The Buffalo Bills managed to eke out a win against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, but they couldn’t escape some controversy surrounding the final play of the first half.
After the Dolphins scored a late touchdown to tie the game at 14-14, the Bills decided to take a knee and head into the half. Quarterback Josh Allen bobbled the exchange as he went down to take a knee, but referees blew the whistle and the Bills jogged off the field.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said he believes Allen may have fumbled the ball and said he would be raising the issue with the league.
this is a live ball Josh Allen tossed to the ref
watch it again
Dolphins Coach Wants Answers
Replay of the final play showed that Allen had difficulty holding onto the ball as he went to take a knee, then gained control and tossed the ball to the referee. A freeze-frame showed that Allen’s knee did touch the ground briefly after he regained control, but McDaniel said he believes it may have been a fumble.
“It was a great exercise in my mental discipline. I saw it. I knew what happened, and I also saw the whistle blow, and then I saw them run it in,” McDaniel told reporters on Friday. “So I ran in to prepare for the second half, knowing that he’d just fumbled, or I thought they did, at least.”
The Dolphins coach said he didn’t think it was worth asking referees at the time, knowing it would not be reversed and believing it would be a waste of energy before halftime.
“I’ll get mad on game day if I think whatever I’m getting mad at will have an effect on stuff moving forward,” he said. “Otherwise, I don’t think it’s appropriate for everyone to wait around while I have an adult temper tantrum. I ran inside and worked on the plays coming out of the half.”
Even if it had been a fumble, referees blew the whistle quickly as a Dolphins defender was closing in on Allen, apparently having seen the shaky exchange.
McDaniel said he eventually wants a full explanation from the NFL about how they saw the play.
“So, we’ll be in talks with the league. I haven’t gotten any feedback yet,” McDaniel said. “But live speed, it appeared to me that it was a fumble, with the assumption it was a clean center-quarterback exchange. But we’ll see how the league rules it.”
Josh Allen Takes Blame for Another Blunder
Though the Bills went into the game as double-digit favorites over the winless Dolphins, they struggled on defense and had some early mistakes on offense. That included a sack that Allen took on the team’s final full drive of the second half.
The Bills had a chance to take a 10-point lead, but kicker Matt Prater went wide right after Allen’s sack pushed the attempt to 39 yards.
“Just understand I can’t take a sack there and move us backwards,” Allen said after the game, via SI.com. “There’s a threshold where you’re close enough, sacks don’t really matter, but kind of in that mid-range, moving it back, it really puts our special teams in a tougher situation and that’s on me,” said Allen.
Mike McDaniel Questions Controversial Josh Allen Play in Bills Win