ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — During the latest victory for the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Josh Allen faced a tense moment that involved a painful injury to his throwing arm. Amidst a season where he is playing at a level worthy of MVP consideration, Allen was seen visibly shaking his right hand and grimacing as trainers worked on his bruised elbow during the fourth quarter of the game on Sunday, which culminated in a 24-21 win against the New England Patriots.
“It took a good five to 10 minutes,” Allen recounted. “Just making sure, trying to get some blood flow back in there, some activation.” The extremely low temperatures at kickoff, which hovered around 8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-13 Celsius), created additional discomfort. Allen noted, “When it’s cold like that, too, the more you leave it out, the number the whole hand gets. It was a weird feeling. Just glad it’s gone now.”
Despite finishing the game with a record of 16 completions on 29 attempts for 154 throwing yards, including a touchdown and one interception, Allen’s injury occurred during a 7-yard run. Following a false start penalty, his ensuing third-down pass to receiver Dalton Kincaid fell well short of its target, which raised concerns regarding his condition.
“I don’t know if it was the elbow or the helmet or the ground,” Allen explained, describing the situation, “but I lost some feeling in my hand.” He elaborated that he had struck the “funny bone nerve,” resulting in temporary numbness as he tried to continue playing. Miraculously, he remained on the field, although backup Mitchell Trubisky took to warming up on the sideline during the tense moments.
Buffalo’s defense came to the rescue, giving Allen a chance to regain control. Taron Johnson scored a touchdown by recovering a backward lateral in the end zone from Drake Maye, which extended the drive length before the Patriots were forced to punt. “Fortunately, it was a longer drive where I was able to get some feeling and sensation back in the hand,” said Allen. He acknowledged that if a sudden change had occurred, he might not have been able to continue.
After the injury, Allen managed to complete two out of three passes and concluded the game successfully with a crucial 2-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 play. This victory marked the 75th of Allen’s career, tying him with Russell Wilson for the most wins by a quarterback in their first seven seasons.
Head coach Sean McDermott expressed confidence in the medical staff’s judgment to allow Allen to return to play. “They cleared him to go back and play,” McDermott stated. “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.”
Despite this latest scare, Allen has demonstrated resilience and durability while piloting the Bills (12-3) toward their fifth consecutive AFC East title. They are still in contention for a shot at the top seed in the conference playoffs, trailing the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1). Recently, Allen spent four weeks on the injury report after sustaining an injury to his non-throwing hand in the season opener but managed to play through it. He had to undergo concussion evaluations following a hit during a close loss to the Houston Texans in Week 5, only to later disclose he had rolled his ankle but did not truly suffer a head injury.
Last week, following a nail-biting 48-42 win over the Detroit Lions, Allen had X-rays taken on his throwing shoulder after what he termed a “funky fall.” Interestingly, the incident on Sunday wasn’t his first encounter with hitting his funny bone; he had previously hurt his elbow during a Week 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers, where he experienced a different kind of pain but similar discomfort.
“It was bad,” Allen recalled of that previous experience. “Feels like your hand’s on fire.”