ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Payments had been seeking to put away the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11. Main 37-32 with 2:42 remaining within the fourth quarter, the Payments moved the ball to the Buccaneers’ 9-yard line.
On second-and-5, quarterback Josh Allen took the snap in shotgun formation, glanced rapidly to his left towards operating again James Prepare dinner III after which plowed ahead behind left sort out Dion Dawkins, needling his well past three defenders and into the tip zone.
Allen laughed as he landed ultimately zone, acquired up and spiked the soccer himself regardless of usually handing the ball to an offensive lineman.
JOSH ALLEN 6 TOUCHDOWNS.
3 PASSING
3 RUSHINGTBvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/P9ohlDDP07
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
The rating made historical past. It was Allen’s sixth landing and third dashing rating of that sport. It marked his seventy fifth landing along with his legs but additionally made him the second participant in NFL historical past with three passing and three dashing touchdowns in two video games. It has been accomplished just one different time (Otto Graham, 1954).
Allen, 29, tied Cam Newton for essentially the most regular-season dashing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL historical past. When the Payments face the Houston Texans on “Thursday Evening Soccer” (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), the document may very properly be taken — no simple activity towards the Texans, one in all three groups to not quit a dashing rating to a quarterback.
Over the eight years of Allen’s profession, he has turn out to be the face of the Payments franchise and led Buffalo to 6 playoff appearances, breaking numerous information. Whereas the listing of dynamic quarterbacks who can run successfully has grown through the years, Allen’s measurement and skill to evade defenders has made his success distinctive. Because the reigning MVP prepares to succeed in his newest mark, we break down what makes him so harmful along with his legs and a few of his favourite runs.
RUNNING WASN’T ALWAYS part of Allen’s sport.
“[During high school] he could not run. I do not know the place he acquired his legs,” former Firebaugh Excessive Faculty and Reedley Faculty assistant coach Aaron Wilkins mentioned.
Allen informed ESPN that he credit his potential to run throughout his time at Reedley.
“Truthfully, my first few begins in junior faculty, I ran for lots of touchdowns (10 whole), but it surely was so uncommon as a result of in highschool I used to be so sluggish, so I do not know,” Allen mentioned. “I feel it was simply the act of truly understanding and residing by myself and simply consuming as a lot as I may and specializing in one sport allowed me, I feel, to possibly develop some muscle and turn out to be a greater runner.”
A damaged collarbone in 2015 left him with loads of time within the weight room, and former Wyoming offensive coordinator Brent Vigen described him as a “fully completely different man bodily,” from the summer time of 2015 to the next summer time.
“He should have had a nasty offensive line in Pop Warner. He was sluggish again then,” Vigen informed ESPN. “… He most likely did not turn out to be quick till his second 12 months of school.”
Allen had 142 carries for 523 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2016 and 92 carries for 204 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2017. Former Wyoming teammate James Value famous Allen’s 7-yard landing, during which he eluded three defenders, towards Northern Illinois in triple extra time to open 2016 with a win as “type of just like the beginning of his legacy.”
BILLS HEAD COACH Sean McDermott famous how Allen enjoys operating, however he simply needs the quarterback to remain wholesome. Allen’s model of play through the years has definitely trended towards fewer dangers and extra sliding.
“I like that it presents a distinct problem for defenses,” Allen mentioned. “They must account for the quarterback run, which suggests you get an additional blocker within the run sport and simply makes them have to consider that within the again there. And even when we do not put it to use all that a lot, it is all the time the specter of being there that helps, I feel, an offense out.”
Via Allen’s 121 profession video games, he has recorded the identical variety of dashing touchdowns as Walter Payton, Edgerrin James and Marcus Allen did in the identical variety of video games.
Newton recorded his final dashing landing in his 145th sport. Allen reached 75 in 121 video games. His profession dashing touchdowns are the second most by any participant since he entered the league in 2018 behind Derrick Henry (103).
Allen has 16 dashing touchdowns utilizing the tush push. Solely Jalen Hurts, who has 61 dashing scores, has extra since 2022. Of the 75, 27 have come from the 1-yard line and 71 from the purple zone.
Opponents and other people contained in the Payments’ group notice Allen’s measurement, velocity and smarts as a few of his key attributes. Listed at 6-foot-5, 237 kilos, bringing the quarterback down is not any simple feat.
“It is the ball fakes, the arm potential, what he can do when he throws, after which simply the pure athleticism,” mentioned Payments defensive finish AJ Epenesa, who performed Allen in faculty, tackling him as soon as and lacking on one other try. “Being 240, 50 kilos and having the ability to outrun linebackers to the sidelines, run folks over.”
