Broncos And Bo Nix Take Notice Of Josh Allen’s ‘Superhero Stuff’

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the reigning 2024 NFL MVP and is in the midst of another stellar campaign with his team heading to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs against the Denver Broncos on Saturday.

Allen’s superhero stuff was on full display in the wild card round against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, going 28-of-35 for 273 yards with one passing touchdown along with 33 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns. If not for a one-yard rushing score from Allen to give the Bills the lead with just 1:04 remaining, the Bills wouldn’t have advanced in the playoffs.

Allen is now 8-6 in his postseason career with 26 passing touchdowns, four interceptions along with nine rushing scores. While Allen has yet to appear in a Super Bowl, he has the playmaking ability it takes from a quarterback this time of year to accomplish that feat.

Bo Nix Evaluates Josh Allen’s Strengths

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will have to keep up with Allen on the scoreboard on Saturday, which will be a tall task. Nix commended Allen and his ability to win games in gritty ways.

“He’s incredible. He’s the MVP of the league for a reason,” Nix said this week. “He continues to make play after play when sort of the game’s not necessarily looking like he can make the play. He just goes out there and does superhero stuff.”

Nix went on to explain what separates Allen from other quarterbacks.

“His toughness, his ability to go play after play at his maximum velocities, his peak performance,” Nix said. “It’s been fun to watch him play over the course of his career. It feels like he got in the league, but he’s been in there for a while at this point, making play after play. He’s just a kind of a generational talent. You don’t see that all the time, guys as big as the defensive linemen just being able to be as athletic as skill players. It’s not normal. He has great arm strength, too. It’s one of those things where you can do it all at a high level, and it’s always been fun to watch.”

Sean Payton Shares Thoughts On Josh Allen

Broncos head coach Sean Payton shared his initial impressions of Allen the first time he met him in person. Payton’s perception of him then rings true in the present.

“I think he does so many things well,” Payton said on Tuesday. “When you see him, the first time I really met him was out at some golf course, and you realize how big he is and physical he is. So, he’s hard to bring down. He’s powerful. He’s probably first in the league in second-act explosives where he climbs, moves, and then tracks somebody.”

Payton mentioned that Allen can beat teams with his arm and his rushing prowess alike. Allen had 3,668 passing yards this year with 25 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions along with 579 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. Allen, 29, has 79 regular season rushing touchdowns in his career, the most ever by a quarterback.

“There’s a lot that goes into that relative to defending him. He has tremendous legs. He’s a fantastic competitor. He was the difference when that game that was close last weekend, and here it is the final drive. It’s been a while since I saw someone gain seven yards on a sneak. He’s one of the stars of our league, and you see it year-in and year-out.”

The Key To Buffalo’s Victory Could Be Someone Other Than Josh Allen

While Allen is arguably the biggest key to Buffalo’s success against the Broncos, there’s another player who could play as much or an even larger role in their pursuit of victory – running back James Cook.

The Bills are 11–1 this season in games where Cook reached 100 yards from scrimmage or more. Cook ranked No. 1 in the league in rushing yards (1,621) and No. 6 in rushing touchdowns (12) and has proven to be a nice safety valve as a receiving target with 33 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bills will be without Tyrell Shavers and Gabriel Davis for the rest of the season after they both suffered knee injuries in Buffalo’s win against the Jaguars on Sunday. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Brandin Cooks are the Bills’ only healthy receivers. It’ll become all the more important for Buffalo’s rushing attack to have success against Denver and for Cook to have success as a runner and receiver alike.