Josh Allen’s Ruling September Again—Wake Me up in January

Josh Allen has had a remarkable start to the season, but this story has played out before.

He's put up historic, MVP-caliber numbers essentially the entire decade, but there's more to quarterbacking than that.

Before putting Allen on a pedestal he does not deserve, wait until January. His September story has been told before, but his Hall of Fame-caliber playoff success is still to be seen through a Super Bowl run.

Another Dominant Regular-Season Start for Josh Allen

Allen has gotten off to another incredible start to his 2026 season, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 2-0 record with 582 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, and no interceptions. He has also added four rushing touchdowns through the first two games.

With an 85.8 QBR through two games, Allen has shown why he entered the season as one of the premier candidates for NFL MVP.

Allen has already had many incredible regular seasons. He won the 2024 AP NFL MVP award, has thrown at least 25 touchdown passes in each of his past six seasons and has passed for more than 4,000 yards in four of those seasons. His career numbers speak for themselves.

The Bills' offense has looked like one of the league's best, scoring a combined 77 points through the first two games. Buffalo opened the season with a 36-31 win over the Houston Texans , then scored another 41 points in a 41-31 victory over the Detroit Lions .

Allen is the driving force behind that success, but this isn't the first time he's played this well during the regular season.

Allen's ability can't be taken for granted. He is in the top tier of NFL quarterbacks for talent and arm strength.

But playing quarterback is about more than ability. It also requires the intangible ability to make plays in crucial moments and avoid tunnel vision in high-pressure playoff situations. Allen has made costly mistakes in some of Buffalo's biggest games.

Allen is 0-4 against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Though not all of those losses can be put on him.

He also struggled against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in January 2023. Allen finished with 264 passing yards, no passing touchdowns, and an interception as Buffalo was eliminated in a 27-10 divisional-round loss.

Arguably his worst moment came at the end of last season in Buffalo's divisional-round loss to the Denver Broncos .

Allen turned the ball over four times, throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice in the 33-30 overtime loss. He also missed opportunities that could have swung the game in Buffalo's favor.

To be clear, Allen has had his fair share of bright moments in the playoffs. But those performances have still not led Buffalo to a Super Bowl.

Joe Burrow has reached a Super Bowl and beaten Mahomes in an AFC Championship Game to get there. Jalen Hurts has reached the Super Bowl twice and won one, earning Super Bowl MVP honors.

Brock Purdy has reached a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Games, including a San Francisco 49ers comeback win over Detroit to reach Super Bowl LVIII. Matthew Stafford has also reached two NFC Championship Games and won a Super Bowl, with his second conference championship appearance coming last season against the Seattle Seahawks .

Allen has reached two AFC Championship Games in eight completed seasons without making a Super Bowl. For an MVP QB, that's an underachievement.

At this point, the unnecessary praise and adulation for Allen's consistent regular-season performances need to slow down. The regular-season greatness is proven. What remains unanswered is whether that success can finally translate to the playoffs for the Buffalo Bills.

Allen's talent is undeniable. But regular-season performances should not overshadow the costly mistakes and missed opportunities that have followed him in some of Buffalo's biggest playoff games.

January will give him another opportunity to change that narrative.

This is Allen's ninth season, and he is now 30. It is time to take the kid gloves off and start judging Allen for what he has and hasn't done.