Jason Whitlock made the comparison heard around Buffalo on Wednesday, and it was as bold as it gets: after watching Josh Allen carry the Bills past the Rams on Monday night, he likened the quarterback to O.J. Simpson.
Whitlock posted the line on X two days after Buffalo’s 37-34 overtime win in Inglewood, California: “Josh Allen is OJ Simpson in a Bills uniform.”
The timing followed a game in which Allen put together one of his best rushing performances since his rookie year. He ran 10 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, while also finishing 12-of-19 passing for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Tyler Bass then drilled a 45-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime to send Buffalo to 4-1.
Whitlock expanded on the idea in his comments, pointing to the long-running belief that punishment and age would eventually take the running out of quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson. His view was that the same concern doesn’t fit Allen, who is 30.
“I guess when you’re 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, the rules don’t apply, and he can still run the football like O.J. Simpson,” Whitlock said.
He also turned the discussion toward the MVP race, using Allen’s numbers to make the case. By Whitlock’s count, Allen has been responsible for 15 of Buffalo’s 20 offensive touchdowns this season, with seven through the air and eight on the ground. Whitlock added that Allen has accounted for 73% of the team’s offensive yards, is averaging 13.7 yards per completion and 5.8 per rush, and is doing it while Buffalo’s defense is giving up 28.2 points per game, the worst figure in the AFC and fifth-worst in the NFL.
“If that’s not the MVP, I don’t know who is,” Whitlock said.
Allen’s performance helped cover up another rough night for Buffalo’s defense, which surrendered 34 points, a season high for the unit. Matthew Stafford went 40 of 54 for 383 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams, now 2-3, while Puka Nacua set a career high with 17 catches for 138 yards. Kyren Williams punched in a 1-yard score with five seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
In Other News...
Bills Win Took A Back Seat To Bradley Chubb Postgame Drama
Buffalos overtime win over the Rams should have been the full story, but the postgame scene quickly pulled attention away from the result. During a jersey exchange after the game, Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb, turning a routine moment into the kind of after-the-whistle flashpoint that can linger long after the final horn. The NFL responded with a two-game suspension for Jackson, adding an official layer to an incident that left the Bills dealing with more than just a hard-fought victory.
Joe Brady said there is still plenty to sort through about what happened after the game, and Buffalo is waiting for the details to continue coming in. For now, the Bills are moving on to the Raiders, trying to keep their focus on the next opponent while the league reviews a scene that overshadowed the ending in Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Ray Davis Took Heat For A Bills Return Fans Can't Ignore
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Evans, who is not exactly built like a traditional coverage ace, drew plenty of attention for the way he ran Davis down and finished the play. For Buffalo, it was the kind of sequence that leaves a little frustration behind, because the return had enough early momentum to make fans think something bigger might be coming. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Face A Bigger Test Than Their Record Has Answered
Josh Allen and the Bills head into Week 6 with the kind of momentum that makes every matchup feel like a measuring stick, and the Raiders are the next team asked to see how real the start can be. Buffalo has already shown it can win in different ways this season, with Allen again carrying the offense and covering for the rough patches that tend to show up over the course of a game. Las Vegas arrives with a winning record of its own, which at least gives this one the outline of a legitimate test instead of a routine AFC checkpoint.
The intrigue is whether the Raiders can keep Buffalo from turning the afternoon into a familiar Allen-led grind, because the Bills have been living with a few self-inflicted issues even while the results keep coming. Las Vegas has enough on paper to make the game interesting on both sides of the ball, but the bigger question for Buffalo is whether its offense can keep separating when the margins tighten and the game starts asking for answers rather than projections. [Read more 🡒]