Ever since the Buffalo Bills were sent home from the postseason, Josh Allen has carried himself like a man with a heavy burden. With Super Bowl LX just days away, the football world is already debating which elite quarterback will finally hoist the trophy next season. While many still view Allen as the gold standard of talent, others aren’t so sure. 

“Josh Allen, if I thought anything, I thought this year was the year. I said, ‘Oh, all these guys are out. It’s his time’,” Saints DE Cameron Jordan said on Wednesday’s episode of First Take. “And he proved what I thought about him. He plays excellent during season. He shows up, he’s Superman, but at the same time, he can’t win those big games.”

Jordan’s critique is fueled by the Bills’ Divisional Round collapse against the Denver Broncos, where Allen turned the ball over four times. For critics, those mistakes outweighed anything the defense did wrong. However, the playoff choker label doesn’t necessarily align with the broader data. 

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In Allen’s 15 career postseason games, he has thrown only six interceptions. While he has fumbled 15 times in the playoffs, only four of those were actually lost to the opposition. Unfortunately for him, those four came against Denver, still fresh. 

Jordan didn’t stop there. Resharing his First Take clip on X, the veteran defensive end posted a blunt message: 

“I repeat, winning a Super Bowl is a quarterback stat.”

The Bills’ star quarterback has reached the AFC Championship twice, last in 2024 when Buffalo fell just short of toppling the Kansas City Chiefs. In Buffalo’s last three playoff exits, Allen had the ball in the final minutes with a chance to win but couldn’t seal the deal. 

Despite the outside noise, Allen still has hope. In a recent interview with Chris Hassel for CBS Sports, the former NFL MVP admitted that his primary career goal is simply to keep knocking on the door until it opens.

“Just give me another opportunity in the playoffs, that’s all I can ask for,” he pleaded. 

Allen, too, realizes the urgency of the situation. That’s why Buffalo decided on the regime change this offseason, and he was a big part of the decision. 

Josh Allen reflects on his role in finding a new head coach

For the first time in the quarterback’s career, Allen will be coached by someone other than former head coach Sean McDermott. Fortunately, that someone isn’t a stranger to him; the Bills promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the head coaching role. 

Allen was largely involved in the decision, as owner Terry Pegula kept him present in every meeting they conducted with candidates for the head coaching position. During his appearance on First Things First, he admitted the experience was a bit “awkward” at times. 

“I’m sitting there and getting paid to be the quarterback, right?” he admitted. “But I think having that perspective of what the pulse of the locker room is, being able to ask questions and help Mr. Pegula, the Pegula family, some of the scouts, and, ultimately, [Bills general manager] Brandon Beane.”

As the Bills’ window remains open for likely the next decade, the hope is that this new level of collaboration leads to the one thing Allen is begging for: a ring.