The Buffalo Bills won their sixth consecutive AFC East title and received the No. 2 seed in the playoffs before facing the New England Patriots in Week 18. Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who is playing the greatest football of his seven-year career, began the season finale with 3,731 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, as well as 531 running yards, 12 rushing scores, and one receiving touchdown.
Allen’s MVP performance speaks for itself, and the Bills’ first aim should be to keep the 28-year-old healthy until the playoffs begin. He did, however, suit up to start against the Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. While putting the dual-threat superstar’s health at jeopardy in a meaningless game may raise eyebrows, Allen’s choice to start changed NFL history.
Allen, who previously had the longest active NFL run among quarterbacks with 114 starts, broke his own record on January 5. The Bills stated on X, “115 consecutive starts for @JoshAllenQB.” Lions quarterback Jared Goff has the second-longest active streak, with 51 starts. Brett Favre, an NFL Hall of Famer, holds the record for most consecutive starts (297).
Sean McDermott, the Bills’ head coach, told reporters that Allen was focused on maintaining his start streak. “I’m not surprised by this. The conversation we had was brief, but the first thing he mentioned was how significant that was to him,” McDermott explained. “He’s been well decorated to this point and will continue to be so as he moves forward, and the medals he’ll receive will be well deserved. I think it’s very fantastic that this type of number, if you will, is one of the first things on his mind.”
Before being replaced by backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky in Foxborough, Allen made a successful start without injury. Trubisky hopes to set another historic record against the Patriots. So far this season, the Bills have had 13 different players catch touchdown passes, one short of setting the NFL record.
“We are trying to get it. “We’re trying to figure out how to draw it up,” Trubisky said of the chance of an NFL-record 14th Bills player scoring a touchdown pass on Sunday. “I mean, so many different guys have landed one. “We’ll see what happens. It’s a ‘everybody eats’ mentality.”
