A story from early December detailed how Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen embraced more of a leadership role after multiple noteworthy veteran players, including star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, parted ways with the club this past offseason.
Following Buffalo’s impressive 48-42 win at the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott expanded on how Allen’s efforts behind the scenes helped him emerge a leading MVP candidate.
“It’s staying after to work with receivers for an extra five to 10 minutes to make sure they have the detail, the timing down, in order to execute at a high level in some of those moments,” McDermott said while speaking with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “I mean, that’s just one example I would say that happens during the week. And then just coming in a way of [being] ready to work. Again, I don’t want to sound like he hasn’t done this in the past, but there’s a difference.”
The Bills needed to bounce back after they suffered a 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a game-of-the-year candidate back on Dec. 8. In what many referred to as a possible Super Bowl LIX preview, Allen completed 23-of-34 passes for 362 yards with two touchdowns against the Lions. He also added 68 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
“Every lion picks up a scar along the way,” McDermott said about the defeat against the Rams. “And we picked up a scar. Now, that scar has got to stay with us.”
As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Allen as the heavy betting favorite at -900 odds to claim MVP Award honors. It also had the 11-3 Bills as the betting favorites at +185 odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX.
“We’ve had tight teams before … but this team is, I would say, extra tight,” McDermott added. “I mean, they really enjoy playing, and they really enjoy playing with one another, from a teammate standpoint. And they also realized that we probably didn’t have the focus that we needed a week ago. And the leaders took over and led by example this week.”
According to ESPN stats, Allen leads the NFL with a 79.4 adjusted QBR for the season. He’s second among quarterbacks with 11 rushing scores and sixth in the league with 25 touchdowns through the air.
Allen may be able to put conversations regarding the MVP to bed for good when Buffalo hosts the 3-11 New England Patriots this coming Sunday. With that said, he likely has a different goal in mind with the Bills set to enter the playoffs as the reigning AFC East champions.
