49 Fun Facts About Josh Allen

Josh Allen grew up on a 3,000-acre farm near which California town?

Firebaugh is a farm town in California's Central Valley where Allen bused tables at his mother's restaurant and worked the family's fields through high school.

Along with cantaloupes and wheat, which crop did Josh Allen's family grow on their California farm?

Cotton grew on the family's roughly 3,000 acres, and Josh and his brother were sent into those fields to work while they were growing up.

How many NCAA Division I scholarship offers did Josh Allen receive out of high school?

Zero: no FBS or FCS program offered. He was far lighter then and had skipped the elite quarterback camps to play baseball and basketball.

Which college program did Josh Allen root for as a kid but fail to get a scholarship from?

Fresno State, the local Bulldogs he grew up supporting, passed on him under head coach Tim DeRuyter both out of high school and again after junior college.

Where did Josh Allen play his one season of junior-college football before transferring to Wyoming?

Reedley College, where an assistant coach was married to his cousin, took him in; he came off the bench in the fourth game, ran for four touchdowns and soon had the starting job.

How did Josh Allen try to catch bigger programs' attention near the end of his junior-college season?

Emailed every FBS coaching staff: head coaches, coordinators and position coaches all got the same plea, and only Eastern Michigan and Wyoming came back with scholarship offers.

Which Wyoming head coach traveled to the Allen family farm to recruit Josh in person?

Craig Bohl made the trip himself in December 2014 and told the family at their kitchen table that Josh would be the face of Wyoming football.

Wyoming's offensive coordinator compared Josh Allen to which quarterback he had recruited at North Dakota State?

Carson Wentz was coordinator Brent Vigen's comparison because the two shared a story: small-town, three-sport athletes who blossomed late and slipped past the recruiters.

What injury cut short Josh Allen's first season at Wyoming in his first start?

A broken collarbone early in his first start ended his 2015 season; he and his coaches came to call it a blessing, since he spent the year adding muscle and learning the offense.

Which bowl game did Josh Allen win with Wyoming in December 2017, his final college game?

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming beat Central Michigan 37-14 in Boise, and Allen, named the game's MVP, announced on the spot that he was skipping his senior season for the NFL draft.

What first-in-program-history honor did Wyoming announce for Josh Allen in 2025?

His No. 17 jersey retired at halftime of a November home game against Nevada; Allen could be in Laramie for it because the Bills had played on Thursday night that week.

With which pick of the 2018 NFL draft did the Bills select Josh Allen?

7th overall, after Buffalo traded up from the 12th pick to get him; Baker Mayfield had gone first and Sam Darnold third, making Allen the third quarterback off the board.

Which team did the Bills trade with on draft night in 2018 to move up for Josh Allen?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Buffalo's first-round pick and two second-rounders to swap places, then spent the pick they got back on nose tackle Vita Vea.

Which quarterback did Allen replace to make his NFL debut in Week 1 of 2018?

Nathan Peterman was benched during a 47-3 Week 1 loss in 2018 with a 0.0 passer rating; Allen took over and was named the starter that week.

Which Vikings linebacker did Josh Allen famously hurdle for a first down as a rookie in 2018?

Anthony Barr was the linebacker Allen leapt clean over on third-and-9, in a 27-6 win in Minnesota by a Bills team that had arrived as a 16½-point underdog.

Which Jaguars cornerback called Josh Allen 'trash' months before Allen ran for 99 yards to beat Jacksonville in 2018?

Jalen Ramsey had called Allen 'trash' in a preseason GQ interview; in his first game back from an elbow injury, Allen ran in the go-ahead touchdown, and his 99 rushing yards set a Bills record for a quarterback.

Which unwanted statistic did Josh Allen lead all qualified NFL passers in during both 2018 and 2019?

Lowest completion percentage among qualified passers was his in both seasons, which made 2020 startling: he jumped into the league's top five for accuracy.

