It’s time to salute Josh Allen, the pride of Firebaugh

When he throws, it’s with the power of a double-aught. When he tucks it and runs, it’s head first and without regard.

He is the best Valley kid playing quarterback in the National Football League right now, and we’re not even talking about Derek Carr for once.

His name is Josh Allen, and it’s about time you start paying attention to the kid who grew up on a cotton-picking farm outside Firebaugh.

“Love how Josh Allen plays the game,” tweeted Raiders legend Charles Woodson.

What’s not to love?

The Buffalo sophomore has the Bills of to a 9-3 start after Thursday’s 26-15 dismantling of the Cowboys in front of a national audience that spent Thanksgiving Google-searching “Where is Firebaugh.”

The last time Buffalo was 9-3 was in 1996, the year Allen was born.

In other words, Allen was born for this.

“America, meet Josh Allen,” tweeted Colin Cowherd.

Did you see him fumble a fourth-and-1 snap Thursday, pick it up, and lung like Superman for a first down? Did you see him point emphatically for a first down when he scraped himself off the rug?

Or how about that 15-yard touchdown run when he rolled right, pump faked to his covered receiver and then ran without sliding past a tackler into the end zone? Did you see him spike that ball into tomorrow?

“I thought Josh Allen had a heck of a game,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told the media afterward. “That fourth down, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.”

We never saw this at Firebaugh High, if only because no one outside Firebaugh ever sees what happens at Firebaugh. He passed for 3,000 yards and won 10 games as a senior in 2013, but couldn’t beat Mendota so no one gave it a thought.

Allen put up stupid numbers at Reedley College, yet again, no one noticed. He did whatever he did at Wyoming, which is to say who knows because it happened in Wyoming?

Now, we know why the Bills drafted Allen with the seventh overall pick of the 2018 draft. Thursday’s national splash saw to that.

“Josh is a winner and just a swaggy dude,” Bills teammate Dion Dawkins said to the media Thursday. “A swaggy dude with a killer instinct. As an offensive lineman, I’m just glad to be a part of what the kid is doing.”

It’s time all of us in the Valley did.

Tired of the Patriots dynasty? Allen makes the Bills the most formidable threat to their AFC East reign in years.

Allen and the Bills lost to New England 16-10 in Round 1. That’s another way of saying they had a fighting chance. Have you seen the Patriots defense this year? You have to outmuscle them if you’re going to muscle through at all.

That’s all Allen does. He has eight rushing touchdowns this season – double what he had for Firebaugh varsity – and he’s no Lamar Jackson. He runs like a power back, nose first into everything, sliding away from nothing.

He runs tough. He throws hard. He is a rumbling briar patch, the Firebaugh west-side winds blowing against his back with the Ravens, Steelers and Patriots between him and at least a wild-card playoff berth.

Did you see him run over the Cowboys? We like his chances.

This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 10:54 AM with the headline "It’s time to salute Josh Allen, the pride of Firebaugh."