"A chip and a chair" is the old poker comeback idiom. For Josh Allen, it's a pigskin and a tick on the clock.
The reigning MVP authored an improbable comeback Sunday night, propelling the Buffalo Bills from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 41-40 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Even some Bills loyalists didn't see the epic resurgence coming, leaving Highmark Stadium when Buffalo got down 40-25 in the fourth quarter. Those fans missed Allen spearheading 16 consecutive points in the final 4:05 to steal the victory.
"Our team didn't quit," Allen told NBC's Melissa Stark on the field after the game, via the Associated Press. "I think there's people who left the stadium. That's OK. We'll be fine. But have some faith next time."
When Allen is at the helm, no lead is safe.
The flamethrower had a fourth quarter that, by itself, would have been a good entire game for most QBs this week. Allen in the final frame: 251 pass yards, three total TDs and a 131.3 passer rating.
The Bills quarterback got help, obviously. From Ed Oliver forcing a Derrick Henry fumble, to Keon Coleman somehow corralling a tipped ball for a touchdown, to the Ravens pussyfooting their final possessions and collapsing on defense, to veteran kicker Matt Prater, who just signed with the team on Thursday, calmly slamming the ball through the uprights with zero ticks on the clock.
Predictably, Allen didn't want to hog credit for the comeback.
"It took everybody there. I'm just proud of our team for staying in it," Allen said. "No one on the sideline blinked. I mean, down 15 points, whatever we were with five, six minutes left. Staying with it, fans leaving the stadium, you got to play this game for 60 minutes. And that's a really good outfit that we just played, and God willing, we take care of business how we're supposed to and how we think we will."
While Lamar Jackson and Henry stole the show for the first three-plus quarters, the final 12 minutes were Allen's.
The Bills QB finished 33-of-46 passing (71.1%) for 394 yards, two touchdown tosses and zero interceptions for a 112.0 passer rating. He added 14 rushes for 30 yards and two ground scores. Allen became the fourth reigning MVP with four-plus offensive TDs in Week 1 of the season, joining Thurman Thomas (1992), Brett Favre (1996) and Tom Brady (2011).
Allen's teammates, particularly the new ones, couldn't believe what they watched.
"I'm like, in a dream right now. That was unbelievable," Joey Bosa said after his first game as a Bill. "I don't know if I've ever been this happy after a win. It's obviously, it's just the first game of the year and we gave up a lot of points, and I could be better in a lot of ways. But we got the win, and we gave our offense a chance.
"And I guess when you have Josh Allen, you just have to give him a chance, and anything's possible."
It's only Week 1. There are 257 more of these battles. Buckle up.
