Buffalo Bills Josh Allen is on an upswing, as his impressive performance against the Miami Dolphins earned him AFC Player of the Week awards. Allen lit up Miami’s defense for three passing touchdowns and 256 passing yards on a 21-of-33 passing day. He added another touchdown on the ground and finishing the day with 56 rushing yards, bringing his total contributions to 312 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.

In victories, Allen has varied from steady-to-spectacular, making smart decisions and showing progress in his second season in the NFL. He has averaged 226.7 yards through the air, sporting an 11-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s also added four rushing touchdowns to the equation.

Oh, and he’s completed 65.4-percent of his passes in these games as well.

Now, let’s play the temper-the-expectations game right now. While these numbers are nice, only one of these games has been played against a team with a defense, the New York Jets in the top half of the league with respect to yards allowed per game. If the perspective shifts to pass defense, the Washington Redskins are the only team that resides in the top-half of passing yards allowed through the air, as they currently reside at 16th in the league.

Now, Allen and the Bills do not make the schedule. Optimistically, he has put to bed inferior teams to bed, putting Buffalo on a path for the playoffs.

At times, he’s looked dominant with his control of these opponents.

The challenge comes into play when facing prospective playoff teams, or teams who have defenses who reside in the top half of the league in yards allowed.

In Buffalo’s three losses, Allen has completed 49.5-percent of his passes and averaged 196 yards passing per game. He has a two-to-three touchdown-to-interception ratio, which isn’t horrendous against difficult defenses. He has also fumbled five times in these games.

Moving forward, though, there is a reason to be hopeful. He has not thrown an interception since Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans. He has found a strong target in wideout John Brown, who leads the AFC in average receiving yards per game and is currently second in the AFC with 817 receiving yards, only 16 yards behind leader Travis Kelce of Kansas City.

The upcoming path is challenging. Denver, Dallas, Pittsburg, and New England all sport pass defenses in the top-ten of the league.

With the Bills on the cusp of reaching the playoffs for the second time in three years, their quarterback has a chance to silence the doubters with a strong run of games to close out this season.

The good news for Buffalo is that it is not inconceivable for Allen to make such progress over the final portion of the season. It’s a point in the season where issues for the offense need to be resolved if they wish to make a legitimate run into the playoffs.

It has to start this Sunday. Denver’s quarterback situation is unsettled, indicating that the Bills defense should have a solid showing at New Era Field. Thus, it’s a week where Allen may be able to play more aggressively, building upon the idea of playing fearlessly against a team that’s a definite step up from the lowly Dolphins defense.

Allen is arguably the most talented quarterback that has played behind center for Buffalo in the last two decades. Now, he has an opportunity to eradicate any uncertainty about his play.

This is the time for which the Buffalo Bills and their fans have been waiting. It’s the perfect moment for Allen to begin his ascent into Bills lore.