As the Bills clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed in blowout fashion, a 40-14 thumping of the down-and-out Jets, everything was coming up 17. The Bills completed a total of 17 passes.
Josh Allen, their franchise player, ended the game with 17 yards rushing. The Bills scored their first touchdown, you guessed it, on the 17th play of the afternoon — scored by none other than No. 17 himself.
Advertisement Heck, even the weather stayed on theme. When the game began, the announced wind was blowing at 17 mph. And as the Bills concluded their No.
17 day with a touchdown pass in true Josh Allen style — a cross-body howitzer after he extended the play rolling to his right — the collective thoughts in Highmark Stadium were verbalized all as one. With the Bills up 33-0, “M-V-P” bellowed throughout the stadium. Several offensive linemen waved their arms as chants started to form, asking them to grow louder.
The fans in attendance heartily obliged. Although it’s an award for only one person, all of Allen’s teammates have been invested in him winning it. The quarterback’s three-touchdown, no-turnover performance in only three quarters might be his final statement to MVP voters.
With the No. 2 seed sewn up, the Bills have little else to play for in Week 18 on the road against the Patriots. And if Sunday was Allen’s final game, his 2024 campaign ends with a fifth straight season accounting for 40-plus touchdowns, the best touchdown-to-turnover rate of his career, over 4,000 tota.