What did Josh Allen do, unusually for a quarterback, in the 2019 Wild Card loss to Houston?

Caught a touchdown pass: receiver John Brown threw him the 16-yard score on a trick play, before Buffalo let a 16-0 lead slip and lost 22-19 in overtime.

Who coached Buffalo's last AFC East champions before Josh Allen's 2020 team?

Marv Levy's 1995 team had been Buffalo's last division champion, before Allen was even born; the 48-19 win in Denver that clinched the 2020 title also ended New England's run of 11 straight AFC East titles.

Whose Bills record for touchdown passes in a season did Josh Allen break in 2020?

Jim Kelly's 33 touchdown passes had stood since 1991; Allen's fourth of the night broke the record in a 38-9 win that made Buffalo the first AFC East team in two decades to sweep New England.

Allen played the 2020 win over Seattle one day after what personal loss?

The death of his grandmother, Patricia Allen, came the day before the 44-34 win over Seattle; fans responded with donations to Oishei Children's Hospital, which later named a pediatric wing for her.

Which Bills general manager traded up to draft Josh Allen in 2018?

Brandon Beane, running his first draft as Bills general manager, moved up the board twice to get his quarterback: in a March trade with Cincinnati, then again on draft night.

Who beat Josh Allen for the 2020 NFL MVP award, with Allen finishing second?

Aaron Rodgers took 44 of the 50 first-place votes and Allen four, a distant second that stood as his best finish until he won the award himself four seasons later.

Why was the Bills' 47-17 playoff rout of New England in January 2022 called a 'perfect offensive game'?

A touchdown on every possession: seven drives, seven touchdowns, with no punts, field goals or turnovers, and Josh Allen threw more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (four).

In the '13 seconds' loss to Kansas City in January 2022, all four of Allen's touchdown passes went to whom?

Gabe Davis caught all four, a playoff record; the last put Buffalo ahead with 13 seconds left, but Kansas City tied it as time expired and won the overtime coin toss, so Allen never touched the ball again.

Whose record for highest passer rating in a single postseason did Josh Allen break in 2021–22?

Joe Montana set his 146.4 while winning the Super Bowl after the 1989 season; Allen's 149.0 came from nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in a postseason that lasted only two games.

In 2021 Josh Allen was sacked and intercepted by an opposing defender who shared what with him?

His exact name: the Jaguars' Josh Allen sacked the Bills' Josh Allen, intercepted him and recovered his fumble in a 9-6 Jacksonville upset, the first known case of a player sacking his namesake.

Josh Allen's 98-yard touchdown pass in 2022 tied a Bills record set by which quarterback?

Ryan Fitzpatrick had thrown his 98-yarder to Terrell Owens more than a decade earlier; Allen matched it from his own 2-yard line on the third snap of a 38-3 rout.

Which Bills player's on-field emergency made the 2022 Cincinnati game a no-contest?

Damar Hamlin, a Bills safety, went into cardiac arrest after a tackle in Cincinnati on January 2, 2023; the game was never resumed, and he left the hospital nine days later.

Against which team did Josh Allen post his first perfect 158.3 passer rating in 2023?

The Miami Dolphins arrived unbeaten, a week after scoring 70 points on Denver; Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for a fifth, in a 48-20 win.

Which offensive coordinator did the Bills fire midway through 2023, promoting Joe Brady?

Ken Dorsey was fired after a Monday night loss to Denver left Buffalo 5-5; under Joe Brady the Bills won six of their last seven games and a fourth straight division title.

Who shared the quarterback record of 15 rushing touchdowns with Josh Allen in 2023?

Jalen Hurts reached 15 for Philadelphia in the same season; eight of Allen's came in a five-game stretch late in the year, when Buffalo won four of five to climb back into the playoff race.

Which Cardinals safety did Josh Allen hurdle for a touchdown on opening day 2024?

Budda Baker was the safety Allen hurdled at the goal line for the last of his four touchdowns, finishing a comeback from 14 points down to a 34-28 win over Arizona.

