Josh Allen attempts to clarify apparent Stefon Diggs dig

After an offseason of significant change, the Buffalo Bills were expected to take a step backward this season. Josh Allen clearly didn't get the memo. There are only five teams in the NFL with 3-0 records, and the Bills are one of them.

Without wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Allen has thrived by spreading targets to a variety of receivers. The Bills scored 47 points in their Week 3 win versus the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football, and Allen accounted for four of the team's six touchdowns. Following the game, Allen was asked about every touchdown being scored by a different player on Monday night.

"That's the beauty of it, when guys get to buy into this and really understand like, 'I may not get the ball four or five times thrown to me a game but the one or two times I do, I'm going to have opportunities to be in the end zone,'" Allen said. "It's a fun and wonderful thing when you got a bunch of guys that don't care about the stats, they don't care about the touchdowns."

Allen's comments were perceived as a slight against Diggs, who amassed a significant share of the targets during his time in Buffalo. Considering the tensions around Diggs' departure, Allen's comments seemed to suggest that the former receiver demanded the ball too frequently.

Josh Allen denies that his comments were directed at Stefon Diggs

At a Bills press conference on Wednesday, Allen was asked about the team's current offensive philosophy, which is the idea that "everybody eats." The Bills quarterback took the question as an opportunity to clarify his previous praise of his offensive unit, noting that he's focused on team-building rather than insulting former teammates.

"I'm not trying to tear down anybody," Allen said. "I've loved everybody that I've played with, and you don't have to tear other people down to build each other up. We're building each other up right now and that's all we're trying to do. We're trying to stay together as a team. We're really caring about each other. Everybody in this building's got that feeling."

Allen's clarification was clearly about the speculation surrounding his previous comments. When a reporter followed up by asking what he was referring to, Allen was more direct.

"You know what I mean," Allen snapped back. "Whether it's former players... and again, I love [Stefon Diggs]. I still do. Everyone wants to keep making this thing a thing. We're so focused on what's going on inside of our building, and that's the only thing we're caring about right now."

It wasn't always like this for Diggs, who saw his potential realized as soon as he touched down in Buffalo. Diggs was traded to the Bills from the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, the season where he notched a career-high 127 receptions for 1,535 yards. But it was more than just personal success: Diggs was voted as a team captain three times, one who led the team in targets and receptions in all four of his seasons there.

Diggs played a pivotal role in Allen's development, accounting for 21% of Allen's career targets entering the 2024 season — even though Allen played a full two seasons before Diggs arrived. Allen returned the favor by helping Diggs string together four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons to go along with a first-team All-Pro in 2020 and second-team All-Pro in 2022.

Diggs' relationship with Allen seemed to sour in recent years. Diggs was seen shouting at Allen on the sideline during the team's 27-10 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2022 season. In 2023, the tension seemed to linger — Diggs inexplicably missed minicamp the following offseason, and head coach Sean McDermott gave mixed reports about the absence.

Then there was the mid-season coordinator shift from Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady, which severely hampered Diggs' production. Dorsey employed Diggs as the offense's centerpiece, but the wideout's usage dwindled under Brady. Although Diggs started every game last season, he only totaled 1183 receiving yards, his fewest since joining the team. Through Week 10, Diggs saw 102 targets and recorded 868 yards and seven touchdowns. But once Brady took over in Week 11, Diggs only saw 58 targets for the rest of the season, resulting in a mere 315 yards and one touchdown.

After the team's postseason run in 2023 came to an abrupt end, the disgruntled wideout began sending cryptic tweets about his future in Buffalo.

Allen has downplayed the issues in the past, and has continuously focused on the receivers the Bills have in Buffalo now.

Buffalo's offensive strategy of spreading the ball around can be more difficult to guard. Without one star wide receiver, defenses have to be alert for every potential option. It also forces Allen to spread the ball to the open receiver, which can also prevent receivers from slacking on any given play since any of them could be targeted.