Speaker 1: Mary Christmas, everybody. Welcome to Bill's by the Numbers, where
Speaker 1: we let the stats tell you where the Bills are at.
Speaker 1: We're presented by fand we'll make every moment more coming
Speaker 1: your way. The NFL MVP race is heating up in
Speaker 1: the wake of Josh Allen's recent second half play does
Speaker 1: he have a shot at repeating? And James Cook is
Speaker 1: breathing down Jonathan Taylor's neck for the rushing title. Is
Speaker 1: Offensive Player of the Year in the cards for him,
Speaker 1: and we'll have our one burning question. Time to hop
Speaker 1: on the one horse open sleigh. Welcome to this holiday
Speaker 1: edition of Bills by the Numbers.
Speaker 2: He is Bill's Hall of Famous.
Speaker 1: He'saster of Bill's played by playman Chris Brown, and he
Speaker 1: was once considered a non factor, but the unicorn of
Speaker 1: unicorns has entered the chats. Reigning MVP Josh Allen, with
Speaker 1: his back to back fourth quarter comeback performances in wins
Speaker 1: over Cincinnati and New England, has vaulted himself into the
Speaker 1: conversation of league MVP. It had largely been deemed a
Speaker 1: two horse race by most handicappers who had the Rams,
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford and the Patriots Drake May as the favorites
Speaker 1: for the League's Most Valuable Player, and deservedly so. Those
Speaker 1: two quarterbacks have been remarkably efficient and productive, and their
Speaker 1: teams have been in contention for the one seed in
Speaker 1: the playoffs for their respective conferences. But in the last
Speaker 1: three games, Josh Allen has accounted for nine touchdowns and
Speaker 1: three straight victories, including a road win at New England
Speaker 1: to overcome a twenty one point deficit, matching the largest
Speaker 1: road comeback in Bill's team history. Prior to the Thursday
Speaker 1: night game between the Rams and Seahawks in Week sixteen,
Speaker 1: Allen had pulled even with Matthew Stafford for the most
Speaker 1: total touchdownsty seven. May is a distant seventh with twenty seven.
Speaker 1: Should scoring ability be the top factor? Steve in the
Speaker 1: equation of determining league MVP.
Speaker 2: I think it's just part of the equation. You'll get
Speaker 2: to it in a minute. I think you have to
Speaker 2: look across the spectrum of how quarterbacks are evaluated wins, losses,
Speaker 2: how high towards the top of the rankings are they
Speaker 2: in the positive rankings and how high are they in
Speaker 2: the negatives. I mean, two years ago, Josh Allen was
Speaker 2: disqualified from it, even though he had a monster season
Speaker 2: because he had more He had eighteen interceptions. Other guys
Speaker 2: have won the MVP with way more interceptions than that handful,
Speaker 2: more interceptions than that, most notably Kurt Warner in one
Speaker 2: of his MVP seasons, he had twenty three interceptions. They
Speaker 2: threw it a lot, So I think it's got to
Speaker 2: be Obviously, it's got to be in the equation. But
Speaker 2: I think when you look at it, I think you
Speaker 2: look at the broad spectrum of how we evaluate quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: Like I said, win losses, completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio,
Speaker 2: rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, first downs, expected yards per complete,
Speaker 2: all those all this stuff, all the advanced analeagues. I
Speaker 2: think you got to look at the total package, and
Speaker 2: not only just the numbers, but you got to strip
Speaker 2: it away and just say, what do I see when
Speaker 2: I see him play?
Speaker 1: Well, that's what I was going to say, because yes,
Speaker 1: all those numbers count and should be factored in to
Speaker 1: the MVP equation. But I think also you have to
Speaker 1: look at whether the team that that person plays for
Speaker 1: is in contention for at least the playoffs. It's hard
Speaker 1: to hand an MVP to a guy on a seven
Speaker 1: and ten team, that's right. So I think that counts.
Speaker 1: And then I think making critical game changing plays in
Speaker 1: some of the biggest moments of games really separates what
Speaker 1: an MVP truly is the most valuable player at the
Speaker 1: most critical times. And the reason Josh Allen's back in
Speaker 1: this conversation is because he's done that the last two weeks.
