Josh Allen: New Buffalo QB Record-Holder?

Buffalo Bills legend quarterback Jim Kelly holds the franchise’s all-time passing records. For now, at least. Post-1996 when Kelly retired, the quarterback position became a question mark for the red, white, and blue in upstate New York.

In Comes Allen

Enter the 2018 NFL Draft, and the Bills select Josh Allen out of Wyoming with the seventh pick. While he had a slow start in his rookie campaign, Allen has slowly become a big-name quarterback in the NFL, including an impressive third season showing in 2020, as he put up new single-season records 4,544 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, good enough to earn his first trip to the Pro Bowl. He also led Buffalo to their first playoff win since 1995, and helped the team reach its first conference championship round since the end of the 4-peat of appearances in the Super Bowl in 1993.

And Kelly is confident that Allen is the quarterback for the Bills, at least for the foreseeable future, with his records tumbling if the former Wyoming Cowboy stays with the franchise after his rookie contract expires in 2022. “There’s no doubt,” Kelly told buffalobills.com. “I mean if he’s gone, I don’t know who is or who it’s going to be. He just has to be consistent. And I know him well enough to know that the kid can play. If you can get the right material around him, which I think he has, and the offensive line gives him time to throw things will be awesome. And talk about my records, I knew before last season started that those records aren’t going to stay around very long.”

Historic 2020 For Allen

The 2020 season was a memorable one for Allen, as along with the earlier mentioned statistics and Pro Bowl appearance, he finished with 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. He also pulled off a feat that had not been previously accomplished. According to a CBS Sports article, “Allen is the only player in NFL history with 4000-plus passing yards, 30-plus passing touchdowns, and eight-plus rushing touchdowns in a season and the only quarterback in NFL history with three consecutive seasons of seven-plus rushing touchdowns. He is also the first player in NFL history with two games in a season with 400-plus passing yards, three-plus passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 130-plus passer rating.”

The contract situation is not a big deal at the moment thanks to the Bills picking up Allen’s fifth-year option. However, there is confidence surrounding the organization that a deal will get done at some point. “Allen is eligible for a multi-year extension, but with two years left on his deal —– and the team’s ability to use the franchise tag —– there has been no rush to get a deal done from either side. Both the QB and the Bills brass have sounded confident a deal will get done, eventually. When that happens, we can get into an earnest discussion on how long it takes Allen to pass all of Kelly’s records. The best way for Allen to one-up the legendary Kelly will be to get the Bills back to the Super Bowl, and win it this time.”

Josh Allen seems to have solved the problem regarding inconsistency at quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, and his play will continue to put Jim Kelly’s records in jeopardy if he stays long enough with the franchise.