Josh Allen - Quarterback, bills Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-15 | Full transcript (primary source).
On September 15, 2026, Josh Allen addressed the media during a press conference ahead of the Buffalo Bills' first official game in their new stadium. The event focused on the team's preparations and mindset as they approached a challenging matchup in a highly anticipated environment.
Transcript
Allen: Keep the excitement level, knowing that that crowd is going to be electric. There's going to be a buzz in that stadium on Thursday night with all the anthems and everything else that's going on. How do you keep that excitement level where you can still not buy into it too much? Or maintain it in the field or something? Yeah, we got a job to do, and that's to try to go and want to know. We've been in there a few times now, whether it was for practice or preseason games, so it's not a new environment. I understand that it's the first official seasonal game in there. But we're not really focused on that. We're just focused on short week playing against a tough opponent, trying to have the best week possible of putting together a good week of preparation, a good game plan, and going out there and executing on Thursday.
Allen: Is there still a level of anticipation, excitement of moving into the new house? Like I said, I don't think so, because we've kind of been there. And that was by design, with Coach putting us in there and going through practices, having the red and blue, having the two preseason games. We were in there a lot to kind of settle in, so it's not a new environment for us, and yeah.
Allen: Tell the difference with grass. Like when you were out there today, we were like, this is different, and this is different, because what was different about it? The footing seemed better, it seemed more stable, more solid. I'm very happy and fortunate that our team, our ownership, went out there and made it as good as possible, and did the switch for us. So yeah, I know we weren't moving full speed today, but it seemed really good.
Allen: Joe mentioned that the goal on Thursday is to put on a, not to go out and try to put on a shell, but to put on a clinic. Like when he has that message, like to go out and kind of execute, what does that mean to you? Yeah, again, whatever we did last week, doesn't carry over, doesn't roll over. We know that, it's a new opponent, it's a new week. It's a defense that, looking at them on film, got a lot of different things than we maybe anticipated. So again, just a lot of adjustment. It's a short week, it's happening fast. They threw a lot of stuff at the, on the film from this past weekend. So deciphering that, trying to put together the best game plan, going out there and practicing against it, it's no easy task to go against a team that's as good as they are, and they're extremely well coached. They have a fantastic offense, so everything that we do, we gotta make sure that we go and execute like Joe said.
Allen: Josh, I asked Joe this question yesterday, what's the biggest difference between a healthy dunk in Kade and a banged up dunk in Kade? Speed, shiftiness, the way that he's able to catch the ball. He's got an unbelievable catch radius, he's confident in cutting on both sides right now. And it's just, it's awesome to see. He's an absolute heck of a football player and I'm very lucky to have him.
Allen: The Lions secondary is a little depleted right now. Just what do you make of what they were still able to do Sunday and what opportunities does that maybe allow for you guys? Yeah, I think the film show a little bit different results than the statistics. They played extremely well this past week, got to the quarterback quite a few times. Some different blitz packages and again, something that we have to go over and look at in script and I think their defense had 91 plays. That's a lot of plays to break down. It's a lot of looks that they showed. So again, just film work, film prep, and making sure that our protection plan is where it needs to be.
Allen: Does that help knowing that you only have one game from this season to break down, but they have so many defensive plays that you can look at. Does that help the sample size? Yeah, maybe a little bit. But I think again, defenses do such a good job now of bringing a different flavor to each game and trying to figure out what hurts our offense the most. And that's something we'll try to figure out early on in the game, what their flavor of the week is. And just stick into some of the, especially on Thursday in that game, a short practice coming off of training camp basically. So sticking to some of our training camp rules and making sure we understand, like I said, where our protection is going to, if we're not protected, where's my hot, getting the ball out quickly and accurately.
Allen: Conversely, I think the offense only had two staffs. Is there a benefit to that? Yes and no, it's still early in the season, so I don't think it's too much. But on a short week, there's no doubt that there is some sort of wear on your body, but I'm sure they'll be ready to go and extremely well coached. And I'm sure their coaching staff is taking good care of them right now. And they'll be flying around on Thursday.
Allen: Talking to Joe earlier, he said you want to be challenged as a player. That's part of what makes you trained and willing to improve. What example do you have of like the way Joe's challenged you over the years? Yeah, I think especially in this training camp, just putting me in some tougher situations throughout practice, different looks, throughout the last couple years, having a seasonal goal of what we want to accomplish. Just things of that nature. I'll keep that in house.
Allen: Do you approach a short week at this stage of your career differently than maybe you did early on in your career? Honestly, they happen so quick that whatever our schedule is, that's what we're, I feel like we've been here for three days. It's been that long of a day. We've done first and second down and third down protection today. We'll get into short yardage and goal line tomorrow. It just, it happens fast, so there's really not much of a change. It's just kind of, you have to fit a lot of things into the schedule in a short amount of time, and however you can do that, it's what you need to do.
Allen: Understanding, one game under Joe Brady was a very aggressive game offensively. That's led a lot of people to conclude that this is going to be a much more aggressive approach from Joe Brady as head coach than offensive coordinator. Without trying to put you in a position to be disrespectful or shot McDermott, what would you say about that narrative? I'd say each game has a different way to win, and that's what was being asked of and called for us as an offense this last game. That doesn't mean that that's what's going to be asked of us this next game. We may have to run it 40 times, whatever the case may be. And we got to be willing to adapt throughout the game, understand what they're trying to do, and ultimately try to find positive plays. And sometimes that's checking it down. Sometimes that's not forcing explosives, letting the game come to you. But yeah, that'd be my message, just every game has a different way to win it, and that's all we're trying to do.
Allen: Not understanding the game itself is your biggest priority this week and you just want to win. Has there been any point when you've allowed yourself to think about like, hey, I'm quarterback, opening a brand new stadium. There is a new stadium, how much this means to people? Have you thought or reflected on that at all? No, I think from my point of view, we've already been there in there a couple games. And every time I step out into a home game, to feel that excitement and energy, whether it's at Old Highmark or New Highmark, that I get the same feeling regardless of what stadium we're playing in. So again, just the goal is the goal, and that's the goal I want to know.
Allen: A bunch of different check marks, landmarks of first pre-season game, all of this. What did you notice may be different from him in that head coaching seat for his first regular season game? Yeah, I mean, the one funny thing was obviously he's been in the box the last couple years, and he'll get on the headset and be like, hey, Josh, what do you want here, play one or play two and give me the play call? And he did the same thing, and I'm looking at him three feet away, and I'm like, hey, you can come over here and talk to me now. And he's like, I forgot, you know? So no, it's been awesome to see him and just kind of navigate. And you have to wear a lot of different hats as the head coach. You've got to be so tuned into the game, especially when the defense and special teams are out there, even more so. So the talks are maybe less, but when there is time, whether it's a stoppage, whether it's a commercial break going over there and just having a quick conversation with him just the way that we're staying on the same page.
Allen: Does your previous relationship allow you to maybe be more brief because you have that history? Absolutely, yeah.
Allen: Because y'all could take your shirt off? That's the first I've seen of it, to be honest. So if he does every game, hopefully we're seeing it a lot.
Allen: He was pissed that he didn't spend previous years down on the sideline with you. What do you notice? I know you just touched on it, but just the advantages of having him down there from an offensive standpoint. I think the advantages, just from looking at it from a distance, is he can feel the vibe of the players. He can see the energy, see how guys are feeling. And sometimes it's a spider. How do you feel about that? I don't like that. Yeah, he can feel a vibe. Sometimes when guys are feeling a certain play and they're vindicated about that play, you're more apt to call it and it's more apt to be successful. So I think that's an advantage for sure.
