Josh Allen is one of the more remarkable success stories in recent memory in the NFL. The former Wyoming quarterback who had all the tools but struggled to put it all together on the field in college and early in his NFL career has steadily developed into one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks.
Last year, Allen earned the NFL’s MVP honors for his work leading the Buffalo Bills to the AFC Championship Game, but another loss at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs sent the Bills into the offseason again trying to find that next level to finally make it back to the Super Bowl. That pursuit of a championship is what drives Allen in his work to get better, but he’s also finding the importance of balancing his desires to win with things off the field that matter more in the grand scheme.
In a sitdown with CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn this week, Allen explained how Scottie Scheffler’s recent viral comments ahead of The Open (which he won in dominant fashion) talking about how he’s learned that true fulfillment comes from life off the field rather than accomplishments on it “spoke a lot to me.”
“It’s maddening,” Allen said about feeling like you’ve done everything right but not gotten the results you wanted. “But at the same time it helps put things in perspective about what matters in your life and you figure out what that is fairly quickly. Scottie Scheffler had that really good interview before The Open that spoke a lot to me, and I really appreciate him sharing those words.
“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy where you’re coming out here and doing everything you can for a quick enjoyment of it and then you’re on to the next. It’s like the MVP award. I don’t look back and think about that night. It happened and it was over with and I’ll never think about it again, to be honest. I’m so moved on to trying to help this team win football games this year.”
Washburn asked if that mindset helps alleviate some of the angst before playing in those big games, and Allen agreed, noting how the message in the Bills locker room has been less about the outcome and more about the importance of doing the right things and living with the results.
“For sure, and going out there and playing free — and the main thing we always preach here is playing for each other and putting your best stuff out there,” Allen said. “And as long as you’re doing everything right [that’s enough]. You can hope and pray for the best, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. But we really do hope it does happen.”
Scheffler’s comments launched plenty of jokes and memes about Nihilist Scottie, but Allen expands on how that mindset allows you to be at your best as an athlete. That perspective comes from finding more to life off the field, and for Allen that included getting married to Hailee Steinfeld this offseason. However, what is perhaps lost in comments like those from Scheffler and Allen is that they both noted that they still feel an intense drive to be great on the field, it just comes in balance with life off of it.
The desire to be great and put your best on the field or the course doesn’t have to coincide with a feeling that the outcome of a game or tournament is life or death. Instead, taking some of that pressure off of those moments can allow you to play more freely, where you’re more likely to perform at your best because you eliminate some of the fear of what happens if you fail.