ORCHARD PARK, NY – The “MVP!” chants at Highmark Stadium began with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

Buffalo Bills fans may have been premature in their excitement, but they were not wrong.

They simply had no way of knowing that Josh Allen was just getting his offense started on Monday night. By halftime, he was already having one of the best statistical games of his career. But what was truly remarkable was how Allen did his dirty business in a 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We’ve spent months analyzing, guessing, and complaining about how Allen would fare without Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. Diggs and his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, insinuated on social media that the receiver makes the quarterback, not the other way around.

So who would Allen throw to?

Apparently whoever likes it.

GO DEEPER

Josh Allen and the Bills dominate the Jags in a 47-10 loss: Insights

At the break, he had completed passes for nine teammates and led Buffalo to touchdowns on each of his five possessions. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 247 yards and touchdowns to four players: tight end Dalton Kincaid, rookie receiver Keon Coleman, receiver Khalil Shakir and tailback Ty Johnson. Oh yeah, Allen also led both teams with 22 rushing yards, three more than Jacksonville’s entire roster, while resting his injured left hand.

And there were still 30 minutes left in the game.

“MVP!” indeed.

Around this time, a newly crowned MVP tweeted the following:

I really enjoy watching Josh Allen play football! 🏈

— LeBron James (@KingJames) 24 September 2024

Bills edge rusher AJ Epenesa knows how LeBron feels, at least on this issue.

“As a defender, I get to watch him up close a lot,” Epenesa said. “I’ve seen him do crazy things and it’s just… He’s one of a kind. I don’t even want to say ‘It’s a miracle,’ because he just does his job as well as he can and he does it so well and is such a great leader for us.”

“Josh defines what a bill is.”

When Johnson caught Allen’s 16-yard lob in the end zone with 19 seconds left before halftime, he became the sixth Bill to catch at least one touchdown this year. No other team has as many TD catchers.

Winking locker room sources confirmed that it was no coincidence that Allen, after two offensive plays in the third quarter, caught a pass from the only straggler of the first half, Mack Hollins. It was the 10th time in club history that at least 10 players have caught a pass.

And then there were 25 minutes left in the game.

“It’s paying off what we’ve been working on all offseason and all training camp on the ‘everybody eats’ mentality,” Allen said. “It could be your play on that play. You never know when it’s going to happen. That’s the beauty of it, when guys buy into it and really understand that they might not throw the ball four or five times a game, but if I get it one or two times, I have a chance to get in the end zone.”

Coleman did not play the entire first quarter because he was penalized for being late, but on his third snap he caught his first NFL touchdown with 6:19 minutes left in the second quarter.

Rookie Keon Coleman scored his first NFL touchdown in the Bills’ win over the Jaguars. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

“It’s a great and fun thing,” Allen said, “when you have a bunch of guys who don’t care about the stats. They don’t care about the touchdowns.”

Davis, on the other hand, made sure Bills fans didn’t miss him on Monday night. He caught two passes for 18 yards, both in the third quarter. Diggs has played decently for the Houston Texans, catching 20 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. But he’s running the shortest routes of his career and is 4.0 yards below his career average per pass catch. The Bills visit Houston in two weeks as part of a busy upcoming schedule. More on that below.

Shakir has proven to be Allen’s safety net. They stayed perfect, with Allen completing all six of his attempts and passing to Shakir for 72 yards and the touchdown in the second quarter. Shakir has 16 catches on 16 attempts for 168 yards and two touchdowns this year.

Are you still having fun, #BillMafia?

📺: @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/v5FY4RWvFY

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) 24 September 2024

“I can say it over and over again: He’s a damn good football player, emphasis on ‘football,'” Allen said. “He loves the game. He does everything right. He’s so unselfish in his approach all week. He might catch two passes in practice and he keeps finding ways to be in the right place at the right time.”

The Bills scored 34 points in two quarters for the fifth time in team history (including the playoffs), a feat they had not accomplished since 1992. The record for the largest halftime victory in the regular season was set in 1966, with a 48-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. In the 1990 postseason, the Bills led the Los Angeles Raiders 41-3.

Allen managed just 16 yards in the second half (the Hollins completion), but still had the highest point total of any quarterback in Week 3 fantasy football, trailing only San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings in non-PPR leagues. Allen was also the game’s leading runner with 44 yards when Mitchell Trubisky relieved him with 9:58 left.

The Bills are 3-0, but the schedule is about to get tough. Buckle up.

Their next three games – four of their next five games and five of their next six games – are on the road, starting Sunday night with the Baltimore Ravens.

Allen himself mentioned the MVP award without being asked. He knows the bar.

“We have a short week and we’re going into a hostile environment with the Ravens and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson,” Allen said. “We’re going to turn that around very quickly and focus on them very quickly.”

The Bills then visit the Texans and New York Jets before returning to Highmark Stadium. Their bye is in Week 12, sandwiched between two home games against last season’s Super Bowl teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers.

“You can’t win a Super Bowl or make the playoffs with just three games,” Allen said. “I think this team understands that. We’re going to look at this film and put this behind us as quickly as possible.”

The Ravens defense, on the other hand, will be watching Allen’s footage on a loop all week.

They will see what LeBron did, but it will not be nearly as amusing to them.

(Top photo: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)