Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen played much of the season with a broken left hand, then hurt his right hand in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots.
Allen was injured in the third quarter of the 24-21 win, scrambling for a 7-yard run in the third quarter and falling hard to the ground. Allen appeared to hit his right hand against linebacker Yannick Ngakoue’s helmet, and the Bills quarterback was shaking his hand when he got back to his feet.
Though Allen was tended to by medical staff, he was able to return to the game and help lead the Bills to their 12th victory of the season. After the game, Allen shared an optimistic outlook on the injury.
Josh Allen Explains Injury
Speaking to CBS reporter Evan Washburn on the field after the game, Allen revealed that he actually hit his elbow, which caused his hand to go numb.
“Got a helmet to the funny bone. I went to throw the next one, and I had no feeling in the hand. Came out a little wobbly,” Allen said.
The Bills did not give a detailed report on Allen’s injury, and he could undergo further testing on Monday.
The injury came hours after a report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport that Allen had been nursing a broken left hand for much of the season. Allen suffered the injury on a touchdown run in a Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, lingering for several weeks.
“Sources say Allen has played through most of his MVP-caliber season with a fractured left hand,” Rapoport wrote. “Now fully healthy as his team prepares to play the Patriots today, Allen wasn’t for much of the 2024 season.”
Rapoport reported that the injury had since healed, though the Bills quarterback continued to take precaution. Allen has worn a protective glove on his left hand after the injury while the team has cut back on the number of designed runs for the quarterback.
Josh Allen Leads Bills to Victory in Sloppy Game
The Bills struggled at times on offense against the last-place Patriots, falling behind 14-0 to start the game. Allen completed 16 of 29 passes for 154 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
It was the Bills defense that took over in the second half, forcing turnovers on each of the first three possessions by the Patriots including a fumble recovered in the endzone for a touchdown. The win moved the Bills to 12-3, keeping them in the hunt for the No. 1 overall seed.
In order to earn a playoff bye week, the Bills would need to win each of their remaining games with the Kansas City Chiefs losing both of their remaining games.
Should the Chiefs lost their game on Christmas Day, the Bills would only need to win one of their remaining two games to lock into the No. 2 overall seed. That could give the team some latitude to rest Allen for one or both games if further testing were to reveal that the injury was more serious than initially thought.
