Wyoming Professional Athletes

The Main Event: Allen vs. Jackson

Wyoming's most famous export is about to take center stage. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills (5-1) come out of their Week 7 bye and head straight into the fire — a Week 8 home AFC showdown against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2026 NFL season.

Allen enters the game squarely in the MVP conversation, though not yet comfortably atop it. A recent ESPN poll of NFL executives, coaches, and personnel placed Brock Purdy first on the ballot, with Allen a close second. The message is clear: Allen is playing at an elite level, but the award is still his to earn. Sports Illustrated laid out the case for what he needs to do to claim his second career MVP — sustain the efficiency, keep the Bills winning, and deliver when the spotlight is brightest. Sunday qualifies.

The matchup carries extra weight beyond the standings. Allen and Jackson represent two of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks of their generation, and their head-to-head rushing comparisons are staggering — both have redefined what it means to play the position. But both have also watched their Super Bowl aspirations get derailed by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs dynasty, making this AFC clash feel like another audition for the game's biggest stage.

Jackson, who had been listed as questionable with an injury, is expected to play, per The Sporting News — good news for Ravens fans and, arguably, good news for the spectacle. Buffalo opened as a slight favorite for the home game, according to Yahoo Sports.

The Bills' 5-1 record gives Allen a sturdy platform. A signature win over a healthy Lamar Jackson would be exactly the kind of résumé moment that could tip the MVP scales.

Granderson Flashing in New Orleans

While Allen commands the national spotlight, fellow Wyoming alum Carl Granderson is quietly making his case as one of the few bright spots on a Saints team that has stumbled out of the gate in 2026.

Granderson registered a sack in New Orleans' Week 7 loss to Pittsburgh (10-16), and Sports Illustrated's Saints midseason stock report called him one of just four players trending upward through seven games — alongside Tyler Shough, Chris Olave, and Chase Young. For a Saints squad searching for answers, Granderson's consistent pressure off the edge is a rare constant.

The Cowboys connection between Allen and Granderson is a point of pride for Wyoming fans: one competing for the league's top individual honor, the other holding down a starting role and earning recognition despite his team's record.

The Bottom Line

This is a big week for the Cowboy faithful. Allen versus Jackson on a Sunday afternoon AFC stage doesn't get more appointment-television than this, and a Bills victory — driven by Wyoming's franchise quarterback — would put real distance between Allen and the MVP field. Meanwhile, Granderson's continued emergence offers something for Saints fans to hold onto during a rough stretch. Two alumni, two very different team situations, one shared hometown of Laramie pulling for both.

Win No. 100, the Hard Way

Josh Allen didn't just reach a milestone on Monday Night Football — he did it the only way that felt appropriate for the 2026 version of the Bills quarterback: in overtime, in Los Angeles, against a Rams team that pushed Buffalo to the absolute limit.

Allen's 100th career NFL win came in a 37–34 overtime thriller over the Rams in Week 5, a performance that was messy in some spots and electric in others. He finished with 210 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception — and then punched in a rushing score on the ground, where he racked up 121 yards. The dual-threat floor that has always separated Allen from his peers was on full display under the Monday night lights.

With the win, Allen joined Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady as one of the few quarterbacks to reach the 100-win threshold, cementing the kind of company that was once thought to be reserved for legends.

The Rushing Milestone Looming

The 121 rushing yards against the Rams weren't just a box-score footnote. Allen is now closing in on 5,000 career rushing yards, a figure that only four quarterbacks in NFL history have ever reached. According to Yahoo Sports, that milestone is imminent — and when it arrives, it will reframe the all-time conversation around what a quarterback can be in the modern era.

The overtime win also came with its own subplot: Bills head coach Joe Brady elected to kick immediately in overtime rather than run down the clock, a decision that drew criticism before Buffalo ultimately prevailed. Allen publicly backed his coach's call postgame.

MVP Race: Allen Running Away

Through five weeks, the numbers and the results have made the MVP conversation almost academic. Allen is the clear favorite in NFL MVP betting markets, per Heavy Sports, and the Bills' 4-1 start — good for first in the AFC East and fourth in the conference — has only reinforced the case. The Rams game added a 37-point, overtime road win to a résumé that was already compelling.

Eli Manning has noted that Allen has been "fighting some stuff" in the passing game recently — the one-interception outing against LA wasn't an outlier — but even with that critique baked in, no quarterback in the league has produced at Allen's level across both passing and rushing through the first five weeks.

Granderson Notches a Sack in New Orleans Loss

Away from the Allen headline, former Wyoming defensive end Carl Granderson had a bright spot in an otherwise rough week for the Saints. Granderson recorded a sack in New Orleans' 13–23 loss to the Vikings on Sunday, earning a mention in the Saints' own stock report as one of three bright spots from the defeat. It was a rare positive to extract from a tough result in a season that has been inconsistent for the Saints.

For Wyoming alumni across the league, the week belonged almost entirely to Allen — and with a rushing milestone and a potential MVP trophy both in reach, that trend figures to continue.

Allen Makes History in a Loss — Then Faces the Noise

Josh Allen's week started with a record and ended with a reckoning.

The Wyoming product etched his name into Buffalo Bills history during Sunday's 29-26 home loss to the New England Patriots, claiming the franchise's all-time record for rushing and receiving touchdowns. The milestone arrived on a day that otherwise went sideways: Allen finished with 253 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, and just four rushing yards — a stark departure from the dual-threat explosiveness Bills fans have come to expect.

The loss — Buffalo's first of the season, dropping the Bills to 3-1 — was costly in the most literal sense. Allen took the blame for a late interception that effectively sealed the game, admitting postgame he should have thrown the ball away rather than forcing the attempt. The turnover drew sharp reviews, with analysts pointing to it as one of the decisive moments in a game that slipped away at home against a Patriots team quarterbacked by Drake Maye, who found Efton Chism for the go-ahead score late.

The four rushing yards sparked something else entirely: a wave of social media speculation that Allen was nursing a knee injury after a helmet struck the area during the game. Allen addressed it directly on Thursday at the Bills' facility, categorically denying any structural concern. He pushed back on the viral injury theories — amplified by sports doctors analyzing video online — calling them without merit. His Week 5 injury designation and the Bills' preparation timeline bore that out heading into Sunday's matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.

That game brings its own level of scrutiny. Rams coaches spent the week publicly dissecting what makes Allen difficult to stop, while analysts questioned whether Buffalo's 3-1 start was a product of a soft early schedule. Steve Smith Sr. added a pointed external voice, delivering a warning to Allen about what the Rams defense could expose. Meanwhile, CBS Sports raised the uncomfortable question of whether the Bills' record flatters a team that has yet to be truly tested — a framing that stung more after the Patriots loss.

Allen heads into the Rams game healthy by all accounts, still holding that franchise record, and carrying the particular chip that comes with a week's worth of second-guessing.

Around the Rest of Wyoming's NFL Alumni

Two other Cowboys made news — neither for good reasons.

Andrew Wingard left Sunday's Cardinals loss to the Giants (24-36) with a knee injury, though he reportedly received encouraging news on the severity in the days that followed. The Arizona starting safety's status will be worth monitoring as the Cardinals navigate a difficult stretch.

Marcus Epps was among the Eagles players listed as unavailable in Philadelphia's Week 4 loss to the Rams, contributing to a growing injury report that has put the Eagles' depth under significant strain. Whether Epps is back in the lineup for Week 5 remained a key storyline for Philadelphia heading into the new week.

For Wyoming alumni watching across the NFL, it was a week defined almost entirely by one former Cowboy — and he gave them both a reason to celebrate and plenty to think about.