ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – Josh Allen said he had a dream that the Bills quarterbacks dressed up like professional golfers for Halloween and that inspired their game day costumes as Buffalo hosted Miami on October 31st, but the thought behind the outfits also had a little more meaning for Allen.
He arrived at the stadium dressed up like Phil Mickelson and even put the outfit back on for his postgame press conference as he joined Dion Dawkins at the podium after a 26-11 win over the Dolphins.
And it was fitting Allen was going as Mickelson because the lessons he learned from the legendary golfer actually came in handy during this game.
“I know I’m wearing the Phil Mickelson costume, he had a chance to talk to us early on this year and he talked about finding, kind of like your zen, finding where you’re calm and early on, I’ve known this for a long time, I don’t play good when I’m pissed off and frustrated,” Allen said after the game.
“I think that was maybe kind of causing some issues early on and to that second half just trying to find that inner peace where I can just kind of go out there and relax and that’s what we did.”
It was certainly a slow start for the Bills offense as they had trouble finding their groove, only putting up three points in the first half as the game was tied 3-3 at halftime.
Allen went 10/17 for just 80 yards in the first half but they made adjustments at halftime and part of that was because of what Mickelson said to the team back when he talked to the Bills during training camp.
“Josh I think has his own relationship with Phil or they have this little kind of volley that they’re doing back and forth with one another but we were able to get Phil for a little bit in training camp,” Sean McDermott said after the game.
“What a special moment that was for me, for our team and an honor to, you get a guy of that stature to talk to your team and it was a pretty cool half hour, 45 minutes whatever it was so it was an awesome opportunity for us.”
Allen also said Mickelson had his PGA Championship trophy displayed during his chat with the team, something he knows all too well about being resilient after becoming the oldest player to win a major.
“I think it’s just self knowledge, understanding who you are, I know I don’t play well when I’m frustrated and hearing that from a Hall of Fame golfer, one of the best of all time to say that type of thing that resonated well with me because that’s exactly kind of how I feel too so again it helped me today and hopefully that will help me in the future too,” Allen said.
After making the necessary adjustments, the Bills came out and 23 points in the second half as Allen finished with 249 yards, two passing touchdowns and ran for a touchdown as well.
Heather Prusak is a sports reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2020. See more of her work here.