Josh Allen has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
Allen was 32/40 for 375 yards and 4 touchdowns. He's the first player in Bills history to complete 80% of their passes with 40 or more attempts.
This is the third time Allen has earned the honor this season, the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat as well.
It is the latest example of the leap the Bills quarterback has taken in his third season. He is 1 of 5 QBs in the NFL to rank top ten in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns, and QB rating. The others are Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson.
Allen also joins those names in the NFL MVP conversation 3/4 of the way through the season.
So what does Allen believe is the reason for his rise in success.
"A lot of it has to do with being in the same system for three years," Allen said Wednesday. "Understand the concepts that we're running. Utilizing the help that we've brought into the quarterback room and just trying to understand defense a little better and knowing our answers when we're out there. It wasn't just me and it wasn't by chance. It was a lot of hard work. Obviously there's still a lot to improve on and I'm no where near where I want to be, but I've had a lot of help along the way. I truly appreciate the guys who have come across my path that helped me in regards to my game."
Through 12 games, Allen has thrown for 3,403 yards with 26 TDs and 8 INTs. He is on pace to break Drew Bledsoe's franchise record of 4,359 passing yards in a single-season as well as Jim Kelly's mark of 34 TD passes in a single-season.
Allen's completion percentage is 69.9%. It is that number that so many were focused on as he came out of Wyoming and as well as the first two seasons of his NFL career.
All credits that jump to improved mechanics.
"Just understanding my throwing motion," Allen said. "Allows me to deliver the ball more consistently than the last couple of years."
"Knowing my mechanics. Knowing why I missed a throw and what I can do to fix that. When I'm not throwing the ball how I want to, I'm able to find that rhythm back by just thinking about a couple things in my mind and allowing myself to deliver consistency in my mechanics."
It is no coincidence that the Bills success as a team has come as Allen has elevated his game to new heights.
He opened up Wednesday afternoon about what motivates him to continue to get better.
"Really the only thing when I'm on the field is fear of letting my teammates down," Allen said. "As the quarterback of the team your job is to move the ball and score points. So when we're not scoring points, that's my biggest fear. And that's putting our defense in a bind if we're not moving the chains on 3rd down. Again, that puts us behind the 8 ball and we got to punt the ball away. That's what drives me. That's what motivates me. I fear letting the guys who drafted me, this front office, and this organization down by trading up to come get me. That's basically the biggest fears that I have and that's why, in my mind, that I work extremely hard."
That is quite a burden to shoulder for anyone, especially one only three years into his pro career.
"It's everything that I've wanted since I was a little kid," Allen said. "Obviously there's pros and cons to every type of situation that you're in and I'll take the pros 1,000 times over the cons that comes with this job. It's the greatest job in the world, in my opinion, and I enjoy each and every day that I get to come and be the quarterback for this organization."