Josh Allen on the Madden 24 cover means the Bills’ Super Bowl drought will continue
Josh Allen, one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, perhaps the primary rival to Patrick Mahomes, is officially the Madden 24 cover star.
Allen becoming the de facto face of pro football’s flagship (and only) major video game franchise is a sign that he’s truly become a household name. (The same could be said for Kirk Cousins, but in a different way.) While Allen taking the Madden mantel is cool at face value — seriously, how many human Terminators can launch rockets downfield and truck hapless defenders on a whim? — it’s a little ominous for the Bills’ continued Super Bowl hopes.
After falling short in the Divisional Round for two straight postseasons because of overtime rules and offensive line issues, the Bills will now have to contend with another unfortunate problem to finally reach the NFL’s highest summit.
They have to overcome the dreaded, infamous Madden curse.
Usually, this virtual curse refers to that year’s cover star suffering some sort of injury and or massive reduction in performance. But, to me, it can also be connected to their team’s results. As in, a great player who couldn’t win a title with their squad. To date, the only person who has arguably beat the Madden hex is, ironically, Mahomes following an appearance on the cover of Madden 20. After suffering a midseason knee injury in 2019, Mahomes only missed a few games before eventually leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl 54 victory.
Otherwise, the litany of superstars to actively enjoy success and be on the front of Madden is a short, nonexistent list. Almost everyone — from Lamar Jackson to Tom Brady — has fallen victim to this virtual black magic in some fashion. Even if they still played well, their team was still susceptible to a seemingly inevitable failure.
Even if Allen continues to light up the league in 2023, I would venture to guess the curse has more of an effect on the Bills than anything. Oddsmakers with FanDuel are bullish on Buffalo’s chances to finally win its first Super Bowl next year, giving the Bills +900 odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February. That’s behind only the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles — the two defending respective conference champions.
I … am kind of uncomfortable with that prognostication for Buffalo after Allen’s cover news.
To be clear, I still expect Allen to create his usual 40-plus touchdowns and 4,500-plus yards from scrimmage. He’s too good and too strong to see anything less. But if it comes to injury or just team failure, the overall history of the Madden jinx is undeniable.
The Bills and Allen are now fighting against a lot more than their own demons to get the championship monkey off their back.
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