great offense on the other side. ‘I can’t slide right here.’”
Allen, the ball now tucked in his right elbow, shook off linebacker Nick Bolton’s diving tackle and lowered his shoulder into safety Bryan Cook at the 3-yard line. Allen seemed to welcome Cook’s effort. Cook was the only one to wrap him up, but no matter. Allen powered his 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame into the end zone anyway.
How does a man so big snake so smoothly around burly men who get paid to crumple opponents?
“Guys don’t want to hit bigger guys,” Ty Johnson said. “You see Josh running full-speed, who really wants to take that on? It’s a brick wall.”
Allen completed 27 of 40 passes for 262 yards with one touchdown (his 12-yarder to Curtis Samuel in the fourth quarter gave Allen TD connections with 11 targets so far this season) and one interception. Allen ran 11 times for 56 yards, not counting his victory-formation kneeldown. He tied Jim Kelly for the club record with 244 total touchdowns and surpassed O.J. Simpson for second place with 58 rushing touchdowns, seven behind Thurman Thomas.
Allen didn’t take a sack for the first time since Week 3 versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. The offensive line, with Van Demark replacing the injured Spencer Brown, didn’t commit a single penalty.
Minted MVPs, meanwhile, struggled. Mahomes completed 23 of 33 attempts for 196 yards and three touchdowns but had two interceptions, keeping him on pace for a career-worst season in that category. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was 16 of 33 for 207 yards and one touchdown with an interception and ran four times for 46 yards in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aaron Rodgers is the other active MVP, although he doesn’t belong in this conversation anymore.
Allen has emerged as the MVP favorite. His signature play to conquer the Chiefs spoke volumes.
“He wants to win by any means necessary, and he’s going to make the plays to do so,” Ty Johnson said. “I don’t think he worries about MVP or anything like that.
“He’s just taking it one game at a time, but his thing is balling the hell out.”
(Top photo: Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
