Josh Allen was built for this.
As other players looked cold or tentative -- or both -- in the wintry, freezing conditions in Orchard Park on Sunday night, Allen thrived.
The Bills quarterback scored every which way as Buffalo bullied the San Francisco 49ers, 35-10, in brutal weather to secure a fifth consecutive AFC East title. Allen scored four touchdowns on three plays, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to put up a passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in a single game.
The highlight was an impromptu hook-and-lateral that saw Allen toss a short pass to Amari Cooper, who made an impressive one-handed snare. Getting corralled by two 49ers defenders, the wideout pitched the ball back to Allen, who sprinted to the left corner of the end zone and dove for the pylon.
"It's got to be up there. I wish he got credited for something there, an assist or a passing touchdown," Allen said of Cooper, via The Associated Press. "I just kind of chased the ball to be there and we made eye contact. ... It was dope."
It's not the first time that Allen has followed the play, but on this occasion, Cooper instinctually tossed it to his QB, who blew the game open with the score.
"I was wondering what he was doing over there," Cooper said. "I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him."
Allen was credited with a passing touchdown and a receiving score (seven yards receiving) but not a reception. It was a play that epitomized Allen's do-everything season. He finished 13 of 17 for 148 passing yards, two passing TDs and a 141.3 rating, adding three rushes for 18 yards and the final TD. Given the elements, and how they affected other players, the numbers were uber-impressive.
Bills fans showered the quarterback with MVP chants in a game where he sat out most of the final quarter. Buffalo is the seventh team all-time to clinch its division with five-plus weeks remaining, the first since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts. Five of the previous six teams to do so made the Super Bowl (the 1985 Bears were the only ones to win). The win moved the Bills to 10-2, keeping pace with the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC's top seed.
"It's a good feeling. This one feels a little bit different this early in the season," Allen said of clinching the division. "It's going to be fun, I mean, to go out there and play free and play relaxed and play loose. I think that could be a dangerous team."
It's a dangerous team because Josh Allen shouldered more of the load and shined.
He's built to carry this team. He's built to play like an MVP. He's built for the brutal weather games. He's built to make ridiculous plays.
