Bills news: Josh Allen made history vs. Chiefs, NFL MVP odds, NBA legends becoming Buffalo owners
By Luke Norris
The Buffalo Bills have a lot to be excited about heading into their bye week.
For starters, of course, the Bills just knocked off the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs for the fourth consecutive year, taking a 30-21 victory as Josh Allen put the team on his back to become the first quarterback ever to beat Patrick Mahomes four times.
He also made some franchise history with his heroic fourth-quarter touchdown run and solidified himself as the frontrunner in the NFL MVP race, all of which we'll get to in just a moment.
With Sunday's victory, the Bills upped their winning streak to six and improved to 9-2 for the first time since 1992, putting them just a half-game back of the 9-1 Chiefs in the overall AFC standings. A fifth consecutive division title is essentially already a lock, as Buffalo has a commanding lead in the AFC East, holding a 4.5-game advantage over the second-place Miami Dolphins (4-6).
So, a spot in the postseason is a given. It's just a matter of where the Bills will be seeded come January.
On top of all the great things happening on the field, there's also plenty of excitement surrounding this team off of it, as Buffalo is set to welcome a few new part-owners to western New York, a group that includes a pair of NBA legends.
But before we get to that, let's kick things off with Allen as we look at some news and notes surrounding the Bills heading into their much-needed bye week.
Josh Allen made Bills history with his fourth-quarter TD run against the Chiefs
While the Buffalo defense undoubtedly deserves its flowers for the part it played in the win over Kansas City, this game will always and forever be remembered for Josh Allen's 26-yard touchdown run.
But not only did Allen's score put the game away for the Bills, it also helped the two-time Pro Bowler make a little franchise history.
With Allen already having accounted for one score with his 12-yard TD pass to Curtis Samuel earlier in the fourth quarter, his rushing score with 2:17 remaining gave him 244 total touchdowns for his career, tying him with Jim Kelly for the most in franchise history.
Allen now has 185 passing touchdowns, 58 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown, the last of which he recorded in 2020 in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The 12-yard score remains the lone reception of his career.
Sunday's run also put him in solo second on the Bills' all-time rushing touchdowns list, breaking him out of a tie with O.J. Simpson. Allen is now just seven away from matching Thurman Thomas' franchise record of 65.
Kelly, who, of course, led the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, had 237 touchdown passes and seven rushing scores during his 11-year run in Buffalo.
Allen is now the new betting favorite to win NFL MVP
For much of the season, Allen trailed both Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in the NFL MVP race.
As it pertains to betting odds, he finally surpassed Mahomes following Buffalo's Week 8 win over the Seattle Seahawks. And now, with Jackson struggling a bit in the Baltimore Ravens' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday, Allen is now the frontrunner.
Per DraftKings, Allen now has the shortest MVP odds at +150, with Jackson just behind in second at +200. At +1300, Mahomes has actually fallen to fifth, now trailing Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (+600) and Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller and 2022 runner-up Jalen Hurts (+1200).
NBA legends Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are part of a group set to buy a minority share of the Bills
It's been rumored for quite some time that Bills owner Terry Pegula was looking to sell off a portion of the franchise, and it seems he's finally accomplished that.
According to Sports Business Journal writer Ben Fischer, Pegula is set to unload 20.6% of the team, 10% to Arctos Partners, a private firm that has invested in several sports franchises, and an additional 10.6% to "a group of business executives with ties to the state of New York."
The band of executives reportedly consists of Rob Palumbo (5.6%), Sue McCullom (1.7%), and groups led by Theresia Gouw (2%) and Tom Burger (1.4%). While those names likely won't be recognized by many, two members of the Burger group might, as NBA legends and cousins Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are part of it.
Carter and McGrady are both big Bills fans, perhaps due to the fact that they played together with the nearby Toronto Raptors for several years. Carter even just recently became the first player ever to have his number retired by the franchise. And both should become part-owners of the Bills soon, as the NFL is expected to approve these transactions in the near future.