Buffalo Bills fans, the media and many others alike have been ragging on quarterback Josh Allen for his rocky performance Sunday in the playoff win over the Miami Dolphins.
Despite throwing for over 350 yards and three touchdowns, Allen also threw two interceptions and fumbled once. That fumble was returned for a lead-changing touchdown by Miami.
It wasn’t his best performance, and certainly not something Bills fans were expecting. The banged-up Dolphins should have been an easy win, but in the NFL, there is rarely such a thing. Instead, Buffalo hung around and Allen’s mistakes nearly cost them the game.
Fans have a point and their worry is warranted, especially considering what they saw from Allen a year ago in the postseason. In two games during last year’s postseason, Allen threw for a combined 637 yards, nine touchdowns and didn’t throw an interception.
Still, the Bills got the win, and that’s all that matters to Allen in the end.
"“At the end of the day all that matters is winning the game. If it’s by one or by 100. These are one-week seasons now. Everything you got. Like I said, it’s win or go home.”"
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills may have won ugly against the Miami Dolphins, but the win is indeed all that matters.
One can assume that Allen knows he’ll be criticized for his performance against Miami, and therefore would be quick to acknowledge the notion, “all that matters is winning the game.”
That’s an easy thing to say after a shaky performance. But, it’s absolutely true.
Did Allen play perfectly? No. But, can they go back and replay the game? Can Allen get some of those snaps back and rewrite history? Of course not.
The Bills won the game, period. That should be the end of the story after so many questions and critiques. Still, all week long, Allen is going to continue being under fire because of the inconsistencies he displayed on Sunday and throughout the season in 2022.
Had Allen not made a habit out of being reckless with the football and his decision-making over some portions of the regular season, we could downplay the Dolphins game as an outlier. But, he did go three games in a row throwing two interceptions during the season.
Fans long for and expect to see the same Allen they saw last postseason, but for right now, the right thing to do is trust your quarterback and recognize that a win is, indeed, a win.