Even in defeat, Josh Allen has the NFL marveling over his unique ability to dominate a game.

The Buffalo Bills superstar, MVP favorite and No. 1 quarterback in these rankings for a second straight week steamrolled the Los Angeles Rams defense Sunday, completing 22 of 37 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns while leading the rushing attack with 82 yards and three more trips to the end zone. In doing so, he became the first player in NFL history to tally three scores each through the air and on the ground in the same game. Allen led the Bills to four consecutive touchdown drives to close the game, nearly erasing a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit before falling 44-42.

The Rams survived Allen’s onslaught by brilliantly managing the game when he was tethered to the sideline. They blocked a punt for a touchdown, converted 11 of 15 third downs and didn’t punt until the fourth quarter.

It was the 32nd time in his career Allen produced a passer rating of at least 108 in a game — and the first one of those games he lost. He also fell to 18-2 in games when he’s had a hand in at least four touchdowns.

It just goes to show how much the Rams — or any other opponent — must do right on offense and special teams to withstand Allen’s barrage.

“He is so talented and clearly capable of taking over a game,” said an offensive coach who recently played against the Bills. “Just have to find a way to hang on and make them earn everything, try to prevent the big plays. But he was unstoppable at times.”

Allen has completed 64.1 percent of his passes this season for 3,033 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has 416 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He even was credited with a receiving score in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers, bringing his total touchdown tally to 33.

It might come as a surprise, but Allen’s passing numbers are down from recent seasons. He has produced the third-highest completion percentage of his career, but his yards per game (233.3) would be his fewest since 2019. He is on pace to throw exactly 30 touchdown passes, which would rank fourth among his seven seasons.

And it’s not because he’s running more. His 32 rushing yards per game would be his fourth highest, although his nine scores on the ground are tied for his second most.

The real root of his success, according to a longtime defensive coach who has faced the Bills this season, has been a reduction in turnovers. He has been intercepted on only 1.3 percent of his passes, which would be a career best, and he’s gone seven games without a pick.

“He’s playing extremely fast,” the defensive coach said. “If you look at the turnovers and how he’s playing while protecting the ball, that’s the key to his success this season. What’s held him back over the last three years from being completely dominant are the turnovers. (This year), he’s operating on time and in rhythm. He’s making good decisions, has been in charge of more from a protection standpoint while still delivering big-time plays like everyone is accustomed to him making.

“He’s an extremely tough cover on third down, in the red area and in two-minute because of his legs. His red-area production is through the roof this year. He was always tough to defend down there, but he’s avoiding the turnovers, which was happening too much for a player of his caliber.”

Allen, who has never won an MVP award, delivered in crunchtime in Week 11 to give Kansas City its only loss. After the Chiefs cut the Bills’ lead to 23-21 midway through the fourth quarter, Allen converted two third downs before a 26-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2. Until that point, Lamar Jackson looked like a runaway MVP candidate.

On 4th & 2 with 2:27 left in regulation, Josh Allen dropped back before breaking off a 26-yard TD run.

Allen had just a 1.2% chance of scoring a touchdown once he tucked the ball to run. It was Allen’s first scramble TD run against the Chiefs in his career.

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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 18, 2024

More importantly, though, Allen’s difference-making ability has the Bills looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They have to be much better on defense than they showed in Los Angeles, something they’ll have a chance to show this weekend when they visit the 12-1 Detroit Lions. If the Bills can knock off a second top seed favorite behind Allen’s strong play, postseason expectations will be through the roof in Buffalo.

“He can beat you so many ways,” an executive said. “If you let him sit in the pocket, he will pick you apart. If you blitz him, he will stand in and not flinch, or he will beat you with his legs. He is so big and strong that defenders fall off him. He is fun to watch. So much poise and command on the field.”

Another defensive coach said, “It’s brutal” to both prepare for Allen and then to adjust the plan during the game.

