Josh Allen is used to being underestimated.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback was recently voted the most overrated quarterback in the NFL in a recent ESPN poll of anonymous players. Allen garnered 11 first-place votes in response to the subjective question.
Joining Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio, Allen was asked his initial thoughts on some of his peers viewing him as overrated.
"My reaction is, I'm not mad that 11 players not on my team don't like me," he responded. "So that's number one. I actually think that's a term of endearment. When other players don't like me that means I'm doing something the right way. I am mad at, however, I'm never, ever invited to participate in these anonymous surveys. So that's where I find this frustrating. I wanna be a part of these surveys too and give my input as well. … Hopefully I get the link to the next one."
The cannon-armed Allen has earned two Pro Bowl nods and finished in the top 5 in MVP voting each of the past two seasons. He has carried the Bills to the postseason in five of his six seasons as the starter. Buffalo had gone to the playoff once in the 18 seasons before Allen took over (2017) and hadn't been out of the Wild Card round since 1995.
The biggest knock on Allen is turnovers. In his career, the QB has coughed up the pigskin 102 times, most in the NFL. In 2023, he threw 18 interceptions and lost four fumbles.
Yes, the turnovers are an issue to be cleaned up -- even Allen would admit that -- but not all giveaways are created equal. Last year, Allen had 21 turnover-worthy plays per Pro Football Focus, for a 3% TWP average. Patrick Mahomes also had 21 turnover-worthy plays (2.9%). To point out a few others, Brock Purdy generated 3.4% TWPs, C.J. Stroud 2.9, and Trevor Lawrence 3.8.
At times, Allen gets into trouble trying to make a play when things break down. That can burn him. It's also part of what makes him great. Last year, he finished third in the NFL in total EPA (68.9) and EPA per dropback (0.11), ahead of the likes of Jared Goff, Jordan Love, Matthew Stafford, and Mahomes.
Allen isn't fretting over being called overrated. It's simply a continuation of a career proving doubters wrong.
"You know, I would love to say yes, it does motivate me and I could put it on my locker and use it as bulletin board material," he told Schein. "But the fact is, I'm going into year seven. I'm coming out of a small farm town called Fireball, California. I had no offers. Went the junior college route, ended up having one offer, University of Wyoming, got drafted seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills. So again, I'm in a spot where not many people, maybe me and my family are the only people that thought that I'd ever be here. So, I'm gonna keep running with that. It serves me well and I'm just gonna keep playing football the way I know how to play it."
The Bills overhauled their roster this offseason, including shipping out star wideout Stefon Diggs. The moves put more pressure on Allen to carry the club. Perhaps if Buffalo stays atop the AFC East for the fifth consecutive season after the roster reconstruction, more respect will come Allen's way from his peers.
