Josh Allen didn’t match Jim Kelly’s Bills passing touchdown mark with a textbook throw. He did it with a wild one.
Late in Sunday’s 33-30 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas, the Buffalo quarterback tied Kelly’s franchise record for career touchdown passes on a backhanded shovel pass to wide receiver Keon Coleman. It was the kind of play that looked improvised in real time, and it put Allen on top of one of the biggest lists in Bills history.
Allen had gone into the game with 256 combined passing touchdowns, only two shy of Kelly’s 258. His first step toward the milestone came in the second quarter, when he hit Khalil Shakir for a nine-yard touchdown. That made it 257 and left him one away.
The record-tying throw came in the third quarter. Facing 3rd & 8 from the Raiders’ 12-yard line with pressure closing fast, Allen escaped and then flipped the backhanded shovel pass to Coleman in the end zone. The 12-yard score gave Buffalo a 23-13 lead with 6:22 left in the quarter and pulled Allen even with Kelly at 258 career passing touchdowns.
The comparison between the two quarterbacks depends on how you frame it. Kelly did his work over 11 seasons, while Allen is in his ninth.
But on a per-game basis, Allen has reached the number faster. Kelly played 160 regular-season games and 17 postseason games in Buffalo.
Allen has logged 134 regular-season games and 15 postseason appearances, which is 28 fewer games.
Kelly still holds the Bills’ regular-season passing touchdown record, with 237. Allen is at 229, and that mark does not appear likely to stand through the 2026 NFL season.
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