Josh Allen was the Broncos’ worst possible Nightmare Before Christmas.
The Bills’ super-sensational quarterback got his revenge again against the Broncos, and the ex-Wyoming Cowboy remains unbeaten (6-0) in games in Colorado.
It was if Josh were a kid home alone vs. Harry and Marv.
Allen threw and ran for six touchdowns. Two of those were called back. He probably could have accounted for 10 touchdowns as Saturday afternoon turned into deep darkness for the busted Broncoroos.
In 1962 the Broncos held a public bonfire to burn the team’s brown-and-gold vertically striped socks. Now they must torch the all-orange mush uniforms.
For the fifth time in seven games at Disempowered Field at Mile High stadium the Broncos were vanquished. They have been outscored in Denver 209-113 (and been seared for 30 points or more on four occasions and 40-plus twice).
This is not just about Drew Lock, who was completely common, and the pathetic offense. The defense and the special teams are the Griswolds.
A season-high 48 points to the Buffalo Bills? William “Buffalo’’ Bill Cody and his Wild West Show might have scored 50.
Allen completed 28 of 40 passes for 359 yards and added three rushes for 33 yards before he departed and the Bills finished with 534 yards on offense.
The Broncos were reduced to 9 yards on offense in the third period.
Allen, according to Vic Fangio, “is a great quarterback, up there with the best in the league.’’
You think?
John Elway didn’t think enough of Allen to draft him in 2018.
Oddly enough, midway through the third quarter Saturday, Allen and Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb met for the first time. After a play ended, the two were standing at the line of scrimmage, and Allen patted Chubb, in a friendly fashion, on the chest.
The Broncos chose Chubb over Allen at No. 5, and the quarterback was selected seventh overall by the Bills. When the team played last season in Buffalo, Chubb was injured, and Allen’s team won 20-3. During his college career north of the Colorado border, Allen racked Air Force and CSU in four Mountain West games. He still calls the Rams sheep. He probably calls the Falcons Zoomies.
I saw him thrash both, including Colorado State in one of the nastiest snow games ever when the Cowboys decided to run Allen at right end on every play in the stretch.
Allen was George Bailey-right for the Broncos, and life would be wonderful in Denver. He was only 100 miles away, and Elway et al. watched the 6-foot-5, 238-pounder, now 24, regularly — especially at the Baked Potato Bowl, then at the Senior Bowl.
Allen possesses an Elway-type arm and a Ben Roethlisberger-type structure, and as a pro, he has racked up 25 rushing touchdowns and 60 passing touchdowns in less than three seasons.
Allen will end up with Peyton Manning kind of numbers this year.
Although the Broncos, and especially Elway, never have revealed why after coaching Allen for a week at the Senior Bowl, they lost interest. But he was criticized for a college passing accuracy below 60 percent. His Wyoming offensive coordinator told me that Allen didn’t have an outstanding receiving corps his last season, was ordered to throw the ball away regularly to prevent interceptions, and, of course, the wind and snow in Laramie are an ambush.
Is a 68.6 percent completion rate in 2020 with half the games in Buffalo any good?
Against the Broncos he had better stats than Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Justin Herbert, Roethlisberger and all of the other reindeer.
Scrooge would have drafted Allen.
Josh with Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley was totally unfair to a bunch of junior varsity cornerbacks. The two receivers combined for 19 receptions and 259 yards. Their Broncos’ counterparts, Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick, were limited to four catches for 33 yards.
The Broncos hung in for a half, but it was nolo contendere afterward.
Allen, who used to drive to Denver regularly when he was in college, wanted to play pro football here. He finally got the opportunity Saturday, a week before Christmas, in a stadium where not a creature was stirring. He was magical.
The former Wyo quarterback’s performance made millions of viewers ponder Why, Oh!, didn’t the Broncos draft him?
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Hi Woody,
We all know hindsight is twenty-twenty. In late 2017 you said the Broncos need to draft either Josh Rosen or Josh Allen. The difference between the two couldn’t be greater as it turned out. Give them some more time with Drew Lock. His stats and his play after 16 games compares favorably with that of Allen. He might turn into a very competent NFL quarterback after all.
Best,
Helmut
PS: I have been a Broncomaniac since 1977, when I spent four weeks in Denver as a 16-year old German high school student. Orange Madness remains one of my favorite books to this day.