Bills quarterback Josh Allen took a helmet to the outside of his left knee with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 24-16 win over the Chargers and grimaced in pain, but he stayed in the game and played every snap. Cameras caught him limping and looking stiff afterward, and he was seen favoring the left knee in the locker room during the victory celebration. The Bills are 3-0 and host the Patriots next Sunday, so his status will be one of the biggest storylines of the week.
Our own, ProFootballDoc, went back through the film and believes Allen is "hurt, not injured." Dr. Chao noted that Allen's foot was not planted when he was struck, which lowers the risk of a significant MCL injury, and said this doesn't resemble the type of knee injury Jaxson Dart suffered. His read is a significant contusion on the outside of the knee near the iliotibial band, with expected soreness and swelling, some rehab, and no structural damage. He doesn't believe Allen will miss time, and thinks an MRI is possible but that Allen would probably wave it off.
Allen has a long track record of playing through pain, which Dr. Chao has pointed to before. In last season's wild card win over the Jaguars, he made two trips to the medical tent, including a concussion check, and banged up his right hand and left knee, yet finished 28-of-35 with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Dr. Chao used the same "hurt, not injured" language then. Allen also played through a fractured left hand late last season and picked up a right elbow contusion in a Week 16 win over New England.
ProFootballDoc also repeated a warning from the preseason: with Joe Brady calling plays and Allen given wide latitude to run, there's a risk of too much designed running exposing him to injury. He doesn't believe that happened here, but noted that Allen had another designed run on the drive after the hit. The real tell this week will be Allen's status on the Bills' injury report, and whether he's moving freely when practice opens.