“Even when you have something dialed up, he can make a spectacular play off script and scramble out of trouble,” the second defensive coach said. “You have to continuously change looks pre- and post-snap. You also have to keep him contained in the pocket. If you don’t, you’ll have no shot.”

So yeah, Allen has an answer for everything — at least when he’s on the field.

GO DEEPER

NFL playoff picture after Week 14: Bucs reclaim NFC South lead; Eagles clinch playoff berth

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Still in command

Jayden Daniels’ red-hot start propelled the Washington Commanders into the playoff race and accelerated the new regime’s rebuild far quicker than anticipated.

So it was mildly surprising when the rookie quarterback and the Commanders limped to a three-game losing streak in November. They snapped the skid with a blowout victory against the Tennessee Titans, and they’re coming out of their bye week with a trip to the New Orleans Saints on tap. From there, they’ll have an opportunity to avenge two of those losses when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, with another important game against the Atlanta Falcons in between.

They’ll continue to rely on the No. 2 pick, so their bye-week adjustments will be paramount.

Though there’s been a natural inclination to wonder whether defenses have caught up to offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme — a popular point of criticism when he was the Arizona Cardinals coach — a couple of executives believed that was overblown.

More likely, it was just a rookie quarterback who, for the first time in his young career, hit the proverbial wall.

“Each defense presents its own challenges, and some schemes match up better than others,” an assistant coach observed. “It’s probably more of him trying to figure things out on a week-to-week basis.”

It’s a natural progression for all young quarterbacks. Once there’s enough tape, defenses find new ways to attack, then it’s on the QB to counter. In that sense, it was a great time for a bye week.

Daniels also has faced more pressure. He’s been sacked 12 times in his last four games, and he’s thrown four interceptions over that stretch. He was sacked 17 times with two interceptions in his first nine games.

“Function of the offense,” an executive said. “Takes pressure, and the turnover-worthy throws increase.”

Suffice it to say, Daniels’ early success wasn’t a ruse. Rival coaches and executives believe he’ll be just fine after plateauing for a few weeks.

It’s gonna be Maye

Drake Maye and the New England Patriots were also on a bye last week, but this quote was too good not to use.

“He’s such a stud,” an executive said. “They absolutely nailed that pick. They were patient in the draft, waited and got their guy. That was awesome. He’s got such a powerful arm. That arm is the real deal. He’s a leader, just a great person. They got the right guy.”

It took longer than the Patriots would have liked, but it surely looks like they’ve found their next franchise quarterback.

Injury notes

Saints quarterback Derek Carr has a significant fracture in his left hand and is expected to miss at least several weeks, according to a league source. The Saints have not publicly named their starter, so Jake Haener made his debut in the rankings because he replaced Carr on Sunday.

Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell suffered a bone bruise in his knee, according to a league source. He hasn’t been ruled out this week, so he remained in the rankings.

Dropped out: Carr (left-hand fracture, concussion), No. 26 last week; Trevor Lawrence (concussion), No. 29 last week.

(Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

EJ Vernon, a 6-foot-8 senior at Crossroads, has no time to be nice. He missed the first four games of this season with an ankle injury. Since he’s returned, he scored 31 and 20 points before Tuesday’s 28-point performance against a Sun Valley Poly team that faced an overwhelming height disadvantage.

Vernon offered no sympathy to the Parrots, going inside repeatedly. He’ll save his outside shot for future opponents. “I’ve got to take what a team gives me,” he said.

Crossroads (4-3) won its Beverly Hills tournament game 70-32 over the Parrots. Vernon’s 6-9 teammate Cheikh Diebakhate was a perfect six for six shooting, including five dunks.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 88, St. Anthony 85: In the game of the night, Jaden Erami made a three-point shot with one second left to send the game into overtime. He finished with 25 points, keeping St. Pius unbeaten in Del Rey League play during the last two seasons. Kayleb Kearse had 23 points. Aman Haynes and Donovan Pitts finished with 20 points apiece for St. Anthony.

JSerra 67, St. Paul 52: BJ Davis-Ray had 17 points and Earl Bryson added 16 points to rally the Lions at Beverly Hills.

Valencia 80, Golden Valley 69: Dabe Princewell had 16 points to lead four Valencia players in double figures. Valencia is 3-0 in the Foothill League.

Saugus 64, West Ranch 56: Bryce Mejia scored 18 points for the Centurions.

Golden Valley 76, Hart 63: Alexander Villejo scored 27 points and Zachary Christoffersen had 25 for Golden Valley.

Harvard-Westlake 83, Long Beach Poly 51: Joe Sterling scored 19 points, Nikolas Khamenia had 18 and Dominique Bentho 14 for the Wolverines (8-0).

Sierra Canyon 98, Blair 42: Chris Nwuli and Maximo Adams each scored 23 points for the Trailblazers.

Manual Arts 69, Crenshaw 63: Devin Moody scored 30 points for Manual Arts at Beverly Hills. Jaelen Washington had 32 points for Crenshaw.

Viewpoint 58, Milken 37: Wesley Waddles had 27 points and Aeneas Grullon added 26 for 8-1 Viewpoint.

Brentwood 93, Chino 60: Freshman Ethan Hill scored 19 points and Shane Frazier had 17 for Brentwood.

Eastvale Roosevelt 110, Norco 31: Brayden Burries finished with 33 points for Roosevelt.

Damien 97, Franklin 41: Jacob Allen scored 18 points and Eli Garner and Elijah Smith had 15 apiece for Damien.

Los Alamitos 97, Cerritos 50: Samori Guyness scored 24 points for Los Alamitos.

St. Francis 71, Aquinas 33: Ben O’Connor led St. Francis with 18 points.

Oaks Christian 74, El Camino Real 54: Nick Giarrusso had 21 points for the Lions.

Girls’ basketball

Mater Dei 65, Fairmont Prep 46: Kaeli Wynn had 26 points for the Monarchs in a game matching two of the top teams in Orange County.

To finish fifth and still stand on the Formula One podium made for an unusual end to George Russell’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

On the other side of the rostrum was Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver who had already been on the podium on Sunday evening after recovering from 19th on the grid to finish third behind Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.

In between Russell and Leclerc in his white and black race suit was Sonny Hayes, the veteran racer from APXGP.

Hayes is the fictional character played by Brad Pitt in “F1,” the movie produced by Warner Bros. and Apple that has embedded itself within the F1 world for the past two seasons. APXGP, Pitt’s fictional team owned by Javier Bardem’s character, has received a full garage setup at races and lined its Mercedes-designed cars up on the starting grid, so committed has the sport been to making this the most realistic racing film ever.

On Sunday after the race in Abu Dhabi, a second podium ceremony was staged to capture some scenes, all in front of fans who had been told to stay in their seats after the race for a chance to be caught in the movie.

Abu Dhabi marked the end of on-site filming for “F1.” Due for release on June 27 in North America and June 25 in the rest of the world next year, the project is steadily nearing completion.

“We’ll stay here for the rest of the week doing pick-ups, and then we’re in the editing room,” Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of “F1,” said on Sunday in a select media roundtable including The Athletic. “About two-thirds of the movie is already cut. This will be the last race that we have (to) cut this together, and we’ll take a look at it.”

The immersion within the F1 world has given Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski, who worked together on “Top Gun: Maverick,” the perfect opportunity to make it as close to real life as possible. A teaser trailer debuted ahead of the British Grand Prix in July, featuring a number of the current drivers and team principals and giving a taste of what the in-car footage might look like. Similar to the fighter jets in “Top Gun: Maverick,” a lot of the footage in “F1” tries to give the audience as close an experience as possible to driving an F1 car.

Input from the drivers — particularly Lewis Hamilton, who is a producer on the film — was crucial, said Bruckheimer.

“They were very open about their experiences, what they went through getting to F1, (even their) superstitions,” Bruckheimer explained. “We took little things that one driver did about this superstition, and Brad has that in his character.

