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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
LONDON — Josh Allen is scared of Josh Allen.
No, this isn’t about fearing himself. Instead, Allen, the Buffalo Bills quarterback, made the remark when he was asked about facing Allen, the Jacksonville Jaguars pass-rusher yet again.
“He got me last time we played,” Allen said. “He’s coming off a really good week too. He’s a baller. He’s still considered kind of a young guy in this league, but he’s playing really good football right now.
“And their defensive group right now is playing at a high level, they work together very well. So, we’re going to have our hands full.”
Allen will face Allen for the second time in their careers when the Bills host the Jaguars in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network). For the Bills quarterback, the second coming of the Josh Allen Bowl will be an opportunity to get redemption after the Buffalo offense struggled the last time they met.
The first meeting came in November 2021 when the Jaguars upset the Bills 9-6 in Jacksonville with Allen completing 31-of-47 passes but throwing zero touchdowns, two interceptions and losing a fumble. He also was the team’s leading rusher with five carries for 50 yards. After two field goals to start the game, the Bills offense struggled to get anything going, with no drives longer than 45 yards.
On the other hand, the defensive end Allen had a great game, accounting for one of the four sacks on Allen, finishing with a team-high eight tackles, one quarterback hit, two tackles for loss, an interception, a pass defensed and the recovery of Allen’s fumble.
“He’s one of the predominant pass-rushers in this league,” quarterback Allen said. “I think everybody that plays against them has to have a plan in place for him. We’re going to be no different. We’ve played some really good D-lines already early in this year, and it’s not stopping this week with this group.”
The pass-rusher, who is in a contract year, was limited in Jaguars practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He has had a strong start to the 2023 season with six sacks, tied for the league lead, and the most in franchise history through four games. If he records a half sack or more, he will have the most in Jaguars history through five games.
“Josh has had a bunch of pressures last year, and he went home and focused on just finishing,” Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said. “As a staff and as a defense, we talked about finishing and he being able to finish early on in the season. We look for that to continue. Josh put the work in the offseason, he’s a talented player, he came back and it’s paying off for him and us.”
The other Allen has also performed extremely well after a four-turnover performance in the Week 1 opener vs. the Jets. He leads the league in completion percentage (74.8%), has only one turnover in the past three weeks and the Bills offense has three straight games with 35-plus points. He has only been sacked nine times this year, tied for 16th. In the past three games, he’s won AFC Player of the Week and has gone on an MVP-like stretch. If he continues that type of play vs. the Jaguars, redemption will be well within reach.
Allen sacking Allen once again and making the quarterback’s day difficult may be a key part of the Jaguars extending the streak in the matchup, but limiting the Bills offense will not be an easy task. Buffalo has the potential to become the fourth team in NFL history to win four straight games by at least 25 points.
Beyond the outcome of the game, the similarities in the pair are remarkable and they extend beyond their names. Both were picked seventh overall in the NFL draft with the Bills picking the quarterback in 2018 and the pass-rusher selected a year later by the Jaguars.
“First round, seventh overall, back-to-back years,” quarterback Allen said. “I still think that’s kind of crazy. The same name.”