Speaker 2: That's right, and that's get it last.
Speaker 1: Year in a lot of big games.
Speaker 2: And here's the problem. I think for most fans out
Speaker 2: here where we sit, it's hard to quantify that. Yes,
Speaker 2: and now analytics, advanced analytics people say, yeah, well we
Speaker 2: do that, you know, and Josh is always.
Speaker 1: At the tip expected point at it.
Speaker 2: He's the best of that. But it's hard for regular
Speaker 2: fans to say, yeah, well my guy came through in
Speaker 2: this area and you know, and I it's it's hard
Speaker 2: to quantify it, but your gut tells you which guys
Speaker 2: are good at it. Certainly Josh is always at the
Speaker 2: top of that. So yeah, that that is also in
Speaker 2: the equation crunch time and your quarterback has always got
Speaker 2: his hands on the ball in crunch time, and how
Speaker 2: good is he in those moments. Yeah, that's I think
Speaker 2: that's a large part of it as well.
Speaker 1: As we often do here on bills by the Numbers
Speaker 1: has provide the numbers for a more in depth analysis.
Speaker 1: So total yards this season, Allen ranks fourth with thirty
Speaker 1: eight hundred eleven ahead of him Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes,
Speaker 1: and third Drake May with thirty nine hundred twenty nine
Speaker 1: total yards, one hundred eighteen yards ahead of Allen. Heading
Speaker 1: into Week sixteen, Stafford is sixth with thirty seven hundred
Speaker 1: and fourteen. Completion percentage, Allen second in the league at
Speaker 1: seventy percent. First is May at seventy one percent, Stafford
Speaker 1: a distant fourteenth at sixty six point four percent. First downs,
Speaker 1: Allan is tied for first with Prescott two hundred and
Speaker 1: one on the season. May is fourth, Stafford fifth. Scramble
Speaker 1: yards Allan not surprisingly first four hundred twenty four. May
Speaker 1: is third with three hundred and fifty six. Stafford not
Speaker 1: part of that competition. Offensive total pass expected points at
Speaker 1: it May is first one hundred fifteen point two two,
Speaker 1: Allan third one hundred point four, Stafford fifth, eighty eight
Speaker 1: passing yards Stafford second, May fifth, Allen eighth passer rating
Speaker 1: Stafford first, May third, Allen fourth, third down passing leaders
Speaker 1: Allen sixth, May tenth, Stafford sixteenth. Fourth quarter passing leaders
Speaker 1: Stafford first, Allen fourth, May twenty second game winning drives
Speaker 1: Alan tied for fourth with four May and Stafford with
Speaker 1: just one each tied for twentieth. And that could be
Speaker 1: read into as those teams are usually ahead on the scoreboard,
Speaker 1: so fourth, you know, game winning drives not necessarily needed
Speaker 1: because their teams are winning games and ahead.
Speaker 2: That is true. But you look at the you look
Speaker 2: at the schedules and the outcomes for these for these teams,
Speaker 2: the Patriots, and that's kind of what you look at.
Speaker 2: They're eleven and three. Uh, they've got only a handful
Speaker 2: of games where they all their ways have been tight.
Speaker 2: They have been tight. It's not like they've been There
Speaker 2: have been some you know, the Giants game, of course,
Speaker 2: the Jets game. But when you get down to the Buccaneers,
Speaker 2: the Falcons, and then they they lumped up the Browns
Speaker 2: and the Titans.
Speaker 1: They most people do.
Speaker 2: The Saints game was a one possession game. The Bills
Speaker 2: game was a one possession game. They lumped up the
Speaker 2: Panthers Uh, they lost to the Steelers. The Miami Dolphins
Speaker 2: they beat that was a one score game. So they've
Speaker 2: been in some tight games. So I don't know if
Speaker 2: you can like la lump lump the main numbers into
Speaker 2: that where they've always been ahead.
Speaker 1: But no last stat here plays of twenty plus yards.
Speaker 1: Stafford first with fifty seven, Allen second with fifty six,
Speaker 1: May fourth with fifty two. We just ran through a
Speaker 1: boatload of statistics. Do any of them carry more weight
Speaker 1: for you than another?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Fourth quarter, fourth quarter stuff, I think for me
Speaker 2: is is important because that's you know, these games the
Speaker 2: NFL are always tight, and they're they're tough. You got
Speaker 2: to be good and like I said, like you said
Speaker 2: in crunch time, third down is an important one. You know.
