Left Behind: Bills QB Josh Allen 'Butt Bruised' From Chiefs Leap
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind ... and one giant bruise on Josh Allen's behind.
The football world is still abuzz about the Buffalo Bills quarterback's literal leap to glory, part of a 16-yard breakout that set up Western New York's latest game-winner against the Kansas City Chiefs. That rush featured Allen hurdling over would-be tackler Justin Reid, a run that ended only when Nick Bolton shoved the scrambler out of bounds. With the rush setting the Bills up in the Kansas City red zone, Allen found Dawson Knox for a 14-yard score two plays later, the last offensive touch of a 24-20 triumph.
Buffalo (5-1) is still feeling the aftershocks of such a valuable win and electrifying rush, one that put them at the top of the infantile AFC playoff bracket. In Allen's case, it's a literal sensation, as he told the eponymous host of the "Kyle Brandt's Basement" podcast earlier this week.
"I jumped over (Reid), I got a huge bruise on my butt,” Allen told Brandt with a laugh. "I landed right on my butt and slid for a little bit.”
When Bolton pushed Allen out of bounds, he was still trying to maintain his balance after not having time to stick the landing. The subsequent shove caused Allen to awkwardly slide down the sidelines, hitting the Arrowhead Stadium turf rear-end first.
Before Allen was helped to his feet by blocker David Quessenbery, he gained brief solace from a sideline cameraman, locking eyes with his device after his slide out of bounds ended. Allen, no stranger to cinematic escapades, expressed interest in seeing footage from his new friend's camera, which the NFL's official account was more than happy to provide.
Allen would later equate the experience to a scene from the NASCAR-centered comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," in which Will Ferrell's titular protagonist loses his mind after suffering an airborne wreck. Fortunately, Allen threw a game-winning touchdown pass rather than calling upon numerous deities, stripping down to his underwear, and fighting an invisible fire.
"I've done it a few times in my career now. At some point, someone's going to catch on and flip me in the air," Allen said when asked what it felt like to "leap over another grown man." "I've got to be smart when I do it. I try not to do it too often but it seems like it comes out once every year."
Allen wasn't interested in where his leap would reside on the night's SportsCenter Top 10, caring only that his Bills were on pace to take home a crucial victory home from Missouri.
"We were in a two-minute drive, and I was like, we've got to find a way to score here," Allen said. "We wanted a touchdown. Could've had a field to tie it up, but at the end of the day, we wanted to win that game."
The potential for further Allen aerial antics lands on Oct. 30, when the Bills return from a bye week to battle the Green Bay Packers in prime time.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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