Flashback to November 26th, 2023. The Bills lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Philadelphia Eagles, 37-34. They fell to 6-6 on the season, trailing the Dolphins by 2.5 games in the AFC East.
After that game, the Bills won five straight games, and chased down the Dolphins to win the division and claim the No. 2 seed. They won a playoff game, then lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round. But they came back stronger than ever in 2024, going 13-4 and reaching the AFC Championship game. This season, they look even more dominant in their 3-0 start.
Buffalo is 21-4 in their last 25 regular-season games and 3-2 in their past two postseason appearances. What's changed?
The Bills are winning the turnover battles in games
In fact, it's been 25 games since the Bills lost the turnover battle in a game. That was on January 4th of 2024, when the Bills beat the Dolphins 21-14 despite turning it over twice. From then on, Buffalo has yet to turn the ball over more than their opponent in a game. According to Josh Reed, it's the longest streak in NFL history.
That's an incredible streak, and it's indicative of the massive change Allen has made. It lines up with the time when Ken Dorsey was let go by the Bills, and the promotion of Joe Brady to offensive coordinator. Whatever Brady and Allen have been doing, it's working.
Allen was once a turnover machine. Last year, he threw a career-low six interceptions and lost a career-low five fumbles. This season, he has yet to throw an interception and has not lost a fumble.
The streak gets even more impressive considering Allen has thrown just one interception since December 1st of 2024. In his nine regular-season starts and three postseason starts since then, he's combined to throw 19 touchdown passes, catch one touchdown, and run for 11 scores. He hasn't lost a fumble in that stretch either.
Obviously, that level of success is probably not sustainable. But is it unreasonable to think Allen could combine for, say, 30 total touchdowns and eight turnovers the rest of the season? That would still probably win the turnover battle for the Bills in nearly every game.
Allen is reaching new heights, but James Cook also deserves plenty of credit. Cook has been the best running back Buffalo's had in the Allen/McDermott era, and his dominance out of the backfield has taken the pressure off his quarterback.
In years past, it felt like Allen was constantly playing hero ball. Now, he doesn't have to shoulder all the weight, because he has a running back carrying some of the load for him.
This version of the Bills is dangerous, more dangerous than perhaps they have been since Jim Kelly led the team to four-straight Super Bowls. Could 2025 finally be the year Buffalo reaches the promise land?