The Buffalo Bills' Week 8 battle with the Baltimore Ravens was supposed to be a must-see matchup between two of the last three MVP winners. Instead, Lamar Jackson suffered a thumb injury on the Ravens' first offensive play and sat out the rest of the game.
Allen held up his end of the bargain, though. He put together one of his best games of the season, making Baltimore pay for its lapses in coverage time and time again.
With the way Allen is playing right now, there isn't a defense in the NFL that can stop him.
Josh Allen established himself as the NFL's best QB in Bills' win over Ravens
Allen and Joe Brady have been working together for over four years now. The Bills took a risk by moving on from Sean McDermott in favor of promoting Brady, but the reward is showing itself in Allen's play.
It's easy to see that the quarterback trusts each play call. He's finding open receivers in rhythm, rarely hesitating to let the ball rip, and choosing the right moments to use his legs. He's operating his offense as well as any quarterback in the league right now.
Per SumerSports, Allen tied Joe Burrow for the most impact plays by a quarterback in Week 8 with six. For the most part, he took short passes, lulled the Ravens' defensive backs to sleep, and then made them pay with shots over the top.
The two deep throws to Dalton Kincaid are the most obvious examples. On both plays, Allen found his tight end wide open downfield after play-action fakes. Baltimore was selling out to stop the run late in the game, and Allen benefited with easy deep bombs.
Allen seems to be more confident in his pass catchers than he has been in years. He's giving his players (specifically Kincaid and DJ Moore) chances to make plays, even if they have tight coverage on them. The deep throw to Moore in the second quarter wasn't a perfect throw, but the receiver rewarded Allen's faith in him with a tough catch.
There were a couple of minor mistakes from Allen in this game. His lone interception wasn't one of them. A slightly low throw was tipped up into the air by Jackson Hawes, creating an easy interception for the Ravens on a fluke play.
A few of Allen's throws were slightly off the mark. He missed on a deep ball to Keon Coleman in the second quarter that may have been a touchdown. But overall, it's hard to fault any area of his performance.
Allen finished the day with 289 passing yards and two touchdowns, and he could have had more if not for a few drops by his tight ends.
Josh Allen's Week 8 grade: A-
We could nitpick on throws that were slightly behind receivers or slightly too low, but this was another near-perfect game from Allen. The Bills put his combination of athleticism and unmatched arm talent to use, putting Ravens defenders in a bind time and time again.
Allen played within himself and avoided the stubborn mistakes that Bills fans have learned to live with over the years. When big plays were available, he took advantage. As Buffalo ascends to the top of the AFC, Allen is making an obvious case for his second MVP.
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