The Buffalo Bills are 4-0 for the first time in more than a decade, but they wouldn't be AFC East front-runners -- not to mention maybe one of the top contenders in the entire conference -- if not for the breakout of third-year quarterback Josh Allen. It's not just that Allen is one of the game's top big-play passers early in 2020, either. The big man is also proving to be among the NFL's toughest signal-callers, as evidenced by his quick return from an apparent shoulder injury against the Las Vegas Raiders in Sunday's 30-23 victory.
Allen, it turns out, gets some of his trademark toughness from a certain sports legend. Speaking with former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason for "The NFL Today" on CBS, the Bills QB said Sunday he tries to channel late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant while overcoming physical adversity on the field.
"On my away trips I watch the 'Muse' documentary that he did," Allen told Esiason. "Just the constant aggression that he had. In the fourth quarter when he got that look and the under-bite going, you knew that he was locked in and he was going to do everything he could to win a game. That mindset ... I feel I have, I'm willing to sacrifice my body for the betterment of our team. That will never change about me."
“That mindset that I feel like I have… I’m willing to sacrifice my body for the betterment of our team.”
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 4, 2020
Josh Allen discusses with @7BOOMERESIASON how Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality impacts his game and the @BuffaloBills 3-0 start. pic.twitter.com/t9IccnxaBv
And it certainly didn't change Sunday. Up 17-6 against the Raiders in Week 4, Allen was forced out of action in the second quarter after completing an improbable pass to Stefon Diggs and landing hard on his left shoulder. The former first-round draft pick returned to Buffalo's bench not long afterward, however, and was back on the field to help run out the first-half clock, finishing the game with two touchdowns and a 115.8 passer rating to keep the Bills undefeated and atop their division.
