Bills' head coach vows to preserve 'very, very important' Josh Allen streak

The Buffalo Bills won't stand in the way of their record-setting quarterback in Week 18.

Ralph Ventre | Dec 30, 2024

Dec 22, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) enters the field / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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For once, the Buffalo Bills don't need quarterback Josh Allen to put on his cape.

With their Week 17 win over the New York Jets, the Bills (13-3) locked themselves into the No. 2 seed in the upcoming AFC Playoffs. No matter the result of the regular season finale against the New England Patriots, Buffalo is set in between No. 1 Kansas City and No. 3 Baltimore.

Therefore, Allen and some of his fellow starters can theoretically treat the January 5 game as a bye week of sorts, but the NFL MVP front runner won't pass up the opportunity to continue his consecutive starts streak, which has exceeded triple digits.

"You'll see some starters out there playing and you'll see some other players that we want to take a good look at, so it'll be a blend of both," said head coach Sean McDermott while addressing reporters virtually on Monday. "In Josh's case, one of the things that we know is very, very important to him is his consecutive starts streak."

When Allen presumably leads the offense out onto the field against the Patriots, it'll mark the 28-year-old field general's 105th consecutive regular season start.

"It's important to him for a great reason. He wants to be out there with his teammates. He will be out there for a very, very short-lived amount of time and then he'll be off rather quickly there," said McDermott.

The Bills' QB1 has logged 114 straight starts, including 10 playoff games. He kicked off the streak after returning from a UCL injury during his rookie season, powering Buffalo to a 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 25, 2018.

Allen carries the longest active streak amongst all NFL quarterback and his style of play makes the accomplish all the more impressive. The dual threat tends to expose himself to a higher frequency of hits than the large majority of his peers. Employing a bulldozer-like running style, Allen has been extremely durable while carrying the ball 724 times over that 104-game span.

Last time out, Allen became the first player ever to record at least 40 total touchdowns five years in a row.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen wins a footrace to the corner of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Lions. The Bills beat the Lions 14-13. / JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

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