Brilliant NFL Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen talks about his tough rise to the top…
There’s no quarterback in the NFL who mirrors the particular skill combination that Josh Allen brings to the gridiron. His singular combo of hulking size, precision accuracy, 50-calibre cannon arm, and gazelle-like speed are what makes him a true unicorn across all pro sports. While some of these qualities are God-given, Allen’s destiny as a premier NFL QB was far from preordained. Yet his prodigious college performance at the University of Wyoming and boundless natural talent led to his being drafted seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018.
While early struggles defined his rookie year, in 2020 Allen broke out – leading the Bills to their first playoff victory in a quarter of a century. Ever since, the “Winter Soldier” has solidified himself as one of the deadliest weapons in the game, in 2021 becoming the first player ever to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 750 yards in a single season. Beloved by the Bills Mafia, one of the NFL’s rowdiest fanbases, that summer he was rewarded with a six year, US$250 million- plus contract. We spoke with Allen just prior to a dominant Week 12 victory over hated rivals the New England Patriots:
You grew up on a farm in central California, went to Wyoming for university, and got drafted by the smallest market in the NFL. What are your feelings on the luck, or destiny, of landing in Buffalo?
It was definitely a place that was a perfect match for me in terms of how I grew up, my values, my morals. And they’ve been through the wringer here. You could talk about a lot of different things: you could talk about the [lost] Super Bowls, the playoff drought, the ups and downs, the selling of the team and not knowing if it was going to move to Toronto or not. And these fans have been so loyal and so appreciative towards this team and this franchise. And the love that they show us –look, even a couple weeks ago when we got all this snow, you see all these fans coming out and helping players get out of their driveway so they can make it to Detroit to play a game. Every year, no matter how good or bad the previous year was, this next year it’s our year. And it’s the belief that they have, the love that they have for the Bills. They care about football almost as much as I do, and I think that’s why I fit in here so well.
Right now you and the Chiefs are looking like the forces of the NFL. Those are going to be some fun battles for the next 10 or more years – you and Mahomes are basically becoming the NFL’s next Brady-Manning rivalry. That’s got to be exciting for you.
Yeah. I mean, I think it’s a cool way to phrase it and to know that people talk about me that way, and put me in the same phrase as those three names. It’s definitely surreal. But I don’t really look at it that way. I’m just trying to win football games and do whatever I can to help this team, and that’s been my mindset since I stepped into this building on day one. And I think that’s going to forever be my mindset. I don’t really play for the stats or for the numbers. I’m just trying to win, and I want to win Super Bowls, and I want to bring that buzz and that energy here to the great fans of Western New York.
One of the benefits for a small-town guy getting to this position is the ability to give back. It’s clear this charity ‘My Cause My Cleats’ was very important to you. Why partake, and what was the inspiration for your cleats?
The My Cause My Cleats initiative is something the NFL offers for guys to show what they care about, what they play for. Gives them some personality, and it shows people we’re humans and we care about different things other than football. And this year I got to partner with Gillette, and that it’s very important to me when I’m choosing brands to work with and partners to help me with these things, that they care about innovating into my community here. I’ve got the Patricia Allen Fund which is a fund for the Oishei Children’s Hospital [OCH]. My cleats were designed by a guy by the name of Joshua Vides [and] they’ve got the OCH blocks on the front, Patricia Allen logo on the sides and signatures from six OCH patients. So it’s something that means so much to me. These are going to be available to be auctioned off on NFL.com, and then Gillette’s actually going to match that donation and it goes straight to the kids and the families that are in dire need of that.
When you’re playing Mac Jones and the New England Patriots, such a famous rivalry, such a long history, is there a little bit more fire in these games?
I think maybe for the fans here, but not for the players. With the turnover the NFL has you don’t really look at the previous records of how long this and that, so we’re just focused on trying to win the next one – and that’s the most important one to us.
By Nicolas Stecher
PHOTO BY BRYAN M. BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES
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