Bills QB Josh Allen: 'Slight Pain' Arm Injury - and Painful Loss at Jets
Buffalo Bills fans can deal with a loss on the schedule, the occasional blemish in the standings column. What would undoubtedly be harder to stomach would be a loss on the depth chart ... namely the top slot in the quarterback category.
To that end, falling to the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon by a 20-17 final was undoubtedly scary. But the sizable contingent of Bills fans at MetLife Stadium was likely brought to its knees by the sight of Josh Allen massaging his throwing arm on what became Buffalo's penultimate play before time ran out on its would-be game-winning drive.
In the aftermath, Allen provided the closest thing that could constitute a sign of relief in a divisional loss, sounds more upset about the mental pangs of a loss to a rival rather than anything physical.
"I have some slight pain, but I’ll get through it," Allen said. "Give credit to (the Jets). They had a good game plan. They’re well coached. They wanted it a bit more than us tonight."
Allen's ailing was the apparent result of a Bryce Huff blitz that pried the ball from his grasp as the Bills (6-2) were trying to counter or at least match a Greg Zuerlein field goal that gave the Jets a fateful late lead. Blocker Ryan Bates recovered the loose ball, but that only served to briefly delay the inevitable. Allen's would-be game-extender on the ensuing long fourth down to Gabriel Davis was successfully defended by Sauce Gardner, allowing the celebration to kick off in East Rutherford.
The franchise quarterback held nothing back in asking that the brunt of blame be placed upon him. Buffalo was held to a mere Tyler Bass triple in the second half while Allen was held without an aerial touchdown for the first time since the penultimate game of last regular season back in January. Two interceptions, one to Gardner and another to Jordan Whitehead on the Bills' opening drive, also doomed the visitors' chances.
“It’s tough to win in this league when you’re playing a good team and your quarterback plays like sh**,” Allen admitted. “I made some bad decisions tonight that cost our team. A lot to learn from, a lot to grow from. That’s not the standard we hold ourselves to, not the ball that we play.”
Allen and the Bills have a chance to get back to their usual form next Sunday, when they face fellow divisional leader Minnesota in an interconference matchup at home (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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