Approaching Elite
Josh Allen isn't interested in shying away from the spotlight.
In a Monday Night primetime game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Buffalo Bills quarterback made sure he was the main attraction.
Allen completed 80 percent of his passes, throwing for 375 yards and four touchdowns with in a 34-24 victory, Buffalo's fifth in its past six game and ninth in 12 games this season.
In the win, Allen tied Jim Kelly for the most games with four passing touchdowns in a single-season in franchise history (3).
Not to mention, Allen is just seven passing touchdowns away from breaking Kelly’s single-season franchise record (33).
Allen hooked up with seven different receivers on Monday, and four of them brought in scores.
Currently, Allen has the eighth-most passing yards in a single-season in Bills' history (3,403 through 12 games), and is on pace to break Drew Bledsoe’s franchise record of 4,359.
With the performance that Allen is putting on this season, the chatter around his elite status has started to get louder, and some even have him in the MVP race.
Shannon Sharpe, for one, is high on the Bills' franchise cornerstone.
"He has a cannon for an arm. Not very many quarterbacks have the moxie to say, 'I can get it there.' ... His legs, his ability to throw on the move, his ability to throw in the pocket, to get off script – I'm impressed."
Among other quarterbacks, Allen sits top ten in a few major categories this season, including passing yards (5th), passing touchdowns (6th), and passer rating (7th).
Allen's 139.1 passer rating on Monday night was his second-best of the season, and he is on pace to become the first Bills QB to finish a season with a passer rating of over 100 since Jim Kelly in 1990 (minimum of 10 starts).
Buffalo totaled 31 first downs and 449 yards on Monday night, and 83.5 percent of the team's offensive output was through the air.
Allen's 375 passing yards were the most that San Francisco has given up this season, and Colin Cowherd was blown away by how Allen manhandled the Niners' defense.
"[Allen] was literally taking Robert Sahel – who you all think is a great coordinator – he tore him apart. They couldn't stop him. He toyed with them. That was quite a performance. That was jaw-dropping."
Allen and the Bills have posted at least 30 points in half of their games this season, and his exceptional showing lit up the social media world.
However, there is always a detractor. At least one.
This time, it was ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who is unconvinced that Allen is elite quite yet.
"I think he has tremendous promise, but I'm not willing to give him that yet ... I want to see what happens when time calls for [Allen] to show up and produce. I need to see you do it when it counts."
The Bills (9-3) hold a one-game lead over the Dolphins (8-4) in the AFC East with four games to play — including Miami's trip to Buffalo in Week 17 — as Buffalo searches for its first division title since 1995.
As of Tuesday, Bills Mafia holds the best odds to win the AFC East (-1100) and third-best odds to become AFC champion (+800), according to FOX Bet.
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