Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has accomplished a lot before his 30th birthday. He's a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback and, of course, the 2024 NFL MVP. Last season saw Allen put all the pieces together. He went from 18 interceptions in 2023 to just six in 2025, operating with greater efficiency, but not losing the spectacular fearlessness that makes him so dangerous — both with his arm and his legs.
He finished the campaign with 3,731 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, adding another 531 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Allen led a depleted roster, especially at the wide receiver position, to 13 wins and the AFC Championship Game. He did not miss Stefon Diggs or Gabe Davis for a second.
While the Super Bowl still eludes him, Allen has cemented his name among the very best quarterbacks in the NFL. It's a true underdog story, going from a lightly recruited high school star who played his college football at Reedley and Wyoming, to the very top of the professional totem pole.
FanSided had the chance to speak with Allen about his unique career arc and the personal growth that led him to this lofty peak.
Josh Allen on personal growth and the virtue of being calm
When watching Allen last season, his improved composure was on full display. For years, the one knock on Allen was that he left too much to chance. He has possibly the strongest arm in the NFL, capable of delivering throws 40-plus yards on a rope, even when he's shuffling his feet and evading traffic. But too often in the past, Allen would let the pressure get to him and force a pass into traffic, lobbing it up to oblivion when most other quarterbacks would either take a sack or chuck it out of bounds.
That led to some incredible completions and huge plays. But it also meant a lot of interceptions. Allen was bold to a fault, unable or unwilling to calculate risk when the pocket was collapsing. We saw him do away with most of those errant, overly risky throws in 2024. That's not to say Allen didn't apply stress on the defense and consistently threaten to take the lid off. He was just a bit smarter about the when, where and how of his deliveries.
He attributes that to becoming more calm — a life perspective that has bled onto the football field.
"I think I've become more calm as a person, understanding kind of what's in front of me, how blessed I truly am, the perspective that I have on life, having the support of family and my wife that I do," he said. "I'm a very calm guy because my life is pretty damn good."
Allen's more level-headed persona off the field has changed how he approaches things on gameday.
"It kind of correlates," he said. "I's the patience that I've learned to have on the field of, you know, this last year. Kind of taking what they were giving me and obviously limiting the turnovers and not trying to force into the every which direction and just letting the game come to me. I think that it does kind of — I didn't ever recognize that it kind of mirrored the outside world too, you know, my life. And I think it's pretty cool."
Josh Allen on the fresh perspective football provides
Discussing the fresh outlook on life that football can inspire, Allen harkens back to college, when he broke his collarbone. He opens up about what sports can teach us that transcends wins and losses — like being unable to use your arm to eat and coming to appreciate the simple things, the given things, in life, like washing your armpits in the shower.
"Football in general just teaches so many life lessons, starting from when I was a kid, right, like some of the hardest, most enjoyable things I've ever done have come on the football field and I've gained new perspective on it, you know," he said.
When Allen found himself in a caste, nursing a shoulder injury, suddenly he couldn't do basic, everyday things. He couldn't eat normally, or sit normally, shower normally. It was a reminder of all the things we take for granted day to day.
Football has also helped Allen in the social realm, forging lifelong bonds and coming to better understand human nature. That certainly does not hurt when it comes to on-field connections.
"On the other side, trusting your teammates, you know, getting to know them more off the field, that allows you to trust them more on the field," he said. "I think that's also really cool about the about the game that I get to play."
Josh Allen has learned that football and life are one in the same
Allen has come to a realization that takes many athletes years to figure out, if ever: life and football are one in the same. He plays a game for a living, which also means that Allen's life is centered on football. The 29-year-old might as well find a way to use the perspectives gained in football to live a better life, and vice versa.
At the end of the day, Josh Allen — NFL MVP, superstar quarterback, face of the Buffalo Bills — is just a human being. He goes through the same personal trials that all of us do. He has hit roadblocks in the past, physical and mental, and yet he endures. Football is a big reason why. He is able to apply life lessons to sports, and sports lessons to life. That sort of holistic understanding of who he is and what he does is part of what makes the Bills star so impressive. Not only as a player, but as a person.
The Bills enter this season with sky-high expectations and infinite pressure. It's safe to say Allen has what it takes to persevere and come out better on the other side.
Game time snacks are an essential part of watching football, and you need the right snack to munch on when halftime hunger hits. With the classic SNICKERS bar being a clear gameday essential to satisfy hunger, the brand is taking snacking up a notch by teaming up with MVP quarterback Josh Allen to launch the first-ever SNICKERS Sauces — a limited-edition trio of dipping sauces made with real SNICKERS ingredients.
Available in three bold flavors, the starting line-up of dipping sauces includes Chocolate Barbecue, Peanut Teriyaki, and Caramel Buffalo. Having called Buffalo home for nearly a decade, Josh channeled his love of sauces, football and SNICKERS, to help craft a sauce trio that meets MVP-level standards.
The SNICKERS sauces will drop during halftime of the 1pm ET Sunday NFL games every Sunday in September starting September 7. Fans can visit SNICKERS.com/Sauces