Why 2025 is Josh Allen's most valuable season yet

Why 2025 is Josh Allen’s best performance yet

While Stafford and Maye’s numbers this season may supersede Allen’s, it is important to put context behind their situations. Stafford has superstar wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua at his disposal, a steady running back combo in Kyren Williams and Blake Corum and is aided by the league’s third-ranked defense.

Maye’s Patriots, meanwhile, have been so dominant that he ranks just 25th in passing attempts, in part because they have played just four of 14 contests against teams with a winning record. While he may not have a true No. 1 receiver, he is supported by a combination of savvy veterans like Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry and explosive youngsters like Kayshon Boutte and TreVeyon Henderson, and the Patriots defense ranks fifth in the NFL in points allowed. 

The Bills, meanwhile, have been a complete mess this season. Their decimated defense has allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL and ranks in the bottom half of the NFL in points per drive. The wide receiving core is one of the weakest in the league, as the Bills have been forced to turn to pick up the likes of Brandon Cooks and Gabe Davis just to stay afloat. Tight end Dalton Kincaid has emerged as Allen’s most trusted pass-catcher, but he has been hampered by injuries and has missed four of the last eight games. 

The one positive outside of Allen has been the progression of James Cook as one of the best all-around running backs in the NFL. Yet because the Bills' defense has so often put Allen and the company in an early hole, the offense frequently has to abandon the running game, putting more pressure on Allen to make magic with his subpar group of receivers. 

Quarterback aside, the Bills have the look of a .500 roster, and even that might be generous. More than any other year, the Bills have needed their all-world quarterback to put on his Superman cap, and Allen has answered the bell. The first sign this was going to be a special season came on opening night, when Allen led a miraculous comeback against the Ravens with 16 points in the final 3:56 . He scored six touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to bail out a defense that allowed over 200 rushing yards and outdueled Joe Burrow last week with 329 total yards and four touchdowns. 

Of course, critics of Allen’s will point to a number of curious road losses that will likely cost the Bills the division, with clunkers against the sub-.500 Falcons and Dolphins in particular looming large. While there is no denying that Allen played poorly in each of those games, the absence of Kincaid and the self-destruction of the Bills' defense in both contests left Allen with no margin for error. This was also the case in their Week 13 loss to the Texans, as the ferocious combination of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter overwhelmed the Bills' offensive line and sacked Allen eight times. 

So no, Allen has not been perfect this season, but it has taken the best all-around performance of his career just to carry a flawed Bills roster this far. The Bills should not be a team that scares anybody in January, but the presence of Allen gives them a fighting chance against even the NFL’s best teams.