Speaker 2: Obviously the scramble yards are an individual stat that's you
Speaker 2: got to take that.
Speaker 1: Stafford's not going to rank there, right, Stafford.
Speaker 2: That's right?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 2: And and total offense e p A. I think that's important.
Speaker 2: May's first, Allen's third, Stafford's fifth. All these guys are
Speaker 2: right at the top, and that you know, and those
Speaker 2: kind of pass e pa those are like all encompassing
Speaker 2: so for the entire season. But that that also when
Speaker 2: you do this thing with the all the total season
Speaker 2: and it's e PA expected yards it all it has
Speaker 2: to do with play selection, personnel on the field, game situation, opponent.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and so that has that's more of a
Speaker 2: team stat, although the quarterback is a massive part of it.
Speaker 2: It's a team stat. Third downs a little bit of
Speaker 2: a team stat, fourth quarter passing leaders a little bit
Speaker 2: of a situational team stat. But you know, game winning
Speaker 2: drives should be important. So I'm yeah, it's it's hard
Speaker 2: to sift through this because all these guys are right
Speaker 2: in the top five of most maybe it's important category
Speaker 2: and maybe that's.
Speaker 1: What you pull from all these statistics because the three
Speaker 1: of these three players are are in the running or
Speaker 1: they're at least in the top ten in almost all
Speaker 1: of these, which I think only cements their candidacy for
Speaker 1: the MVP and consideration to win.
Speaker 2: They hard because you got to take the time and
Speaker 2: nobody does this. Bill's fans take take the time to
Speaker 2: go back and look at Josh's plays, and well New
Speaker 2: England fans look at May's and the LA fans look
Speaker 2: at Stafford's and you pluck out all those times during
Speaker 2: the season, and there's been a bunch for all of
Speaker 2: these guys of where that guy did it? And who knows?
Speaker 2: I mean unless you go back and look how many
Speaker 2: and how important were the plays that may made for
Speaker 2: the Patriots that won games the way Josh Allen won
Speaker 2: games for the Bills and Stafford won games for the Rams,
Speaker 2: and you go down the list of guys in this conversation,
Speaker 2: so all these I hate to say it like that
Speaker 2: because I'm a Bills guy, we're Bills guys. All these
Speaker 2: guys are worthy of the desert. They're all deserted.
Speaker 1: Knowing it is a tight race, what do you believe
Speaker 1: Josh Allen still has to do over the final three
Speaker 1: games to make a more convincing case for himself. Not
Speaker 1: that he's campaigning to do that, but no, what do
Speaker 1: you think would have to happen? Because he got himself
Speaker 1: on the radar and back into the conversation with two
Speaker 1: amazing second half performances these past two weeks, what does
Speaker 1: he still need to do? What do you think he
Speaker 1: still has to put on your resume this year?
Speaker 2: Here's what it takes. I mean, he has to keep
Speaker 2: on doing what he's doing. Obviously, I think it's more
Speaker 2: it's not so much and even say like this where
Speaker 2: he's played himself into the conversation, that kind of thing.
Speaker 2: I think what happens is invariably other guys play themselves
Speaker 2: out of it. Unfortunately, because it's hard, particularly with four
Speaker 2: games ago, to run off and leave Drake May, Matthew Stafford,
Speaker 2: name your guy, Boden, you know that, Name your guy.
Speaker 2: It's hard to run off and leave those guys because
Speaker 2: everybody's playing well at this time of year. I think
Speaker 2: it's about other guys playing themselves out of it. So
Speaker 2: I think that's what you're looking at. Either you don't
Speaker 2: get the opportunity, or your team wins a close win
Speaker 2: against an inferior points for instance, the Bills win this
Speaker 2: game this weekend ten to seven against the Browns. That
Speaker 2: kind of stuff. You play yourself out of it. These
Speaker 2: guys have played themselves into it. They're gonna stay in
Speaker 2: the conversation unless they trip up.
Speaker 1: I'll say, Marquee games in Marquee Windows helps, you know.
