The Buffalo Bills quarterback was hurt against the New England Patriots.
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Buffalo Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade. If it has to do with math, he has covered it, from NFL playoff standings to salary cap analysis. He does weekly community questions to stay involved with the commenters on the site.
Buffalo Blls quarterback Josh Allen was hurt against the New England Patriots. It was clear as day, but the QB says he was okay following the game.
During the fourth quarter in Week 16, Allen ran the ball on an innocuous play. On the next throw, the ball sailed on him and fans were questioning if it was the cold or something else. It turns out it was something else.
Allen was shown on the sideline flexing his right hand and shaking it out repeatedly. While Allen struggled, the Bills’ defense forced a fumble and scored a touchdown. When Allen came back into the game, they avoided having him hand the ball off with his right hand, instead pitching it to his running backs. Allen was able to complete a few passes and alleviate the immediate concerns, and on the final play of the game, he took a short quarterback sneak to get the Bills the first down.
“I don’t know if it was the elbow or the helmet or the ground, but lost some feeling in my hand,” Allen said. “Just hit the funny bone nerve and went to throw the ball and just had no feeling in my hand. So it’s a tough one.”
The MVP frontrunner didn’t miss a snap thanks to the big defensive play, but it wasn’t smooth sailing for him. He spoke with reporters after the game.
“When it’s cold like that, too, the more you leave it out, the number the whole hand gets,” Allen said. “So it was a weird feeling. Just glad it’s gone now.”
Allen could be seen continuing to try and warm up his hand in his personal warmer and with the sideline heaters. He used his left hand to interact with the tablet on the sideline to keep his throwing hand heated.
“It took a good five to 10 minutes,” Allen said of returning the feeling in his hand. “Just making sure, trying to get some blood flow back in there, some activation.”
Allen admitted he may not have been able to take a snap if the defense forced a turnover and the offense had to go out on the field. But everyone thinks it will be fine moving forward.
“They cleared him to go back and play,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “Our medical staff does a great job with, if it’s not safe for a player, they’re not going to put him back out there. I trust them, and they gave a green light to go back out there.”
It was reported before the game that Allen fractured his left hand in Week 1 and he’s been playing through it.