He's made an effort to hang in the pocket more, and run less, and Josh Allen did that Sunday to the tune of three touchdown passes. But when it comes to the Dolphins, it's been hard for Buffalo's rookie quarterback not to exploit the holes in their defense with his legs when a play breaks down.
Allen followed up a season-high and career-best 135-yard rushing day against Miami in Week 13, with a 95-yard rushing effort in Sunday's Week 17 win over the Dolphins.
Coupled with Allen's rushing day were a pair of touchdown runs. The first was a sneak from a yard out, but his second was an improvisational 30-yard run to pay dirt that essentially put the game on ice with 10 minutes left in regulation.
The two rushing touchdowns gave him eight on the season, tying him with Jack Kemp for the most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback in Bills history.
It also made Allen (8) and Cam Newton (14) the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era to rush for eight touchdowns or more in their rookie season.
Even more impressive was Allen's season-ending rushing total.
With his 95 yards against the Dolphins Sunday, Allen finished with 631 rushing yards in his rookie season. It broke the franchise record for quarterback rushing yards set by Tyrod Taylor in 2016 (580).
But Allen, as is his nature, did not want to talk about any rushing records. He was satisfied with a season-ending victory.
"Everyone wants to talk about personal accolades, but it doesn't happen without the 10 other guys on the field," said Allen. "So I couldn't care less about all of that. I'm just super proud of how this team performed, and it's a good team win."
2. Numbers to know
43.3 – Ryan Tannehill's passer rating Sunday.
114.9 – Josh Allen's passer rating Sunday.
4 TDs – number of scoring plays for Zay Jones against the Dolphins in 2018.
3 TDs – number of scoring plays for Zay Jones against everyone else.
12 – number of sacks (3) and QB hits by the Bills on Ryan Tannehill in Miami.
10 – number of sacks (4) and QB hits by the Bills on Ryan Tannehill in Buffalo.
6-0 – Bills record when they committed one turnover or less this season.
0-10 – Bills record when they committed two turnovers or more this season.
18.6 – Bills points per game when Josh Allen starts.
12.8 – Bills points per game when Josh Allen doesn't start.
100 – Bills red zone touchdown percentage (4-4).
3. Around the AFC East
The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets convincingly by a score of 38-3. Tom Brady threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers to finish 11-5 on the season. New York's loss ensured that the Jets would finish the 2018 season in last place in the division.
4. They said it
"I would like to thank Coach Bowles for his dedication to the New York Jets for the last four years. After carefully evaluating the situation, I have concluded that this is the right direction for the organization to take. I would like to wish Todd, Taneka and their family only the best."
--NY Jets Chairman & CEO Christopher Johnson on the firing of Jets HC Todd Bowles