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford, at the time of the taping of this podcast,
Speaker 1: had not yet played the Seahawks on Thursday Night foot ball.
Speaker 1: If he lights up the Seahawks, which are a top
Speaker 1: three defense. It's right he could cement himself as the
Speaker 1: league MVP. Josh Allen in Week seventeen, playing in a
Speaker 1: major window game against the Eagles, ye in a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks, the defending Super Bowl champs. He lights them
Speaker 1: up and runs for a thirty yard touchdown and you know,
Speaker 1: wins the football game. I mean, we remember what it
Speaker 1: took last year when he won the MVP. He's you know,
Speaker 1: making an unbelievable playoff a lateral to die for a pylon,
Speaker 1: against the San Francisco forty nine ers, Right, I mean,
Speaker 1: you make plays like that, it's going to be all
Speaker 1: over television for the next for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Speaker 1: of the next week, and those are the things that
Speaker 1: get more recognition, it seems these that's right.
Speaker 2: And think about this. Josh makes a play like that
Speaker 2: San Francis Green in the snow, unbelievable Chris collins Worth,
Speaker 2: you know, standing up in the booth, jumping up and
Speaker 2: now there are Josh makes a play like that. Even
Speaker 2: La ram fans couldn't envision Matt Stafford doing that. I mean,
Speaker 2: that's a play that's not in his repertoire, you know.
Speaker 2: So there's that kind of thing that goes into it.
Speaker 2: Voters listen to that kind of thing. And I also
Speaker 2: think there's a little bit of this, and I think
Speaker 2: Lamar suffered from this last year. He already won it.
Speaker 2: Some of the voters like, hey, won it last year.
Speaker 2: If it's closed, let's give it to a new guy.
Speaker 2: That kind of thing goes on. There's no question they
Speaker 2: are human beings, fallible human beings. In some cases you'll say,
Speaker 2: you can you can argue about the qualifications of the voters,
Speaker 2: about what they put into it. Some of them sit
Speaker 2: in their armchair and with the remote and that's how
Speaker 2: they vote. That's about as much research as they do.
Speaker 2: That's the way it is. So yeah, play like the
Speaker 2: one you're describing. Yes, absolutely, even that until you get
Speaker 2: close to the end. I think other guy's got to
Speaker 2: play themselves out of it.
Speaker 1: Switching gears. Another dynamic player on buffer offense and near
Speaker 1: the top of the league in both rushing and total
Speaker 1: yards from scrimmage is James Cook. He leads the league
Speaker 1: with eight one hundred yard rushing games this season, three
Speaker 1: more than anyone else. Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry are
Speaker 1: tied for second with just five. He also has the
Speaker 1: most one hundred plus total scrimmage yard games than anyone
Speaker 1: in the league with eleven. He is currently just twenty
Speaker 1: eight rushing yards behind Jonathan Taylor for the league's rushing title,
Speaker 1: and his sixteen hundred and eighty six total scrimmage yards
Speaker 1: ranks fourth in the NFL behind bjon Robinson, Jonathan Taylor,
Speaker 1: and Christian McCaffrey. Robinson's team no longer in contention, which
Speaker 1: figures to hurt him a bit, but not terribly. What
Speaker 1: about the race with Taylor and McCaffrey For Cook.
Speaker 2: Well, I think it's we're in the exact same conversation
Speaker 2: we were a moment ago. Certainly, the offensive player of
Speaker 2: the Year is the league's chance and the voters chance
Speaker 2: to give an award to somebody other than a quarterback.
Speaker 2: McCaffrey is a great example of that, a great a
Speaker 2: great candidate for that. James Cook, this could be his year. Certainly,
Speaker 2: Jonathan Taylor is in this conversation. Although now you know
Speaker 2: the Colts have fallen away because of the injury to
Speaker 2: Daniel Jones and Sauce Gardner and all of that. They
Speaker 2: just can't find the recipe to win the way they
Speaker 2: did early in the season. That hurts him. So San
Speaker 2: Francisco and McCaffrey. I don't know what their schedule is
Speaker 2: coming up, but I think those guys got to find
Speaker 2: you gotta finish strong, and certainly James Cook has been
Speaker 2: walking Jonathan Taylor down for about a month now. He's
Speaker 2: been He was like one hundred and eighteen yards behind him,
Speaker 2: and now he's closer and closer and closer. Double digits.
