Josh Allen and Josh Allen made history Sunday. But only one of them is celebrating.
In a rare showdown between opponents with the same listed name, the Jaguars linebacker sacked and intercepted the Bills quarterback and recovered his fumble in a shocking 9-6 Jacksonville upset. All three plays were firsts for two players sharing a first and last name.
The trifecta hit in the fourth quarter when the Jags outside backer scooped up the ball after teammate Dawuane Smoot stripped the Bills QB. It was the latter Allen's third giveaway on the day.
The younger Allen produced a much different line, registering a team-high eight tackles, including two for loss, and a pass defensed to go along with his two takeaways.
Late in the second quarter, the third-year pass rusher swiftly beat Dion Dawkins off the edge before slamming Buffalo's Pro Bowl signal-caller from behind for a sack. Jacksonville's Allen had a couple close calls with the opposing QB earlier in the half, including a pair of run stops.
The Jaguars defender added an INT to his tally in the third quarter. With Myles Jack draped around his legs, the Bills' Allen launched an errant pass on third-and-12 that the Jags' Allen easily snatched out of the air for his first career pick.
Sunday marked the fourth instance in NFL history that a starting QB and defensive player with the same name faced off, per NFL Research. Incidentally, the duo was selected No. 7 overall in consecutive drafts, with the Bills grabbing their franchise QB out of Wyoming in 2018 and the Jags taking the star edge rusher out of Kentucky in 2019.
