Josh Allen's 2nd-half heroics get MVP hype train rolling early

Bills Mafia can finally take a breath after a nail-biting victory over the Arizona Cardinals, winning 34-28. The Buffalo Bills were down 17-3 at one point, before finally getting into the endzone on a Josh Allen run just before halftime. The first half belonged to the Cardinals, who the Bills had no answers for on both sides of the ball.

James Conner was running all over the Buffalo defense in the first half and the Bills’ offense couldn’t get anything going. At one point, there seemed like there was no hope. Then Josh Allen was activated and now Buffalo is 1-0 to start the season.

Allen started the momentum for the Bills with a rushing touchdown near the end of the 2nd quarter and he helped lead the Bills to a dominating 3rd quarter performance to put the Bills ahead of Arizona for the first time in the game. Allen finished the game 18/23 for 232 passing yards and two touchdowns (and no interceptions). He would also add on 39 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns (but with one fumble early in the first quarter).

Josh Allen starts his MVP campaign in Week 1

Remember when Josh Allen was named the “most overrated player” in the NFL? His performance today against the Cardinals certainly was far from overrated. The way that Allen put the team on his back when they were backed up into a corner was amazing. After the first quarter, Allen started to look like the MVP candidate we all know.

He was smart with the ball, utilized his legs when needed, and spread the ball around to multiple receivers. Nine different players caught a pass from Allen, so the philosophy of Joe Brady came to life today where everyone is getting involved.

The only concern now for Allen is a hand injury that he suffered on his last rushing touchdown, where he landed on his left hand and got it wrapped up to finish out the game. That will be a situation that Bills fans will need to monitor, especially with this coming week being a short one before Buffalo travels down to Miami. According to Matthew Bove, Allen said his hand his fine but there are going to be some x-rays taken.

At the end of the day, the Bills are off to a better start now than they did a year ago. Now their attention turns towards the Dolphins for an AFC East battle on primetime this coming Thursday.