There’s a recurring theme in sports media to lean heavily on recency bias, often leading to hyperbole.
Take, for example, the notion that Josh Allen is the most tortured player in NFL history. He might not even be the most tortured quarterback in Buffalo Bills history, but let’s give Dan Orlovsky the floor to make his case.
A staunch supporter of Allen, Orlovsky has consistently gone to bat for him whenever critics have labeled the quarterback as “overrated.” Orlovsky has championed Allen as this year’s NFL MVP, so it had to be painful to watch when the Bills fell 32-29 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
This is, after all, a franchise haunted by its past — one that infamously lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the ’90s. And now, once again, the Bills came up short in a crucial moment against the Chiefs.
“I think it’s the most haunted organization — it might be the most haunted player in the history of the NFL,” Orlovsky explained. “I mean, four straight Super Bowl losses 30 years ago, and now, four straight losses to Patrick Mahomes when your quarterback plays just as good? Just as good in all those games. The point differential in them is five points. We’re talking about the difference between a career that we could categorize as an all-time great and just really good — right now.”
“I think it’s the most haunted organization and might be the most haunted player in the history of the NFL.”
—@danorlovsky7 on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills 😯 pic.twitter.com/XFU4blYP4s
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 27, 2025
“I love Josh… No one, I don’t think, in the media champions Josh more than me,” Orlovsky added. “He got the ball back, down three, with a chance to go get it done.”
Six plays. 17 yards. Turnover on downs.
Orlovsky added that in playoff history, the teams that score three or more touchdowns in a turnover-free game are 140-19. Allen is the only quarterback with multiple such losses, and he has three—all against the Chiefs within the last four seasons.
It’s hyperbole, but it’s tough to argue when you look at the stats. Still, Jim Kelly might have a case of his own, given that he’s the only quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to four consecutive Super Bowls — and lose all four.
So, yes, the Bills may indeed be cursed with history, but it’s a curse that Allen, for all his talent, can’t seem to shake. And until he does, that haunting legacy will be as much a part of his story as the MVP-caliber seasons.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.