Getty
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen
Had the Buffalo Bills pulled off an overtime victory over the Denver Broncos over the weekend—Denver won 33-30 after a series of controversial plays in the extra period—who knows how healthy quarterback Josh Allen would have been for the AFC Championship Game this weekend.
Allen was banged up in the previous week’s win over the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC wild-card round. Though he was hobbled, he still played well enough on Saturday for Buffalo to win.
During the week of practice leading up to the Broncos game, Allen was laboring. He told reporters he was sore, though he was going to gut it out to try and get the Bills to another AFC Championship Game.
Against the Broncos, he threw for 283 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions while rushing for another 66 yards in a losing effort.
Brandon Beane Drops Update on Allen’s Injury
GettyBuffalo Bills QB Josh Allen
With Buffalo’s season over, the team’s front office is turning its attention to the offseason.
Aside from finding a replacement for recently fired head coach Sean McDermott, the team’s top priority is building a better supporting cast around Allen. General manager Brandon Beane gave an update on Allen’s injury status during his news conference on Wednesday.
“Bills GM Brandon Beane said QB Josh Allen might need a procedure on his foot, but if he does, he should be ready for OTA’s,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Allen’s right foot was initially injured during Week 16 against the Cleveland Browns. He had dealt with the pain each week after, and had the Bills made it to the Super Bowl, there’s a chance Allen likely would have been less than 100%.
Any surgery Allen would have during the offseason presumably wouldn’t keep him from missing any of Buffalo’s offseason workouts.
Allen’s Role in McDermott’s Firing Revealed
The Bills shocked most of the NFL world when the fired McDermott earlier this week.
In 9 seasons with Buffalo, McDermott compiled a 98-50 record with eight playoff appearances, five division titles, two AFC Championship Game appearances, and seven seasons of double-digit wins.
McDermott’s .662 win percentage is third-best among active head coaches, behind only Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni (.694) and Los Angeles’ Jim Harbaugh (.679).
His 98 regular-seasons wins is also fifth-most among active head coaches, behind Kansas City’s Andy Reid (279), Mike Tomlin (193), Denver’s Sean Payton (184), and New York’s John Harbaugh (180).
When McDermott was let go, many wondered what role—if any—Allen played in the decision. Team owner Terry Pegula answered that very question on Wednesday.
“He didn’t have any input at all — I didn’t talk to Josh about this,” Pegula told reporters. “I talked to him after and that convo will stay private but he had no input in it.”
Many assume McDermott won’t be out of work for long.
There are still five other head coach openings across the NFL — the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The feeling among most insiders is McDermott will have his pick of whichever of those jobs he wants.
Michael Gallagher Michael Gallagher is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He has more than a decade of experience working for both local and national news outlets covering the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football, and MMA. His work has been featured in Newsweek, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Athlon Sports, The Hockey News, the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, and Yardbarker. More about Michael Gallagher
More Heavy on Bills
Loading more stories