“Lewis keeps us honest. Lewis looks at every race and goes, ‘You wouldn’t be in second gear in this turn, you would be in first.’ He comes in there, and he can hear the engine and the shifting and everything like that.”

“One of the big things that we’re doing as part of this is that we wanted the racing to be real,” added Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services. “Lewis has helped tremendously. It’s always about the story because that’s what it is, but we wanted the racing scenes to really be legit and be the real thing, and I think that’s what we’ve captured. Lewis has been great about that.”

Pitt and Damson Idris, who plays Hayes’ young teammate Joshua Pearce, went through extensive training and testing to pilot the APXGP cars used in the movie, which are bulked-up versions of F2 cars. Pitt and Idris were on-site in Abu Dhabi for the last round of at-race filming and even photobombed some of the teams’ end-of-year photos in the pit lane on Thursday. The paddock has embraced the project of filming within a living, breathing sporting environment.

One consequence of operating during a grand prix weekend, particularly in front of fans, is that clips of filming taking place have inevitably made their way online. Scenes such as the podium in Abu Dhabi or Pitt’s celebrations with the Mexican flag in front of the Foro Sol stadium section in Mexico have already surfaced. But both Bruckheimer and Cue were comfortable that nothing had emerged that would give away details central to the plot.

“If you’re on the set of a movie, and you get a clip of it, you would have no idea what the hell is going on,” Cue said. “It’s not like it’s shot in sequence, right? These little things… I saw this thing on YouTube of Brad fainting in Vegas or whatever, but you have no idea what the context of that is or before. I actually think all of it helps.”

The nature of that scene in particular, where Pitt ‘fainted’ onto a crash mat on the main straight in Las Vegas last month, was not something Cue felt had pushed the dramatic element of the movie too far.

“I saw a guy walk out of a fire in real Formula One,” he said, referring to Romain Grosjean’s 2020 crash in Bahrain. “I think passing out is pretty real.” Be it for crash sequences or even the on-track scenes, the producers said everything in “F1” took inspiration or reference from moments through the sport’s history.

“A lot of the incidents in the movie are taken from real events,” Bruckheimer said. “Everything that Brad does on the track, the little tricks that he does, drivers have done through the decades in various races. Because he doesn’t have the fastest car and he’s not the fastest driver. He has to use clever tactics to stay up with these other drivers.”

Brad Pitt, playing Sonny Hayes, greets Damson Idris, playing Joshua Pearce, after the Abu Dhabi GP. (Sipa USA)

The conclusion of on-site filming in Abu Dhabi was later than planned after last year’s actors and writers’ strike in Hollywood put things on hold. But Bruckheimer said there was never a moment when the project looked to be in jeopardy.

“We’re very fortunate because we had a whole section of the second unit photography that we hired, the second unit director,” he said. “So when both strikes hit, we didn’t need the writers. We didn’t need the actors. Joe Kosinski, who is our director, shot all of the second unit during the strike. So when we came back, we just had to shoot the actors. We were very fortunate that it worked out this way.”

Cue said that while it “delayed things a little bit,” there was “never any question about this,” even feeling the added time had been beneficial. “You can make an argument that having more time always helps,” Cue said. “We were able to come here twice, as an example, and we were able to film more than we would have.”

Much as Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” docuseries helped F1 reach a younger, more mainstream audience upon its debut in 2019, the sport hopes that “F1” will have the same impact. Bruckheimer thought that desire from the paddock and wider sport had led to such a collaborative effort in the past two years.

“The fans have been phenomenal, they really have,” Bruckheimer said. “They’ve embraced us and been really gracious to Brad and to the movie itself, the stuff that they’ve tweeted about the movie. They’ve realized the impact that a movie can have on a sport.

“The drivers haven’t been exposed to certain markets. I mean, these guys are rockstars, let’s face it, they’re the 20 best drivers in the world. And they’ll be exposed to not just the ‘Drive to Survive’ audience, but everybody.”