Must Josh Have to Be Superman All the Time?

BY GREGORY BROWN

Bills QB Josh Allen, photo by Jerome Davis

Josh Allen can now add another nickname to his familiar Superman moniker. That name is, “The Comeback Kid.” For the second week in a row, Allen engineered an amazing late game comeback win over the high-flying New England Patriots by a score of 34 – 31.

The Patriots contest marked the third time this season that Allen has orchestrated a seemingly impossible comeback victory – this one on the road against a well-rested opponent. Of course, the first came in the season opener against Baltimore. The others have come in the past two weeks against Cincinnati and New England. Both were games that the Bills had to have.

In all three of these wins, fans were ready to stick a fork in the Bills because we all thought they were cooked. Frankly, I thought this game was over before halftime after the Pats third touchdown had put them up 21 – 0. All afternoon long, New England had been going through the Bills defense like a hot knife through butter. The Bills, on the other hand, couldn’t see to get out of their own way with a dropped pass by WR Brandin Cooks on a long ball, as well as an overthrown pass to Dalton Kincaid that might have been a touchdown.

It appeared that a turning point may have come after that third Pats touchdown. That’s when the Bills took the following kickoff needing to score a touchdown – not a punt, not a field goal – but a touchdown. The Bills obliged with an 11-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a 5-yard TD pass from Allen to James Cook.

Unfortunately, the Bills had left 1:56 on the clock, which was plenty of time for New England to tack on a 36-yard field goal that put them up 24 – 7 at the halftime break. Once again, the Pats had taken a three-score lead and the outlook seemed bleak for Buffalo.

But in what was to become a tale of two halves, the Bills came out in the second half and scored on their first possession. The drive was ignited by Ray Davis’ 59-yard kickoff return that gave Buffalo great field position. After that touchdown, the Bills forced a three-and-out by New England, which was punctuated by a key third down sack by LB Matt Milano, the first since his pre-injury glory days almost three seasons ago. Like me, some in Bills nation now dared to hope that Buffalo just might have another comeback win left in them.

Luckily, following the New England punt, Josh was still flying high. Thereupon, he proceeded to engineer an 11-play, 70-yard drive that led to a James Cook score that was declared a TD only after an official review by the replay booth. At that point the Bills had made a game of it again. The change in the momentum of the game had now become palpable. Of course, we all know what happened after that. Allen simply continued to unfurl the red cape that became the wind beneath Buffalo’s sail.

As satisfying and yet improbable, as these comeback wins have been, they beg the larger question. That is, can the Bills win consistently without Josh Allen always having to go into Superman mode? The Bills cannot continue to rely on Allen’s heroics to consistently bail them out of every seemingly hopeless situation. Three times now, Allen has staged miraculous comeback wins. However, the Bills can’t expect to make a living by depending on Josh to always be ‘The Comeback Kid.’ One day, the miracle finish will simply not be there.

With the playoffs approaching, Josh needs others from the Justice League to show-up. Not even Superman can do it alone.