Josh Allen says facing Aaron Rodgers will be 'a battle'

The Buffalo Bills have reigned atop the AFC East for the past three seasons, much to do with the emergence of quarterback Josh Allen.

Allen knows, however, that the competition this season will be at its highest, thanks to the arrival of quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets. Recently speaking with Kevin Clark of The Ringer, Allen admitted that facing off against Rodgers and the Jets is “going to be a battle.”

*Amazing* SND episode with Madden cover star Josh Allen:
–His days controlling Ken Dorsey in Madden and why.
–Self-scouting his 2022 and what 2023 offense will look like.
–His facetimes with Aaron Rodgers.
–F1 corner.
–Lots of ball talk.
Click: https://t.co/dKnw4IeSpH https://t.co/1qDLFcCTgm

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) June 21, 2023

“I’ve just been such a fan of his since I was a little kid,” Allen said. “Having his jerseys and trying to emulate what he does on the football field. He’s such a special player. I think he’s the most gifted thrower of the football all time. Going up against him twice a year, it’s going to be a battle.”

The first of the duo’s two battles this upcoming season will come in Week 1 — a “Monday Night Football” matchup at MetLife Stadium. It’ll be their third meeting, though the first with Rodgers wearing something different than a Green Bay Packers jersey. Rodgers and the Packers shut out the Bills in Allen’s fourth-career start during his rookie season in 2018. Allen and the Bills evened things up last season, picking up a 27-17 victory in Buffalo.

Josh Allen preparing for ‘dogfights’ in the AFC

Rodgers joins a star-studded group of quarterbacks in the AFC, ranging from Allen to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow. Allen said that every game will be a “dogfight” given the talent at the quarterback position in the conference.

“There’s a lot of great quarterbacks in the AFC right now,” Allen said. “These games are going to be dogfights, and it’s not about how you win them, it’s about if you win them. That’s all we’re trying to do, we’re trying to score one more point than our opponent.

“As a quarterback, I am not really looking at who’s on the other side of that football. I don’t play them. I play their defense and their defensive coordinator. But there [are] certain things that will influence play calling and decision making based on who is over there. We don’t want to give the ball back to them. We don’t want to give them short fields.”