Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the battle of probable MVPs tonight as he handed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs a 28-21 loss. And instead of starting off talking about the Bills’ impressive display tonight, he decided to show off a hat made by a patient at Oishei Children’s Hospital, which he couldn’t rock pre-game.

It was designed by Carson, a young patient from Oishei Children’s Hospital. Allen smiled as he held it up in his postgame presser, explaining how he’d missed the chance to wear it before kickoff. He admitted that he couldn’t see the hat in his locker before the game, but made sure to make it part of his victory look afterward.

For every Bills home game, a patient at Oishei designs a custom cap for him. It’s part of his growing partnership with Buffalo-based New Era, which he recently deepened by taking an ownership stake in a hat company known as 9FORTY. Each week, he wears a different cap inspired by a local kid’s creativity.

And it all stems from his love for the Buffalo community. “Buffalo has become home for me, and giving back to the community through my partnership with New Era means a lot. New Era has believed in me since I was a rookie, and I believe in the brand and where we are going,” Josh Allen had said.

The week 1 hat was designed by Jaxson, a five-year-old fighter who spent 44 days in the Oishei Children’s Hospital NICU and has already endured multiple surgeries while living with myotonic dystrophy. The Week 3 cap came from 15-year-old MaKenzie, who’s been battling sickle cell anemia since birth.

Every home game, those hats are auctioned off, with all proceeds going to the Patricia Allen Fund that is named in honor of Josh Allen’s late grandmother. And consequently, to Oishei Children’s Hospital. It’s another quiet but deeply personal way Allen continues to pour into the Buffalo community that’s embraced him as one of their own at this point.

And maybe, just maybe, football karma works in mysterious ways. As tonight, the quarterback who’s given so much to this city finally got something back. His offense clicked.

Buffalo’s offense finally seems to be working

This was a team that started 4-0, only to stumble hard against real competition, losing back-to-back games to Atlanta and New England, and suddenly looking ordinary. The questions came fast, and most of them pointed at the receiving corps. Could they win one of these heavyweight matchups if Allen didn’t have to play superhero? Well, they answered tonight.

Allen looked composed, confident, and in total control. He was decisive and fearless in the pocket. He ran for two touchdowns, threw for another, and never once looked like he was pressing. The defense did its part, bottling up Mahomes as well as anyone can. But what really changed was the balance. Allen didn’t have to carry the whole show this time.

Running back James Cook was phenomenal tonight, racking up 27 carries for 114 yards, becoming the first running back in almost two years to crack the century mark against Kansas City, per The Athletic. Dalton Kincaid kept up his quietly outstanding receiving numbers, catching all six of his targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.

This was Kincaid’s second career 100-yard game. And the best part was that Josh Allen’s wide receivers caught 23 catches out of his 26 targets tonight. For a quarterback who’s been accused (fairly or not) of trying to do too much, that kind of trust and rhythm with his pass catchers matters.

Allen finished with 273 yards and an 88.5% completion rate, he best single-game mark in Bills history for a quarterback with at least 15 targets.