Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen Cleared To Return Following Foot Injury
You could practically hear the collective gasp stretch from Western New York all the way to Cleveland. One minute, the Buffalo Bills are cruising, looking to lock down a crucial Week 16 win. The next? The franchise is hopping on one leg. Josh Allen, the heart and soul of this Buffalo squad, gave everyone a reason to panic late in the second quarter against the Browns. It wasn’t pretty, and frankly, it was the kind of sequence that makes you want to turn the TV off and go for a long, stress-relieving walk.
The Play That Silenced the Crowd
It happened deep in Bills territory. Allen found himself retreating. He was trying to escape the Cleveland rush, but the pocket collapsed. Browns Defensive Lineman Mason Graham eventually dragged him down for a massive 22-yard loss.
But the yardage didn’t matter. What mattered was the way Allen got up. He rose slowly, grimacing, and immediately started testing his right ankle. It was the universal body language of an athlete who knows something just snapped, popped, or twisted the wrong way.
In a move that proves football players are wired with zero self-preservation instincts, Allen didn’t immediately head to the sideline. Despite the obvious limp, he stayed in for a quarterback sneak to gain a yard before the punt team came out. It was gritty, sure, but it was also the kind of decision that gives athletic trainers gray hair.
The One-Shoe Walk Of Worry
The most jarring visual came moments later. As the clock ticked down to halftime, the broadcast cameras caught Allen heading toward the tunnel. He wasn’t just limping; he was walking without his right shoe.
There is perhaps no scarier sight in sports than a quarterback walking to the locker room in his socks. It suggests swelling. It suggests “we need to look at this right now.” He spent a few moments with the trainers on the sideline before making the slow trek inside, leaving Mitch Trubisky to warm up his arm and Bills fans to doom-scroll on Twitter for updates.
What This Means For Buffalo
Before the injury, the Bills were actually rolling. They carried a 20-10 lead into the break, largely thanks to James Cook, who was running like a man possessed. He topped 100 yards and found the end zone twice. Allen had started hot, too, throwing for 86 yards and rushing for another 17.
But none of that matters if QB1 is sidelined. While some halftime reports suggested x-rays might be negative and a return is possible, the image of that limp is hard to shake. If Allen can’t go, the keys are handed to Trubisky. And with playoff positioning on the line in Week 16, that is a terrifying proposition for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
