Bills QB Josh Allen views 'overrated' criticisms as a 'term of endearment'

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills hasn't been shy about responding to summer stories that labeled him an "overrated" quarterback. 

Allen once again touched upon the matter during the latest edition of The Athletic's "Scoop City" podcast. 

"If 31 other fan bases and 31 other teams like you, you got a problem, right? The other teams shouldn't like you," Allen said. "The other players shouldn't like you. The other fan bases shouldn't like you." 

This subject first made headlines when a story published in July revealed that one unnamed veteran NFL executive referred to Allen as "one of the more overrated players in the" league. In late August, a piece shared by ESPN revealed that Allen was the top vote-getter among 103 anonymous NFL players asked to name their pick for the league's most overrated signal-caller. 

According to the StatMuse website, Allen has tossed a league-worst 57 regular-season interceptions since the start of the 2020 campaign. He has a 5-5 career playoff record and has yet to guide the Bills to their first Super Bowl appearance since January 1994. 

Allen took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to respond sarcastically to the players' survey. He also said he was "not mad that 11 players not on my team don't like me." 

"I see it as a term of endearment," Allen told "Scoop City" about the "overrated" takes he heard throughout the offseason. "At the same time, my teammates know what I am and who I am and what we do over here in Buffalo, and that's all that matters to me."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Bills fourth among the betting favorites at +800 odds to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX. If Allen fails to lead the club to that title game, Buffalo reportedly could consider replacing head coach Sean McDermott with living legend and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. 

DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bills as 6.5-point favorites for this Sunday's regular-season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Allen could clap back at the "overrated" jabs in a big way by torching Arizona's defense at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium.