'He's going crazy': Jaguars Josh Allen repeats three-sack performance in win over Falcons

LONDON — Darious Williams has no clue what's gotten into Josh Allen.

"I don't know what he's eating, I don't know what he's drinking. He's doing something because he's going crazy. We need that. That helps the whole defense. That helps us," the veteran Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback said of Allen who had his second three-sack performance of the season. Three 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' sack dances.

The fifth-year outside linebacker has posted six sacks this season, the most through four games in franchise history, surpassing defensive lineman Calais Campbell who posted 5.5 sacks through four games in 2017.

Needed that: Jaguars dominant defensive first-half leads to 23-7 victory over Falcons in London

Prior to the 1 p.m. games starting, Allen's six sacks tied for the league lead with Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt. That's good company.

Allen was excited about his performance but credited his fellow teammates for helping pave the way for his repeat career day.

"I couldn't do it without the guys in front of me. I had Foley [DL Folorunso Fatukasi] helping me push the pocket, as well, to help get me that one, then [CB] Tre Herndon for the inside blitz. Quarterback rolled out right into me," Allen said of two out of three of his sacks.

"In the second one, I told the DBs, 'just give me a little bit more time.' It was definitely a collection of everybody working together, but that process starts in practice."

Though he's entering his contract year, Allen is all business and doesn't worry about anything but the week, or even day, in front of him.

"I try not to become a robot and say I have to do this; I have to do this. If I don't do this, it's not going to happen. I'm really in the moment and just handling my business," said Allen of what the year will do for him and his future.

"For me, this is strictly business. I'm about my business, and I'm ready to win games. I want to be the guy for the defense that we can count on.”

Allen's been in a great headspace this week, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game and the results speak for themselves.

"Just an outstanding performance, and obviously the big one there at the end. It's what he's capable of doing," said Pederson, noting Allen's strip-sack on Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder at the end of the game.

Pederson mentioned Allen among all of the top players on the team in terms of players that are integral to the team performing well on the gridiron.

"Same way when you talk about guys like [QB] Trevor [Lawrence] and [WR] Christian [Kirk] and [WR] Calvin [Ridley] and [WR] Zay [Jones] and all those guys, he's in that conversation," said Allen.

"Those are the guys that need to step up and make plays, and he did a great job for us today. It’s something that he can be proud of and we can work on that."

Allen laid out the ideal plan for the Jaguars' defense against the Atlanta Falcons late last week. Control the line of scrimmage.

The defense wasn't perfect Sunday, particularly starting in the third quarter of the game, but for the most part, Allen and the team's defense did just that, preventing the Falcons from going to their bread and butter — the run game — and forcing them to turn to the passing game, something Jacksonville took advantage of.

It wasn't perfect, but it was progress, Allen said.

"I think we let them off the hook a little bit at the beginning of that second half to give them that touchdown," he admitted. The Jaguars gave up an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter, giving Atlanta a fighting chance down just 17-7 after that point.

The defense never let up, though, forcing a punt, turnover on downs and a forced fumble — Allen's final sack of the game — to finish out the game.

"There's still room for improvement up front, especially for the whole defense to not allow that to happen. But it was a heck of a way to fight, heck of a way for guys to make plays when their number was called."

That'll begin in practice next week as Jacksonville stays in London but moves over to Tottenham Stadium next Sunday to take on the Buffalo Bills.

"I'm going to start tonight, start looking at those guys because I have to be prepared for what I can do," said Allen, looking a tad ahead to the Bills with only a couple of days of rest ahead of him before work continues.

"We'll continue to practice hard, continue to communicate, good things may come."

They did Sunday, especially for Allen, who is playing like one of the league's top defenders.

"I feel like I personally let the team down [last week], and this week was just get back on track, and I got back on track."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X,  formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars OLB Josh Allen has three-sack performance vs. Falcons in London