If the Buffalo Bills are going to win the AFC East for the sixth straight season, quarterback Josh Allen knows he’s going to need to protect the football.
So when asked about what he needs to do for the Bills to knock off the rival New England Patriots, and potentially overtake them for the aforementioned division title, Allen kept it simple.
The superstar QB and reigning AP NFL MVP is coming off an MVP-caliber performance where he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Allen threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards and a 40-yard touchdown in the second half of Buffalo’s 39-34 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bills (9-4) trail the first-place Patriots (11-2) by two games, and they will meet for the second and final time in the regular season Sunday in Foxborough at 1 p.m. ET.
Josh Allen: Protecting The Ball Is Of ‘Utmost Importance’
The Bills’ only home loss this season came to the Patriots in a game where Allen himself turned the ball over twice. Buffalo committed three turnovers in New England’s 23-20 win, which serves as the tiebreaker between the clubs at the moment.
So heading on the road against the AFC’s second-seeded team with just four weeks left, Allen understands how the Bills need to protect the ball.
“It’s [of] the utmost importance, making sure we’re holding onto the football [and] making good decisions with it,” Allen said. “I think what goes into that is making sure we’re practicing extremely well, playing well and that whatever plays we’re putting in we’re extremely comfortable with.”
The Bills have a minus-1 turnover margin this season, and six of Allen’s 10 interceptions and one of his two lost fumbles have come in away games, where Buffalo is just 3-3. Allen has thrown at least one interception in four of his past five road games, and Buffalo is 2-3 in those games — with five picks coming in those three defeats.
“Ultimately it comes down to me making the best decision for the football team,” Allen said. “When the ball’s in my hands, I’ve got to make sure I’m remembering that.”
This Is The Biggest Patriots-Bills Game In Four Years
The last time Allen and the Bills went to Foxborough, the starting QB took one snap just to extend his consecutive-starts streak before he exited in the first quarter. The Bills lost 23-16 to Joe Milton and the Patriots on Jan. 5 yet still claimed the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
Yet, this game will carry much more weight and is the most important Pats-Bills game since their wild-card-round meeting Jan 15, 2022 which Buffalo won 47-17 at Highmark Stadium. It is the rivals’ most consequential game in Foxborough since Boxing Day 2021, when Buffalo beat New England 33-21 behind Allen’s 314-passing-yard, three-touchdown afternoon.
Buffalo is, of course, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers for the No. 5 seed in the AFC, but it leads the seventh-seeded Houston Texans by only one game — and Houston has the tiebreaker against the Bills.
But if Allen and the Bills can walk into New England and win, the AFC East will be there for the taking. Buffalo’s final three games are at the Cleveland Browns before it will host the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets to close the season.
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