Josh Allen “We Got the Job Done, On to Next Week”

Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen

Q: What is it about how things just seem to click into a rhythm for you and, I’m talking about the two drives after the takeaways. I mean you’re like, 10-11 for the – I don’t know, in the first half, you know your guys were a little compromised and then all of a sudden it just clicks into gear. What is it about those situations that kind of bring out the best in you?

A: Yeah, I mean we just knew at halftime we were hurting ourselves early in the first, getting three field goals isn’t what we wanted to do down there we want to finish with touchdowns. So, you know, our o-line stepped up. We challenged them and they answered the bell so appreciate what they did for us today, you know, Frank [Gore] and Motor [Devin Singletary] they carried the rock well. We made some plays outside too and you know obviously overthrown Andre [Roberts] there in the second half, and that’s one I wish I had back but, you know, we made enough plays to win. It was a good team that we played today, they did a really good job, you know, continuing what we had on offense. They did a good job moving the ball on offense and keeping the ball on their side, so there’s a lot of things to learn from this game, but overall the end of the day, we got the job done and now we’re on the next week.

Q: It looked like they were rotating their corners defensively, and just bringing guys in, cycling them through, and John Brown was winning a lot, especially against one of your former teammates (Ryan Lewis) at the end of the first half, did you guys talk about that at halftime? And then it looked like that matchup showed itself on the touchdown pass to him and you know, a chance to exploit that?

A: Yeah, I have a lot of trust in John and what he does, you know, just because how hard he works. The results that he has in the game, you know he’s a guy that’s going to go to work and get open for you, so I’m proud of the way he played today and, you know, that he had trusted me for just continuing to run his routes and I was going to find them and like I said it wouldn’t have happened without our front five though. They played a heck of a game.

Q: Josh, is there any sense of frustration within the first half or come halftime, the crowd boo’ing the team and so forth, not necessarily all for you or wherever, but collectively how did you personally feel about your first half?

A: Yeah, listen we knew we weren’t playing up to our standard, coach preaches the type of standard that we play to, and we knew in that first half that wasn’t that wasn’t it. So, you know, our fans they deserve better. They deserve us to come out and play how we’re supposed to play, and, you know, I can’t credit Miami’s defense enough and their team for what they did today. But when we play to our standard we trust each other we play complementary football, and that’s usually going to produce good results and that’s what we weren’t doing that the first half.

Q: Take us through that sequence where after Tre’davious White comes up with the interception you guys put together a 98 yard drive, what kicked in there and enabled you to grab the lead?

A: Well, I mean just for Tre to make that play. We needed that play, and it was a big play for us, obviously you saw it and to be able to convert that and you know 98 yards. That was a big boost for us, you know, mentally and emotionally and we knew that once we got that ball in the end zone, that we started playing, how we’re supposed to play complementary football. Our defense was taking care of business. Offense, we were taking care of the football. You know, making sure that we were having good field position in the second half and like I said when you usually play, how you’re supposed to play good things happen.

Q: Could you talk about your emotion after the two point play, and whipping the ball into the stands?

A: Yeah, you know, it was just, one of those moments where I got up and a lot of stuff going through me and the fans in the top row they were there yelling pretty loud so I just wanted to throw them a souvenir.

Q: How about your emotion after your two point play and whipping the ball?

A: Yeah, you know, just one of those moments where I got up and a lot of stuff was going through me and the fans in the top row, they were yelling pretty loud so I just wanted to give them a souvenir.

Q: Where you look at your game–it would seem like at some point, you’re going to need games—today was one where you got beyond the 20s and 30s are going to be necessary. Do you have enough confidence that you and this offense can get to those places when you have to? I know the complementary football thing, but there are going to be those games too where more is needed.

A: Yeah, you know we’re–the whole goal of what we try to do is to score more than them. When a game dictates that we have to score a lot, that’s when we’re going to try to put the ball in the end zone more and maybe take some more risks but how well our defense is playing and how well we’re coached, just honestly, taking care of the football is the main priority for us on offense and making sure we have good field position and then when our opportunity arises, if we get a turnover for moving the ball then we have to convert in the red zone. So, we understand that and we’re trying to play to our strengths. We’re being very well-coached by the staff that we have here and I appreciate every single one of them and what they do and we’re just going to continue and try to get better for next week.

Q: Josh, when the coach [Sean McDermott] came in here, he talked about the first half not being to the team standards and you referenced it earlier in your comment, specifically maybe from an offensive standpoint in your game, in particular, what didn’t measure up?

A: I mean just not converting, not getting the ball where it needed to be. Obviously, three field goals—yeah, it’s good that we’re getting points but we want to turn those into touchdowns, no matter how we do it so we tried to go out there, we have to execute better, convert on third down, move the ball, like I said, our defense came out in the second half and played lights out and we found a rhythm on offense and that’s all that mattered.

Q: Could you allow yourself, when you’re worried about so many other things on your own end, to appreciate what a 36 year old, 15 year veteran quarterback might be playing his last game, at least in this stadium on the other side?

A: Yeah, I’ve gotten to know Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick] over the last couple years and got to hang around and spend some time with him and he’s just a hats off guy. Off the field, he’s fantastic, easy to talk to, he knows a lot about football and going back to two years ago, I actually got the chance to meet him at the Masters before I got drafted and he called it, he said, “you’re going to Buffalo.” He obviously has been here before, and he’s like, “if you need any suggestions or advice or anything, please let me know,” and that’s just the type of guy he is so for him to come out and play the way he did today, moving the ball, making some loose plays and just slinging the rock, it was cool to see, especially with the type of relationship that we have.

Q: What was the advice and what did stick with you from an advice standpoint?

A: I’ll keep some of the stuff to myself, but I really appreciate what he’s done for me. Honestly, we haven’t spent a whole bunch of time together but he’s one of the good ones.

Q: In your second year, you remember how it was as a rookie doing stuff for the first time, the first touchdown, your first completion—How exciting do you think it is for Ed Oliver to kind of get that weight off your shoulders and get his first career sack in this game back?

A: You know, I know he’s not the type of guy who cares about the stats and he wants to do his job but whenever, you know—the D tackles aren’t usually the ones to get the sacks but it’s usually the guys who are getting rough on the ends so he’s a young guy who is still learning, he’s got a lot of juice, a lot of energy, he’s going to really good in this league for a long time and I appreciate how hard he works and I know everyone on the team loves having him here. He’s going to be a good one for a long time and we’re just lucky to have him.

Q: Circling back to long drive, how much of a confidence booster was it for the offense and also to give the defense rest because they just came off of defending a ten minute drive?

A: Obviously, it was really big for us and we got to score there and kind of change the scoreboard, that was a pretty big swing there from almost giving up the touchdown to going the other way and just score a touchdown on our end. So to understand that type of situation, how the flow of the game is going. It’s exactly what we needed and trim it click.

Q: Josh, you kind of alluded to this a little bit ago but do you feel more comfortable playing, maybe from behind, just knowing you have to make a play to get the points on the board?

A: I mean, I just love the game of football and to feel comfortable. I try to feel comfortable at all times. Obviously, there’s certain situations, you know, nerves at first, just trying to get through all of that and I just try to stay as calm as possible once I settle in and trust the guys around me, good things can happen.

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