Since drafting quarterback Josh Allen in 2018, the Buffalo Bills have done seemingly everything except reach the Super Bowl.
Over the past six years, the Bills have five playoff appearances to their name. All five have ended in defeat ahead of football’s biggest stage—once in the wild-card round, thrice in the divisional round, and once in the AFC championship game.
That’s in spite of Allen—once, and still from time to time, a turnover-prone gunner—evolving into one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in football. In a Super Bowl week conversation with Sports Illustrated, Allen discussed what Buffalo needs to do to get over the hump.
“We keep saying we’re close. We’re right there, you know?” Allen said. “It comes down to making one or two more plays. We need to. It’s heavy on my shoulders.”
Asked about the Kansas City Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who have knocked the Bills out of the playoffs on three occasions since Allen’s arrival, Allen downplayed his desire to beat the future Hall of Famer.
“It’s another game for me,” Allen said. “Whether it’s him over there, whether it was (Baltimore Ravens quarterback) Lamar (Jackson), whether it was (Cincinnati Bengals quarterback) Joe (Burrow), you name it. … It doesn’t matter who’s over there playing. We get so caught up in the quarterback vs. quarterback controversy. I’m not playing him. I’m playing that defense.”
