The Buffalo Bills have no plans to pack it in for their season finale, but could have an ailing Josh Allen at the helm as they take on the New York Jets.
Allen was one of a long list of Bills players who did not practice on Thursday as they prepared for the season finale. The Bills quarterback had to undergo X-rays after last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles for an injury to his foot, but the imaging came back negative and he was cleared to play on Sunday.
Allen could still be less than full strength for the game, which has some big personal stakes for the quarterback.
Josh Allen Out Again
Allen had already missed the team’s walk-through practice on Wednesday and was listed as a DNP again for the team’s practice on New Year’s Day.
Despite the missed practice, Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday that Allen is improving and feeling better than he did at this point last week. Allen initially suffered the injury while taking a second-quarter sack in the team’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
“I could tell you that he’s in a better spot, according to [team trainer] Nate [Breske] early this week than he was last week,” McDermott said. “So that’s all I can tell you right now, and we’ll just take a we’ll-see approach as we go through the week here.”
McDermott said earlier this week that he expected to treat the season finale as a regular game, meaning the starters were expected to play instead of rest. The Bills are locked into a wild-card spot after last week’s loss to the Eagles, but they could finish anywhere from the No. 5 to the No. 7 spot depending on the outcome of their game and other AFC playoff teams.
Josh Allen Has Big Record on the Line
Allen ended last week’s game with 39 total touchdowns for the year, leaving him one score shy of tying Aaron Rodgers for the most 40-touchdown seasons in NFL history. Allen already holds the record for consecutive 40-touchdown seasons and can add to that record as well if he finds the endzone at least once in the season finale.
Allen is also trying to maintain his record for consecutive starts among active quarterbacks. The Bills found a way to keep that record intact in last year’s meaningless season finale, with Allen taking the first snap of the game before heading to the bench in favor of backup Mitch Trubisky.
The Bills have several other injured players heading into their final regular-season game. Several others missed practice on Thursday, including linebacker Terrel Bernard, defensive end Joey Bosa, fullback Reggie Gilliam, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, and safety Jordan Poyer.
The Bills saw signs of improvement for tight end Dalton Kincaid, who missed last week’s game but was able to practice on a limited basis on Thursday. Kicker Matt Prater, who missed the last two games with a quad injury, has been able to return to practice in full and is expected to return to the starting lineup.
Bills Get Key Update on Josh Allen After Injury Scare