Getty Dawson Knox #88 of the Buffalo Bills makes a reception past the defense of Rashad Fenton #27 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of a game at Arrowhead Stadium on October 10, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Buffalo Bills went down 34-31 against the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football, and making the defeat even more heartbreaking, tight end Dawson Knox leaving the game with an injured hand before being ruled out.
Knox, 24, who was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, is having a legit breakout season. During the Sunday Night Football game against the Chiefs, he caught three passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, his fourth touchdown in four straight games. Thus far this season, the Ole Miss alum has caught 18 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns.
Before leaving with an injury, Knox was a crucial part of one of the most exciting Bills offensive plays.
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Tired: Philly Special
Wired: Billy Special
Knox, who used to play quarterback in high school, utilized his throwing skills to pass a toss to quarter Josh Allen to score a two-point conversion, a play known as the Philly special. That score gave the Bills a 31-24 lead and was the last play the Bills were able to put points on the scoreboard.
Knox Threw That 2-Pt Conversion Pass With a Broken Hand
GettyDawson Knox and Josh Allen celebrate a touchdown against the Washington Football Team.
Making Knox’s trick play before exiting the game even more impressive, the fact he threw the ball to Allen while injured with a broken hand. Knox threw a 2-point conversion after he was injured. Allen tried to call off play but Knox insisted he could get it done.
“That’s why we love him,” Allen said.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that “TE Dawson Knox broke a bone in his hand. Timeline TBD but the hope is he won’t miss much time,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafalo tweeted.
Heading into Monday Night Football, Knox had receive accolades from NFL.com‘s Nick Shook, who included the tight end in his “Top 10 Surprising Performances So Far.”
Shook said Knox’s performance has been a jaw-dropper:
Knox is on pace to smash his previous career-high for receiving yardage (388, set in his rookie season in 2019)… Knox has evolved from a traditional tight end who might make a key grab every once in a while to a legitimate option in an offense filled with them. (Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders, anyone?) Defenses might want to be extra careful to not allow him to slip into open space for another episode of Dawson’s Leak.
The Upcoming Bye Week for the Bills Bodes Well in Knox’s Favor
Because the Bills head into bye for Week 7, the hope is he won’t miss much time. The week off will also give head coach Sean McDermott, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and the entire team two weeks to think about what went wrong on Monday night, and how to fix it for when Buffalo takes on the Miami Dolphins on October 31.
“Now we’ve got a week to sit on this one and learn from it and come back stronger,” McDermott said, per Bills Wire. “So that’s the goal every week, and that’ll be the goal next week.”
The Bills will have the advantage of playing at home at Highmark Stadium in Week 8, which will hopefully boost the team’s morale going against another AFC rival.
Bills center Mitch Morse says the extra week off is a double-edged sword. Morse. “We get extra time to work on what we need to work on. At the same time, that bad taste is going to be our mouth a little bit longer than we’d like. But we’ll get through it and march on. This team is resilient.”
The Bills absolutely crushed the Dolphins 35-0 earlier this season, so this should prove to be a solid bounce-back game. Allen said during the postgame conference on Monday that “he has no doubt they will use this to fuel them and be ready to go for Dolphins game.”
Hopefully, Knox will be back on the field to assist Allen in a comeback win.
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