Allen’s willingness to interact in touch is notable. Payments defensive finish Morgan Fox, who has beforehand performed towards Allen, describes him as having “a mentality to be a violent bodily runner.”
Miami Dolphins security Minkah Fitzpatrick famous this 12 months how Allen is simpler to sort out when he has to go left or proper slightly than down the sphere. Payments fullback Reggie Gilliam echoed Allen’s downhill operating potential and the way it’s “simply straight coming at you,” with the workforce’s blockers understanding to remain inside defenders when he runs.
Many who had been polled within the Payments’ locker room included Allen’s fourth-and-2 dashing landing towards the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs within the 2024 common season amongst his finest. Allen agreed, “Yeah, that was a great one.”
What stands out about that rating was the timing — Allen developing massive, as he so usually does late in video games along with his most dashing touchdowns within the fourth quarter (25).
“As soon as the ball is in his fingers, you actually do not know what is going on to occur. Generally that is a extremely good factor. More often than not, it is a actually good factor,” Payments offensive coordinator Joe Brady mentioned. “You simply by no means know if he will hurdle, attempt to run a man over, if he will slide, what he will do. So, you all the time maintain your breath a bit bit on the playcalls, however you do not break NFL information for scoring dashing touchdowns by being common operating the soccer. He is an absolute playmaker, dynamic, ball in his fingers, good issues occur.”
WHAT MAKES A favourite play for Allen?
“Whenever you break an extended one, it is just a bit bit completely different, particularly if you break a pair tackles alongside the best way, simply really feel fairly cool,” Allen mentioned.
Listed here are a number of of his favorites:
Sept. 23, 2018 at Minnesota Vikings, 10-yard run.
When requested about his favourite dashing touchdowns, the primary that got here to thoughts for Allen isn’t a surprise.
“[I] type of go to my, I feel it was my first one, towards Minnesota, was the leaping one,” Allen mentioned. “That was type of a cool one.”
Josh Allen. To the home.#BUFvsMIN #GoBills pic.twitter.com/yYTG6WXtTs
— Buffalo Payments (@BuffaloBills) September 23, 2018
Allen had two dashing touchdowns in that sport for the primary win of his profession. It was additionally the primary sport during which he made a notable leap over a defender in stride.
Linebacker Anthony Barr, whom Allen infamously hurdled, described the sport to ESPN because the quarterback’s “coming-out celebration.”
Nov. 25, 2018 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 14-yard run.
Josh. Allen.#JAXvsBUF #GoBills pic.twitter.com/5tAQaI3ykg
— Buffalo Payments (@BuffaloBills) November 25, 2018
Within the quarterback’s return to the sphere after sitting out 4 video games due to an elbow harm — nonetheless the one video games he has sat out in his profession due to harm — he made fairly an impression.
On this run, Allen dropped again within the pocket earlier than going up the center, stiff-arming a defender after which pushing previous one other into the tip zone.
Nov. 6, 2022 at New York Jets, 36-yard run.
Allen has lengthy been dominant towards AFC East groups with 18 of the dashing touchdowns coming in division video games.
However this landing was really a part of a Payments’ loss (20-17) to the Jets. The landing marked his longest regular-season dashing rating.
“It was a quarterback sweep left,” Allen recalled. “It was me and Mitch Morse out entrance and I type of had this bizarre slide into the tip zone and was on my head for a second. That was a enjoyable one, too, trigger it was large open area. You aren’t getting these too usually as a quarterback.”
Designed run for @JoshAllenQB. He is gone for a 36-yard TD! 🙌
📺: #BUFvsNYJ on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/dlgyH3G1Sq— NFL (@NFL) November 6, 2022
Jan. 15, 2024 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 52-yard run.
Although not a part of his 75 regular-season scores, the rescheduled wild-card sport towards the Steelers within the playoffs was introduced up by each Allen and a wide range of Payments gamers.
It stays Allen’s longest dashing landing so far as he dropped again within the pocket earlier than discovering a gap within the center and juked his well past defenders earlier than sprinting the remainder of the best way into the tip zone.
.@JoshAllenQB turned on the BURNERS for the 52-yard dashing TD 🗣️
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/WUzjBV8d99— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024
“I used to be sitting on a bull rush, and I seemed again and I simply see him take off and I used to be like, ‘OK,’ and simply jogging down, and I used to be like, ‘Oh, he is nonetheless going,'” Payments offensive lineman Connor McGovern mentioned. “After which a landing.”
