Bills' Josh Allen received advice from grandmother after back-to-back losses

A Buffalo Bills side that features reigning Most Valuable Player Josh Allen as its starting quarterback looked like the best team in the NFL as it opened the season with four consecutive wins. 

However, the Bills then suffered back-to-back losses ahead of their Week 7 bye. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Allen revealed that he received some sweet advice from a personal source about bouncing back from the club's defeats. 

What Grandma wants from Josh Allen moving forward

"My grandma called me and was like, 'I just want to see you smile,'" Allen explained, per John Wawrow of the Associated Press. "So, obviously, when she says something, I’m going to be listening. ...It’s no fun, obviously, losing. And maybe that’s why. It’s a lot easier to smile when you’re winning." 

The Bills and Baltimore Ravens entered September as the co-favorites to win Super Bowl LX, and Buffalo then ended that month at 4-0. However, Pro Football Reference shows that Allen tossed three interceptions and lost one of three fumbles over Buffalo's last two games before the club's in-season break. As of Thursday morning, Allen had fallen to second among the betting favorites at +360 odds (behind Patrick Mahomes at +125 odds) to claim MVP honors for the ongoing campaign, per DraftKings. 

Josh Allen won't put "head in the sand" amid struggles

Also on Thursday, ESPN BET had the Bills as 7.5-point road favorites for this coming Sunday's game versus the Carolina Panthers (4-3). Such a line shows many within the NFL community expect Buffalo will get back on track at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium.

"A lot of people look at this position, they draw sometimes strength from it, or can be inspired by this position," Allen added during his comments. "So it’s going out there and obviously working extremely hard and doing my job and leading from the front. But also having energy and juice, and not putting my head in the sand."

Head coach Sean McDermott insisted on Wednesday that his Bills are "very capable of performing at a higher level." If they don't begin to do just that this weekend, whispers suggesting Buffalo could soon part ways with McDermott may grow louder.