ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — After a tough ending to the Bills season, there has been a lot of online conversation and criticism about quarterback Josh Allen and his performance this season.
On Wednesday, Josh Allen was named a finalist for the Associated Press' 2022 NFL most valuable player award along with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson.
Ironically enough, after Sunday's ugly loss to the Bengals, there were many fans questioning whether or not Allen still sits atop the AFC with the other top quarterbacks, including both Mahomes and Burrow.
When you're comparing the three of them so far this season, Mahomes currently sits at the top with 5,250 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. Burrow is up next with 4,475 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns. Then comes Allen with 4,283 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns. It's also important to note that both Mahomes and Burrow will surpass these numbers as they battle each other for that spot in the Super Bowl this weekend.
However, Allen's teammates, coaches and general manager Brandon Beane have all reassured their confidence in him and his future with the Bills.
"The bar is so high for Josh, let's be honest," Beane said. "If he doesn't play an elite game, then people will say he should have done better, and I would say there are probably some turnovers that he would tell you, 'I can't put the ball in harm's way.'
"But we also see those plays that he makes, 'No no no ... oh, what a play!' So, you have to live with that a little bit. He's just such a unique player that if you're going to pat him on the butt for the 'wow' play, you've got to overlook that sometimes just trying to make a play, he's going to throw back across traffic."
Another big topic surrounding the Bills season this year is the overflow of adversity that this team has had to face all within a few months. As a captain for the fourth consecutive season in a row, Allen was really put to the test, and GM Brandon Beane said that he did a standout job through such tough times.
"I think Josh has continued to grow his leadership this year, I think took another turn up," Beane said.
"I think you saw that through some of the adversity that we've dealt with. The thing that stood out to me was when we were in the locker room dealing with the Damar situation in Cincinnati, people were looking to Josh of communicating with me, Sean and Terry and Ron Raccuia of what we were going to do, and how we were going to do this."
Beane added: "There's no playbook for that for him either. His teammates were looking to him and he was ready to answer it. Even though he was emotional like us, going through it all, and I thought he handled that whole thing. It weighed on him a lot. I though he worked his way through it."
Beane continued to speak very highly about Allen and did mention that there is only one thing that he will bug Josh about as he continues to grow as a player in the future.
"Overall, I think Josh had a really good year for us, did a lot of good things. The only thing I get onto him, he's got too many bruises on him. We got to work on taking less hits. That's the only reason I'm going to ever criticize Josh, is just take less hits."