Speaker 2: He might take him if he gets the rushing title.
Speaker 1: That's it for me, and that would say a lot
Speaker 1: because you know, the Colts, with Philip River at quarterback
Speaker 1: for them right now, are leaning even more on Jonathan
Speaker 1: Taylor than they were when they had Daniel Jones in
Speaker 1: the lineup. So it's not like Taylor's going to be
Speaker 1: short on opportunity to run the ball over these last
Speaker 1: three games when the Colts are fighting and clawing to
Speaker 1: stay in the playoffs or to get back in the
Speaker 1: playoffs because they're outside on the outside looking in heading
Speaker 1: into Week sixteen here. And to your point about falling
Speaker 1: off could hurt Taylor, I think it's completely taken. Bjon
Speaker 1: Robinson off the radar, even though I would argue he's
Speaker 1: the most dynamic back in the entire league. He might
Speaker 1: be the most gifted athlete at the running back position
Speaker 1: that we have seen currently, and the guys got a
Speaker 1: ridiculous he might hit two thousand total yards from scrimmage. Now,
Speaker 1: if he hits that number, I think Robinson could be
Speaker 1: back in the conversation, even with a team that is
Speaker 1: going absolutely nowhere and is probably going to see their
Speaker 1: coach fired at the end of the season. As hard
Speaker 1: as it might be to hand an award to a
Speaker 1: team that's going to be on the wrong side of
Speaker 1: five hundred by a lot, it hurt two thousand yards.
Speaker 2: It hurts him.
Speaker 1: Two thousand yards says something. Though, like you, you reach
Speaker 1: mythical numbers, you could be back in the conversation. I think,
Speaker 1: don't you. Yeah, two thousand total yards does it do
Speaker 1: it for you? Uh? Maybe not? No, I mean two
Speaker 1: thousand rushing yards is something different.
Speaker 2: Total yards not so much. I'm yeah, because Uh, I
Speaker 2: would think in a guy, for a guy like Bjeon Robinson,
Speaker 2: there would have to be a bigger gap between him
Speaker 2: and James Cook they were He'd have to be out
Speaker 2: here and they're not. They're like four hundred yards exactly.
Speaker 2: I think the gap for him and the second place
Speaker 2: guy has to be bigger than what it will be
Speaker 2: between McCaffrey and Cook.
Speaker 1: The last few weeks could have a lot to say
Speaker 1: about who takes the Offensive Player of the Year award,
Speaker 1: but it's likely to be a running back again as
Speaker 1: it was last year with the Eagles Saquon Barkley, although
Speaker 1: Seattle's Jackson Smith and Jigba could be a dark horse candidate.
Speaker 1: He is racking up receiving yards like nobody's business. Time
Speaker 1: Now for the numbers game and will quiz Steve on
Speaker 1: MVP and Offensive Player of the Year history. Let's do it.
Speaker 1: Question number one, what player holds the record for the
Speaker 1: highest total yards from scrimmage in a single season.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say, uh, Ladanian Tomlinson.
Speaker 1: It is not Ladonian Thomlins. That's a good guest though.
Speaker 1: I like that. Uh.
Speaker 2: I don't know what was running back with running back
Speaker 2: with its Indianapolis with is in the Hall of Fame now,
Speaker 2: Eric Dickers, no no, no, no, no no no, with Peyton
Speaker 2: Manny oh Edrin James, Edgrin James obviously noted James.
Speaker 1: It's in that era though. If that helps you.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say it is a running back.
Speaker 1: Yes, Priest Holmes is not Priest Holmes. It is Chris Johnson.
Speaker 1: Who oh Tennessee type.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, y K two yeah K two Yeah.
Speaker 1: Twenty five hundred and nine total yards. In two thousand
Speaker 1: and nine, he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 2: Talk about a comment he just here and gone.
Speaker 1: He was like a supernova. He was really a super
Speaker 1: like for three or four years he was top notch
Speaker 1: and then I don't know what happened. It just it
Speaker 1: wasn't the same disappeared.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Question number two, how many NFL MVPs have won the
Speaker 1: award in back to back years, something that Josh Allen
Speaker 1: has an opportunity to do potentially this year.
