ORCHARD PARK, NY — The “MVP!” chants inside Highmark Stadium began with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

Although it was premature, Buffalo Bills fans were right.

They simply couldn’t have known that Josh Allen wouldn’t start his offense until Monday night. By halftime, he’d already had one of the best statistical games of his career. But what was truly remarkable was how Allen handled his dirty business in a 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

For months, we’ve analyzed, guessed, and complained about how Allen would perform without Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. Diggs and his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, insinuated on social media that it was the receiver who made the quarterback, not the other way around.

Who would Allen throw to?

Whoever he wants, apparently.

GALLING DEEPER

Josh Allen, Bills dominate Jags in 47-10 throttling: Takeaways

By intermission, he had completed passes to nine teammates while leading Buffalo to touchdowns on each of its five possessions. He was 22 of 28 for 247 yards and touchdowns to four players: tight end Dalton Kincaid, rookie receiver Keon Coleman, receiver Khalil Shakir and tailback Ty Johnson. Oh, Allen also led both teams with 22 rushing yards, three more than the entire Jacksonville roster, while protecting his injured left hand.

And there were still 30 minutes to play.

“MVP!” indeed.

Around that time, an MVP player tweeted the following:

I really enjoy watching Josh Allen play football! 🏈

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2024

Bills edge rusher AJ Epenesa knows how LeBron feels, at least on this subject.

“As a defensive player, I get to watch him up close a lot,” Epenesa said. “I’ve seen him do some crazy stuff and it’s just… He’s unique. I don’t even want to say ‘It’s miraculous,’ because he just does his job the best he can, and he does it so well and is such a great leader for us.

“Josh defines what a bill is.”

When Johnson caught Allen’s 16-yard lob in the end zone 19 seconds before halftime, he became the sixth Bill with at least one touchdown reception this year. No other club has that many TD catchers.

Winking locker room sources confirmed it was no coincidence that Allen, on two offensive plays in the third quarter, set up the lone first-half back, Mack Hollins, for a reception. It was the 10th time in club history that at least 10 players caught a pass.

And then there were 25 minutes left to play.

“It’s paying off what we’ve built all offseason and training camp of the ‘everybody eats’ mentality,” Allen said. “It could be your game, this game. You never know when it’s going to happen. That’s the beauty of it, when guys buy into it and really understand, like, ‘I might not get the ball thrown to me four or five times a game, but the one or two times I do, I’m going to have opportunities to get in the end zone.'”

Coleman didn’t play the entire first quarter because he was penalized for a tardy issue, but on his third snap he caught his first NFL touchdown with 6:19 left in the second quarter.

Rookie Keon Coleman scored his first NFL touchdown in the Bills’ win over the Jaguars. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

“It’s fun and it’s great,” Allen said, “when you have a group of guys that don’t care about the stats. They don’t care about the touchdowns.”

Davis, meanwhile, didn’t make Bills fans miss him Monday night, catching two passes for 18 yards, both in the third quarter. Diggs has played decently for the Houston Texans, catching 20 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. But he’s running the shortest routes of his career and is 4.0 yards shy of his career average per reception. The Bills visit Houston in two weeks as part of a grueling upcoming schedule. More on that below.

Shakir has become Allen’s security blanket. They’ve been perfect, with Allen completing all six of his attempts and sending Shakir his way for 72 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter. Shakir has 16 catches on 16 targets for 168 yards and two touchdowns this year.

Are you still enjoying yourself? #BillsMafia?

📺: @ESPNNFL photo.twitter.com/v5FY4RWvFY

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2024

“I can say this over and over again: He’s a fucking football player, emphasis on ‘football,'” Allen said. “He loves the game. He does things the right way. He’s so unselfish in his approach throughout the week. He might get two passes in practice, and he just keeps finding ways to be in the right place at the right time.”

The Bills scored 34 points in two quarters for just the fifth time in club history, including the playoffs, a feat not accomplished since 1992. The regular season record for largest halftime victory was 48-10 against the Miami Dolphins in 1966. The Bills led the Los Angeles Raiders 41-3 in the 1990 postseason.

Allen passed for just 16 yards in the second half (the completion to Hollins), but still posted the biggest Week 3 fantasy football total among all quarterbacks and was second only to San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings in non-PPR leagues. Allen was also the game’s leading rusher with 44 yards when Mitchell Trubisky replaced him with 9:58 remaining.

The Bills are 3-0, but the schedule gets tough from here. Get ready.

Their next three games — four of their next five games and five of their next six games — are away games, starting Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Allen, unprompted, made an MVP Award reference himself. He knows the yardstick.

“We have a short week and we’re going into a hostile environment with the Ravens and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson,” Allen said. “We’re going to turn this around very quickly and focus on them very quickly.”

The Bills then visit the Texans and New York Jets before returning to Highmark Stadium. Their bye is in Week 12, sandwiched between two home games against last season’s Super Bowl teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers.

“You don’t win a Super Bowl or get into the playoffs with only three games,” Allen said. “I think this team understands that. We’re going to watch this film and put this behind us as quickly as possible.”

The Ravens defense, on the other hand, will be watching Allen’s footage constantly all week.

They’ll see what LeBron did, but it won’t be nearly as funny to them.

(Top photo: Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)