DENVER — This one was on John.
Josh Allen made sure of it.
As the Bills quarterback skipped to the sideline after yet another touchdown, Allen turned back to the Broncos’ side of the field and pointed up — straight at the luxury box where Elway sits.
Cowboys have long memories. Just watch vengeful rancher John Dutton in “Yellowstone,” or attend a Saturday afternoon game at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie. Allen, a Wyoming great, didn’t forget Elway’s Broncos passed on him in the 2018 draft, preferring instead to draft Bradley Chubb, a ghost in Buffalo’s 48-19 win.
Buffalo offensive lineman Jon Feliciano was asked afterward if Sunday's game had special meaning to Allen, given the Broncos had passed on him.
"Yes," he said.
The Broncos are destined to suffer four straight losing seasons for the first time since joining the NFL. They quit in the second half. Blame Josh Allen for breaking their spirit to fight on.
Instead of resentment, Allen should thank Denver. He’s better off in Buffalo, where he will be king. Allen is slippery like Russell Wilson, rocket-armed like Ben Roethlisberger, young (24) like he has room to grow. He is that good.
Unless you count the North Platte River, Allen is the coolest thing out of Wyoming since Pokes QB Randy Welniak, who beat Air Force, BYU and won the '88 WAC. Allen will win Super Bowl(s).
In the press box at Empower Field, the wretches are afforded a flip card that breaks down both rosters, position by position. It says Allen and Drew Lock play the same position, quarterback.
Could’ve fooled me, or the South Park cutouts in the South Stands. Allen is playing on Venus, Lock on Mars, and only one is out of this world. This was Allen: 28 of 40, 359 passing yards, 33 rushing yards, four total touchdowns.
This was Lock: ehhhh. If he is the answer, do we want to know the question? Lock had more turnovers (two) than touchdowns (one). He managed only 4.1 yards per pass attempt. He will need an All-Star team around him to be a successful NFL quarterback. Allen needs Allen.
“That was not a good game for us by any means,” said Lock, who had 132 passing yards.
Hindsight is 2020. (Thankfully, 2020 soon will be hindsight.) But there are two Broncos mysteries forever haunting my daydreams: Why not return to the iconic “D” helmets that provided their lone highlight Sunday? And how on Earth did the Broncos pass on Allen, who checks all the boxes for what is considered to be a prototypical Elway quarterback — hailing from just up Interstate 25? One man’s theory, so far unconfirmed: the Broncos were gun shy after the Paxton Lynch experiment, and a college quarterback with a low completion percentage scared them away.
Call Mulder and Scully. Maybe the answers are found in the “X Files.” Vic Fangio had none. He threw a clipboard. Chubb and Shelby Harris almost threw fists. The Broncos threw in the towel, particularly on a 51-yard touchdown run on which Devin Singletary broke three tackles.
“A lot of things went wrong,” Fangio said.
If the end of the Elway-GM era is coming to a press conference near you, the beginning of the end can be traced to the 2018 draft. The Broncos reportedly liked QBs Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 pick, and Sam Darnold, No. 5. The Broncos scouted Allen in the Potato Bowl but elected to pass on him. Now they’re spuds.
It’s wild how one draft, one pick, can shape a franchise for decades to come. On the same day Allen guided Buffalo to its first division title since 1995, Chubb fought a teammate on the sideline.
Josh Allen is to the Broncos what Paul Pierce is to the Nuggets, what Evan Longoria is to the Rockies. He is a 6-foot-5, 240-pound reminder of how some mistakes last forever. Allen even plays like Elway, rough and tumble. That tickles the most.
“He’s playing his butt off,” Lock said.
Without fans to boo them, the Broncos officially were eliminated from playoff contention. With a young star quarterback pointing “I told you so” at the Broncos front office, the Bills officially introduced a decade or longer of big success.
No one’s spot with the Broncos should be locked in for 2021 — not the quarterback, not free agents Justin Simmons and Shelby Harris, not the South Park cutouts, not the front office or the GM. 48-19, folks. This one was on John.
“Everything's still in front of us," Allen said.
Oh, what could have been.