Speaker 2: I will say it might be more than that.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say four, You're very close. It's five
Speaker 1: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, and Jim Brown.
Speaker 1: Manning is the only one to do the back to
Speaker 1: back twice, right, So good for him?
Speaker 2: Holy cow? Yeah.
Speaker 1: Question number three, who is the only league MVP to
Speaker 1: win the award three years straight?
Speaker 2: Rogers.
Speaker 1: It is not Rogers. He's won four, but only two.
Speaker 1: He only won back to back once. It is not
Speaker 1: Jim Brown either. That's a great guess.
Speaker 2: Is it from that era? Is it?
Speaker 1: It's no, it is not from the Jim Brown era.
Speaker 1: No is this century previous century?
Speaker 2: Montana?
Speaker 1: It is not Montana. It is Brett Farr won three
Speaker 1: in a row. Is hard believe? The years were ninety five,
Speaker 1: ninety six, and ninety seven. And question four, what two
Speaker 1: players share the record for the most Offensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year awards?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, what two players? Yep? What era? They're
Speaker 2: in two different eras.
Speaker 1: I will tell you they each won three and here's
Speaker 1: the kicker. They both won three in consecutive years.
Speaker 2: I gotta say, La Dainian Tomlinson.
Speaker 1: Again, it is not legions. They are both Hall of famers.
Speaker 2: Earl Campbell.
Speaker 1: Earl Campbell as was very good, Steve that was a
Speaker 1: shot nineteen seventy eight to nineteen eighty three consecutive Offensive
Speaker 1: Player of the Year awards. I will say the other
Speaker 1: one is more recent.
Speaker 2: Like in this century? Just shy or just shy? I
Speaker 2: will say, Uh, Megatron is not Megatron? Is it a
Speaker 2: running back? Yes?
Speaker 1: And I know you can get this very Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: not Barry Sanders, the Thurman. Mhmm. You'll you'll say, of
Speaker 1: course after I give you the name.
Speaker 2: If you don't get it, okay, thanks, thanks, running back
Speaker 2: from just a minute, n FC, don't tell me, don't
Speaker 2: tell me.
Speaker 1: You want to get it now. Running Back in three
Speaker 1: consecutive years won the Offensive Player of the Year award.
Speaker 1: M h.
Speaker 2: Wait, wait, I'm going I'm going through my.
Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
Speaker 2: Okay, NFC, I gotta I gotta look at the NFC teams.
Speaker 2: Let's see no cheating now, I'm not cheating. Uh oh,
Speaker 2: Walter Payton.
Speaker 1: Not Walter Wait, don't tell me you want one more?
Speaker 2: Get I want another? Guess let's just getting good.
Speaker 1: The competitive nature of Steve Tasker is bubbling to the surface.
Speaker 1: Eric Dickerson, He's not Eric Dickerson.
Speaker 2: I have no idea who he is.
Speaker 1: It is Marshall falk Oh yeah, nineteen.
Speaker 2: I couldn't you know what because they're so close. I
Speaker 2: I ball ups fulk in the same makes sense.
Speaker 1: That's that's why I tried to give you NFC, to
Speaker 1: try to help you, because I could tell Tomlinson was
Speaker 1: on the Marshall fulk wherever you.
Speaker 2: Are at there, I apologize you should have I should
Speaker 2: have believe it was amazing for he was the dude.
Speaker 2: He was an absolute dude.
Speaker 1: That guy with Kurt Warner. Holy kh all right, So
Speaker 1: that's uh the numbers game. Bill's fans get in on
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Speaker 1: of the Buffalo Bills. Time now for our one Benning question.
Speaker 1: Do you think James Cook's candidacy for Offensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Year could actually be hurt by the fact that
Speaker 1: his quarterback is Josh Allen.
Speaker 2: Uh? I don't think so. Not in not in this,
Speaker 2: not in the shape we're seeing it with the Bills.
