Josh Allen Opens Up About Nighttime Routines and Screen Rules for Baby Harper

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen isn't just running a tight offense on the field — he's running a pretty disciplined household off it too. The 30-year-old recently pulled back the curtain on life at home with wife Hailee Steinfeld and their newborn daughter Harper, and the details are genuinely wholesome.

Screens Are a No-Go Around Baby Harper

Allen made an appearance on Mad Dog Sports Radio and got candid about one of the first rules he and Steinfeld put in place after Harper arrived in April. According to Just Jared, the quarterback explained that the couple actively works to keep screens away from their daughter during wind-down time.

"We're trying to limit the screens 'cause if there's a screen, she's over there looking," Allen said.

It's a move a lot of pediatricians would approve of. The couple noticed early that Harper's eyes locked straight onto any lit-up display in the room — so they made the call to cut them out of her pre-sleep environment entirely.

The New York Times Puzzle Duo

Once Harper's eyes are closed and she's nearly out, Allen and Steinfeld have carved out their own quiet couple ritual. Every night, the two settle in for the New York Times crossword puzzle. And they don't stop there — they also knock out the daily Connections and Wordle challenges.

"That's our little routine that we love doing," Allen said.

For a guy who spends his Sundays reading defenses and making split-second decisions under pressure, a word puzzle probably feels like a warm-down lap. Still, it's a surprisingly low-key hobby for one of the NFL's biggest stars.

'Harps' — A Wordle Starting Word and a Nickname?

Here's where it gets fun. Allen revealed his go-to opening Wordle guess: H-A-R-P-S. Coincidence? Almost certainly not. "Harps" lines up perfectly as a nod to little Harper, and it wouldn't be a stretch to call it a soft nickname in the making. Allen clearly couldn't resist sneaking his daughter into his five-letter strategy.

It's the kind of small, personal detail that makes these glimpses into athlete home life actually interesting. You can read more about how Steinfeld has described their growing family in Hailee Steinfeld Shares Glimpse into Life with Josh Allen and Baby Harper.

Life as New Parents

Harper was born in April, making Allen and Steinfeld — who tied the knot earlier this year — a few months into the newborn stage. That's the thick of it: sleep schedules, feeding windows, and trying to keep some semblance of a routine for yourselves.

The fact that Allen and the 29-year-old actress have already locked in a nightly ritual says a lot about how they're approaching parenthood — structured, intentional, and finding the small moments together where they can.

Steinfeld herself recently stepped back into the public eye, appearing at Disney's D23 Expo to promote her upcoming animated film Hexed. It marked her first public appearance since giving birth, a sign that both she and Allen are finding their footing as a family while still keeping their individual careers moving.

The Bigger Picture

Allen heads into the 2025 NFL season as one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, and Bills fans will be watching closely to see if last year's momentum carries over. But off the field, it sounds like he's just as locked in — doing crosswords, guarding his daughter's screen time, and building something that matters beyond football.

Not a bad game plan.

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