Analysis

Allen will receive a record-setting amount of guaranteed money fresh off of winning the NFL's Most Valuable Player award in 2024. The quarterback still had four years remaining on his prior contract, but Buffalo decided ink the new deal with its franchise superstar. Allen completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns while also adding 531 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground over 17 regular-season games in 2024. Most notably perhaps was his amount of interceptions, with him getting picked off just six times, a new career low for the seven-year vet.

Analysis

Allen narrowly edged out Lamar Jackson to win his first MVP award after an impressive 2024 campaign. The quarterback completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions over 17 regular-season games. Allen also added 531 yards and 12 touchdowns via the ground game throughout the year. He became the third player all-time to win MVP after not making first-team All-Pro and the first Bills player to win the award since Thurman Thomas in 1991.

Analysis

Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins to cut Buffalo's deficit to 21-16 in the final minute of the first half, but the 237-pound quarterback was subsequently stuffed on a two-point conversion attempt. Allen missed another two-point conversion attempt after James Cook's one-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter and came up short on a fourth-and-1 rushing attempt in the fourth quarter but bounced back on the next drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel on fourth down to tie the game, 29-29. Buffalo got the ball back down 32-29 with 3:33 to play but promptly turned it over on downs after four Allen pass attempts on the Bills' final possession netted only five yards. Allen had another impressive regular season, compiling 28 passing touchdowns and 12 more with his legs, but he dropped to 0-4 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the postseason, and this latest loss can be traced directly to Allen's inability to convert short-yardage opportunities with his legs after he had excelled in that department all season. The 28-year-old quarterback has four years left on his six-year, $258 million contract with the Bills.

Analysis

Allen extended Buffalo's first drive with a seven-yard run on fourth-and-2 to set up Ray Davis' one-yard rushing touchdown run four plays later. The mobile quarterback was just getting started with his legs, as Allen scored rushing touchdowns of one yard and four yards in the second quarter, the latter of which was set up by a questionable pass interference call on Allen's former teammate Tre'Davious White. Baltimore dominated the third quarter to trim Buffalo's 11-point halftime lead to two, but the Bills tacked on a pair of field goals in the fourth, the second of which came after Allen was denied the hat trick by getting tackled at Baltimore's 2-yard line on back-to-back plays. That was just enough to hang on after the Ravens failed to convert what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion on their final drive. Buffalo's victory sets up an AFC Championship Game on the road against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, against whom Allen is 0-3 in the playoffs.

Analysis

The Bills' defense was the true star of the victory, completely shutting down the visitors after Denver scored a TD on its first possession, but Allen put the game away in the second half, connecting with Ty Johnson on a 24-yard score late in the third quarter and with Curtis Samuel on a 55-yard touchdown early in the fourth. After putting together an MVP-caliber regular season, Allen is still firing on all cylinders heading into a divisional-round clash with the Ravens.

Analysis

The Bills are locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and the team plans to play only some of its starters, per O'Halloran. The motivation for Allen to see the field at all could be simply to extend his 104-game streak of regular-season starts, in which case the MVP candidate may log no more than a few snaps. It goes without saying that Allen isn't going to be a viable play in fantasy given the extremely limited amount of time he'll likely be on the field in the regular-season finale. Mitchell Trubisky figures to see most of the QB snaps for the Bills against the Patriots.

Analysis

Allen capitalized on a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone on Buffalo's opening drive, powering in a one-yard rushing score on the next play. Neither team scored another touchdown until Allen connected with Amari Cooper for a 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That touchdown pass brought Allen up to 40 total touchdowns for the fifth consecutive season (27 passing, 12 rushing and one receiving), and he tacked on his 28th passing score with a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman to put the Bills up 33-0 in the final seconds of the third quarter before letting Mitchell Trubisky mop up for the entire fourth quarter. Allen has started 104 consecutive regular-season games for the Bills, so it wouldn't be surprising if he made a brief cameo against the Patriots in Week 18 to extend that streak before the Bills rest him and the rest of the starters in preparation for the playoffs, as Buffalo's locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Analysis

After being listed as a full participant on Wednesday's practice estimate, Allen was able to maintain that level of activity in Thursday's session, paving the way for him to start Sunday's game against the Jets. Though the Chiefs have clinched the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed, the Bills can secure the No. 2 seed (and the option to rest starters Week 18) with a win this weekend, Maddy Glab of the team's official site reports.

Analysis

Allen's listing Wednesday's report would seem to pave the way for him to be available Sunday against the Jets. That said, the outcome of Wednesday's Ravens-Texans game could affect how the Bills handle their key starters this coming weekend, given that a Baltimore loss would lock Buffalo into the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.