Speaker 2: Because of the run game. Because everybody already knows Josh
Speaker 2: is this, you know, unicorn kind of guy. To have
Speaker 2: a run game that has complimented him in so much,
Speaker 2: it might Ah, it could hurt him because they might think, well,
Speaker 2: they got Josh, nobody's really packing it in to stop
Speaker 2: the run anyway. I don't think so. Though. I don't
Speaker 2: think so. I think the fact that the Bills are
Speaker 2: still scoring at a high rate with a run first
Speaker 2: offense says something at least if the voters go that
Speaker 2: deep and think about it. No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2: I think he can.
Speaker 1: The only reason I worry that some might be biased
Speaker 1: with that is because Jonathan Taylor was playing with a
Speaker 1: resurgeon Daniel Jones, and is now finishing with a forty
Speaker 1: four year old Philip Rivers and Christian McCaffrey largely played
Speaker 1: the season with Mac Jones and Brock Purty, who I
Speaker 1: don't think are None of those quarterbacks are viewed in
Speaker 1: the same stratosphere as Josh Allen. I do think James
Speaker 1: is helped by the fact that they are the number
Speaker 1: one team in rushing and pretty much have been wired
Speaker 1: to wire this season, and he has the numbers to
Speaker 1: back up the production not only over the stretch of
Speaker 1: the entire season, but game by game. There's like, there
Speaker 1: aren't too many dud games for James Cook this season.
Speaker 1: I think there's only one game he was held under
Speaker 1: fifty yards that was the Week five game against New England.
Speaker 1: Other than that, he's been flirting with one hundred. Yeah,
Speaker 1: almost every single week. And that's just rushing yards I'm
Speaker 1: talking about.
Speaker 2: But we've been talking, we've been talking about, you know,
Speaker 2: like McCaffrey's to McCaffrey's.
Speaker 1: His receiving is off the charts right.
Speaker 2: His rushing is way down, but.
Speaker 1: His receiving yards are insane.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he ranks number three in rushing attempts, but he's
Speaker 2: thirteenth in yards. I mean, he's not even in the
Speaker 2: top half of the leagu he's barely in the top
Speaker 2: half of the league. So I'm no, I think he've
Speaker 2: got to be better than that.
Speaker 1: I might be down to Cook and Taylor at this point.
Speaker 2: I think, so anything can happen and Jackson, Smith and Jig,
Speaker 2: but I think it could pivot on how their team finishes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but I think he's a dark horse candidate Smith, Jig.
Speaker 1: He's been unbelievable.
Speaker 2: He's been an amazing player this year. So we'll see.
Speaker 2: But I think the consistency of Cook may help him.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Our closing figure deals with Josh Allen's exploits as
Speaker 1: a scoring machine. Alan currently sits just one offensive touchdown
Speaker 1: away from three hundred in his career. If he gets
Speaker 1: just one touchdown in Cleveland Sunday in Week sixteen, he
Speaker 1: will become not only the fastest player to three hundred
Speaker 1: career touchdowns, doing so in just one hundred twenty six games,
Speaker 1: but also the youngest at twenty nine years and two
Speaker 1: hundred and fourteen days old. Aaron Rodgers was previously the
Speaker 1: fastest to three hundred touchdowns, doing so in one hundred
Speaker 1: thirty four games. No other NFL player in the history
Speaker 1: of the game has hit three hundred offensive touchdowns before
Speaker 1: age thirty one. Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was previously
Speaker 1: the youngest at thirty one years, two hundred and twelve
Speaker 1: days old, almost two full years older than Joshua Patrick Allen,
Speaker 1: who should get the job done on Sunday. Amazing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: It's like I say all the time, is no one
Speaker 1: scores touchdowns at the rate of josh Allen.
Speaker 2: There is a reason why the Bills are the most
Speaker 2: entertaining team in football, and it's because they score score,
Speaker 2: score score, And that's the guy that's responsible for it.
Speaker 1: He's amazing. That's it for this episode. Be sure to
Speaker 1: subscribe on whatever podcast platform you use so you know
Speaker 1: when the next episode is out, or watch us on
Speaker 1: the Bills YouTube channel, because when you need to know
Speaker 1: about the Bills, you need to check Bills by the Numbers.
Speaker 1: For Steve Tasker on Chris Brown, thanks for listening. Merry Christmas, everybody,