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Henry McKenna
AFC East Reporter
Josh Allen’s regular season couldn’t have ended any other way than how it did in the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. It said everything about his polarizing year.
It was also the Bills’ fifth consecutive win. Allen ripped away the AFC East title from the Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel. And the Bills took that title for the fifth consecutive season.
Allen accounted for 412 (345 passing, 67 rushing) of the team’s 473 yards of total offense. He threw two touchdowns. And he managed the fourth quarter with his legs in a way I’ve seen few quarterbacks do, with a conversion on third-and-13 where he scrambled for 15 yards and short rushes that ended with in-bounds slides to keep the clock running. The scramble was the most crucial play on a drive that burned 4 minutes and 21 precious seconds. Those runs and slides were a display of smart football — but not the traditional quarterback play we see in late-game situations.
The Bills should have won by 30 points, but Allen also threw two interceptions and lost one fumble (on a dropback).
But that fourth-quarter management was how Allen and the Bills won. Allen knew that his team could not afford another one of his turnovers. He’d compensated for them with enough good plays. He’d gotten the lead. What he needed to do was manage it. He did just enough.
The Dolphins had a final drive and the Bills defense held up. And it’s worth noting that, as we focus on Allen’s crazy season, the development of that Buffalo defense has played a significant role in the outcomes of these games. But this is a story about Allen — not the defense and coach Sean McDermott. So that’s where my focus will stay.
Allen’s crazy game against the Dolphins — filled with good, bad and ugly — was exactly how his whole season has played out. Just look at the good, bad and ugly from his season.
He’s first in total touchdowns (44),…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/can-bills-win-a-title-in-qb-josh-allens-most-polarizing-season-yet
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Publish date : 2024-01-10 18:53:10
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