In a 2024 win over the 49ers, Josh Allen became the NFL's first quarterback to do what?

Throw, run and catch touchdowns: the catch came on his own pass, which Amari Cooper lateraled back to him in the snow so that Allen ran it in himself.

Which two 15-win teams did Josh Allen's Bills beat in the 2024 season?

Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions both finished 15-2; Allen's 26-yard fourth-down touchdown run sealed a 30-21 win over Kansas City, and Buffalo won 48-42 in Detroit.

Which quarterback beat Josh Allen's Bills in 2020 with a last-second Hail Mary, moments after Allen's go-ahead touchdown pass?

Kyler Murray's 43-yard heave to DeAndre Hopkins with two seconds left beat Buffalo 32-30, just 32 seconds after Allen had put the Bills ahead; the play became known as the 'Hail Murray'.

Whom did Allen edge out for the 2024 AP NFL MVP award?

Lamar Jackson, who had thrown 41 touchdowns against four interceptions, finished second; Jackson took first-team All-Pro while Allen took the MVP.

In March 2025, Josh Allen's six-year, $330 million extension set an NFL record for what?

Guaranteed money: $250 million of the deal was locked in, passing Deshaun Watson's $230 million, and Buffalo offered it even though Allen was already signed through 2028.

Whose NFL record for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback did Josh Allen pass in November 2025?

Cam Newton's 75 fell in two steps: Allen pulled level by running for three touchdowns in one game, then bulldozed in from 8 yards two weeks later for his 76th.

Which actress and singer did Josh Allen marry on May 31, 2025?

Hailee Steinfeld said yes when Allen proposed during Buffalo's bye week in November 2024, and the two married the following spring in California.

In 2025 Josh Allen left Nike, his sponsor since his rookie year, for which shoe brand?

New Balance landed him with an unusual promise written into the deal: the company agreed to fund youth sports programs in the California farm town where he grew up.

Who partnered Josh Allen in the June 2022 edition of The Match, the televised golf exhibition?

Patrick Mahomes and Allen came back from two down to lead, then lost 1-up when Tom Brady's partner holed a putt on the last of the 12 holes in Las Vegas.

Whose Bills single-season passing-yards record did Josh Allen break with 4,544 yards in 2020?

Drew Bledsoe threw for 4,359 yards in 2002, his first season in Buffalo after New England traded him to a division rival once Tom Brady had taken his job; the mark stood for 18 years.

Which receiver, acquired from Minnesota in 2020, led the NFL in catches that season with Josh Allen throwing?

Stefon Diggs cost Buffalo a first-round pick, which Minnesota turned into Justin Jefferson; in his first season with Allen he led the league with 127 catches and 1,535 yards.

Josh Allen's 52-yard touchdown run, a Bills playoff record, came against which team in January 2024?

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 31-17 in a wild-card game that a lake-effect storm, dumping more than two feet of snow, had pushed back from Sunday to Monday.

Josh Allen has admitted he took which sponsor's deal partly to needle Patriots fans?

Gillette has its name on the Patriots' stadium; after beating New England there in December 2022, Allen said on air that he knew exactly where the stadium was and who played in it when he took the deal.

Who was the Bills' head coach when the team drafted Josh Allen in 2018?

Sean McDermott, hired in January 2017, had just ended Buffalo's 17-year playoff drought in his first season when the Bills drafted Allen that spring.

In January 2026 Josh Allen's Bills won their first road playoff game in 33 years against which team?

The Jacksonville Jaguars led late before Allen drove Buffalo downfield and ran in the winning score himself, his third touchdown of a 27-24 comeback in the wild-card round.

In which conference did Josh Allen's Wyoming Cowboys compete?

Mountain West play took Allen's Wyoming to the 2016 conference title game, a 27-24 loss to San Diego State, the program that had offered him only a walk-on spot out of high school.