The Buffalo Bills are popular today only because of Josh Allen. Few active quarterbacks in the league can give him a run for his money. But Allen definitely gives opposing defenses a run for their money. New Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb reflected on the importance of having a quarterback as electric as Allen.
“It changes in multiple ways,” Bradley Chubb said in an interview with Yahoo Sports Daily this week. “I feel like the first change is being on the sideline a little bit more. It’s refreshing a little bit more, getting a chance to go all out on the field and come to the sideline and get some adequate rest to be good for the next drive. And then also, it brings those pass-rushing opportunities, too, because when you’ve got a guy who could put up points as well as Josh does, as well as coach Brady does with the offense, then you kind of just pin your ears back on defense.”
To better gauge what Josh Allen really does on the field, he’s the second on the Bills’ leaderboard in career passing yards, already having recorded 30,102. All in a span of eight years. Those numbers are proof of the fact that Allen keeps the offense on the ground longer than usual and does the heavy lifting.
Take Buffalo’s Week 13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Allen completed 65.2% of his passes, along with 38 rushing yards, while leading long drives that resulted in two total touchdowns. This kept Buffalo’s defense entirely off the field for 41:59 minutes, allowing them to stay fresh and limit the Steelers’ offense in the Bills’ 26-7 victory.
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 17: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen 17 runs the offense in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round game at Empower Field at Mile High on January 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 17 AFC Divisional Round Bills at Broncos EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon132260117186In the Week 14 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills trailed for over three quarters, but Josh Allen scripted a comeback. In a span of 4 minutes and 20 seconds, Allen erased a 28-18 fourth-quarter deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points. The final score was 39-34.
By repeatedly putting points on the board, Allen forced Bengals QB Joe Burrow to take more risks, leading directly to defensive wins. With 5:25 left, Bills cornerback Christian Benford intercepted Burrow’s pass intended for Ja’Marr Chase and returned it for a 63-yard pick-six. Moments later, Bills’ defensive end A.J. Epenesa grabbed another tipped pass from Burrow to record an interception. That sequence set up another touchdown pass for Allen.
Nine out of the 17 regular-season games last year saw Josh Allen and Co. score 30 or more points. With an offense this electric, the defense is allowed some room to improve its performance. However, even though the Bills reached the divisional round last season, there were defensive mistakes that eventually upset Allen’s hard work.
The Bills allowed only 156.9 yards per game through the air, the least last season. But they gave up an alarming 136.2 yards per game on the ground, and roughly 21.5 total touchdowns per game. The defense was uncharacteristically bad last year, but that’s where Bradley Chubb comes in.
“I feel like the talk in the past was the offense go out there and put up how many points, and the defense don’t lose the game,” Chubb said in March, when he was signed by the Bills. “Now we’re trying to be aggressive on defense and set the tone. And I feel like that’s what they brought me here to do, set the tone.”
Chubb is also looking forward to achieving one special goal with someone like Allen now in the mix.
Bradley Chubb reveals why he joined the Bills in free agency
Chubb’s journey to Buffalo hasn’t been easy. He tore his ACL in 2024 and missed the rest of the season. He bounced back by tallying 47 tackles, 20 QB hits, 8 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks. But the Dolphins dimmed out and looked less appealing with every season. Meanwhile, the Bills etched a league record by recording seven straight playoff appearances. That winning culture clearly appealed to Chubb, who turns 30 next month and has never won a Super Bowl.
“Why Buffalo is a great question,” Bradley Chubb said. “I was honestly going through the free agency process for the first time, taking it how it came to me. I had different teams calling me up, and I felt like the Bills were the best team to help me reach my goal of winning the Super Bowl. They’ve been so close in the past, and as an organization, they want to get over that hump.
“They want to hold up that Lombardi Trophy, and that’s something I wanted to do. So our goals and our visions align with that, and I felt like it was the best spot for me.”
Weirdly enough, the Bills are 8-7 in the playoffs with Josh Allen leading the team. But that drive to convert those Ls into Ws, and finally lift the Lombardi, makes for common ground between Buffalo and Chubb. His opponents are once again going to see an attack from the QB and a dominant Buffalo offense.
