Josh Allen had a very bad night in the Buffalo Bills season opener against the division rival New York Jets.
The 27-year-old two-time Pro Bowler threw three interceptions -- all to Jordan Whitehead -- was sacked five times and fumbled late in the fourth quarter after he slammed into one of his own linemen, reminiscent of the infamous "butt fumble" committed by former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
NFL fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, clamoring that the infamous "Madden Curse" had returned.
After his abysmal showing in the Week 1 OT loss, Allen's shortcomings were chalked up to his appearance on the "Madden 24" cover in June.
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Allen, who finished the night completing 29 of 41 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown, took responsibility for the loss, stating he tried to "force the ball" that led to the interceptions.
"I hurt our team tonight. I cost our team tonight," Allen told reporters following the game, per team-provided video. "This feels eerily similar to last year, and I hate that it's the same, I do ... The effort was there. Our guys played so hard. Defense gave us opportunities. They played a heck of a game. It sucks when you feel like you're the reason, and I am the reason we lost tonight."
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There's little doubt Allen and the Bills will let this game linger as they prepare for their home opener on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Fans will have to wait and see if the curse continues, or if the game was just a one-off.
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"Yeah, it's not like I'm going out there and trying to throw interceptions," Allen said. "I guess we'll find out on tape, try to correct it and got to correct it fast. We've got a short week and can't let this game turn into two."
The curse was a non-factor in 2023 when EA Sports put John Madden on the cover of the "All Madden Edition" and in 2022 when Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes were featured on the "MVP Edition" of the game, but before that Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Adrian Peterson and Peyton Hillis all suffered declines in their respective cover seasons either due injury or other outside factors.
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The verdict is still out on whether or not the curse really does exist.
Featured image via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
