There’s a seemingly never-ending list of things that can go wrong for a team in the playoffs, but having your quarterback incur multiple injuries, including one to his throwing hand in the opening minutes, has got to be one of the more unsavory ways to jeopardize your postseason. Well, that’s exactly what happened to Josh Allen on Sunday afternoon, and suffice to say, there were more sighs of relief than celebrations by the time the clock had finally expired.
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During the first quarter of their AFC Wild Card match up with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo’s star quarterback managed to sling the fingers on his right hand directly onto the back of one of his lineman’s helmets. Allen was seen grimacing while adjusting his fingers throughout much of the contest, but in the end, he was still able to guide the Bills on yet another game-winning drive.
“I love y’all. I got you and you got me,” the reigning MVP told his teammates just before taking to the field for what could have very well been their final drive of the 2025 season. “It’s just relying on each other. We put in something this week and we ran it there on the last drive with B. Cooks running down to the post. Saw a look and we executed it… There was no panic, no rush.”
As far as his trip to the blue tint is concerned, Allen is chalking that up to nothing more than his team being precautionary with his health. The still-reigning MVP has now recorded at least one playoff win in each of the last six consecutive seasons, and with Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson having all been eliminated from contention, it’s beginning to look like this could finally be Buffalo’s year.
Apart from the New England Patriots and perhaps the Denver Broncos, there aren’t many legitimate threats standing in their way, but given the overall tone of Allen’s post-game speech in the locker room, it’s safe to say that they aren’t taking anything for granted right now either. “We stay here. We don’t f**king blink, alright? We get one more. That’s the reward for doing what we did today. Now, we’ve got to go earn it again.”
According to their head coach, Sean McDermott, the Bills are “learning something about ourselves every game,” and for as long as they are willing and able to be “good football team” for “60 minutes,” then they’ll be in contention for the championship. Seeing as they’ll likely be going up against the AFC’s no. one seed in the divisional round, however, that’ll be easier said than done right up until the moment it’s finally over.
Although, Allen is 2-1 against the Broncos throughout his career, so despite the records and playoff seeds that are on paper, he’ll still have the mental edge of being the favorite in this one.
