Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks to his offense at Paycor Stadium on November 05, 2023.
More than two weeks later, Josh Allen’s intentional grounding penalty is still generating controversy.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback was flagged for grounding in a critical play against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 5, pushing the Bills out of scoring range just before halftime. Allen overthrew wide receiver Gabe Davis on what appeared to be a miscommunication on the play, but officials huddled and concluded that it was intentional grounding.
The call generated some pushback at the time, with Allen saying afterward that he had never seen intentional grounding called on a miscommunication. Now, legendary NFL coach Tony Dungy is jumping into the mix to further defend Allen.
Tony Dungy: ‘Why?’
In Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett had a similar overthrow that was not flagged. Dungy pointed out that the league was inconsistent in the two plays, flagging Allen when other quarterbacks have not been penalized for the same play.
Two weeks ago we were told by @NFLOfficiating that this was intentional grounding. Yesterday it was not. Is it or isn’t it? Please let us know.
“Two weeks ago we were told by @NFLOfficiating that this was intentional grounding. Yesterday it was not. Is it or isn’t it? Please let us know,” Dungy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
For those of you that didn’t see the Buffalo-Cinn intentional grounding here it is. No different than the Pitt-Cle play yesterday. No pressure. Just miscommunication with WR. Same play—one is called intentional grounding the other is not. Why?
Josh Allen Questioned Call
Allen had already spoken up on the call, telling reporters after the game that he had never seen a quarterback take a penalty on a miscommunicated option route.
“I’ve never seen that call in my life,” Allen said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s an option route. Gabe can sit down or go. I wasn’t pressured. They decided to make that call and unfortunately didn’t allow us to get points there. I wouldn’t do anything different. I’m expecting him to run a go, he made the read to stop. That’s what it is.”
Allen added that the penalty had a big bearing on the game, pushing the Bills out of field goal range before halftime and taking away the opportunity for them to stack scores as they received the second-half kickoff. The Bills ended up running out the clock before halftime.
“It’s a huge swing. Whether it’s three or six coming out of the half, scoring on back-to-back drives and getting yourself some momentum, that’s huge in a game, especially against a good team like we just played,” Allen said.
The loss was a costly one for the Bills, dropping them out of the playoff picture and taking away a chance to pick up a game on the Miami Dolphins after they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills improved to 6-5 with a win over the New York Jets on November 19, but now face a critical stretch where they face the Philadelphia Eagles and Chiefs on the road before returning home to face the Dallas Cowboys.