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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was taken out of the game against the Houston Texans on Sunday after appearing to suffer a head injury. In an odd sequence of events, he was given smelling salts and then put back into the game. He was cleared of a possible concussion and didn't appear on the Bills' injury report for a concussion subsequently.
However, there's been plenty of discussion about the Bills bungling the situation -- or ignoring the injury -- to return him to the game. It was an odd sequence of events.
So did he suffer a concussion on Sunday? Will he play in Week 6?
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Did Josh Allen Get A Concussion On Sunday?
Yes. The part where he slammed his head into the turf, his body fell limp, and he was rolled over onto his back by Bills staff with his arms still flopping around before waking up was the part where he got the concussion. He was knocked out cold. Brain trauma of this nature would've ended a boxing fight.
Allen was clearly concussed. When they rolled him on his back he’s unconscious, eyes closed, wrists limp. Wild they allowed him back in the game. pic.twitter.com/tXphKY2Noh
— The Curse of the Tequesta (@CurseOfTequesta) October 6, 2024
Any blow to the head that leads to "putting your lights out" is, by definition, a concussion. The NFL's concussion protocols are easily gamed, and it's common knowledge that players have an incentive to fudge their baseline tests so they can pass them while being actively concussed. Some concussion symptoms also don't appear immediately.
The symptom of being unconscious was somehow ignored by the Bills, presumably because they thought they could pull a fast one and escape with a win (spoiler: they didn't).
Will Josh Allen Play In Week 6?
The face of the Bills franchise is not in concussion protocol and was never listed as having a concussion on the injury report. It seems like the team has found an odd loophole for concussion protocol -- if the player wakes up, give him some smelling salts and send him back out there.
If they let Josh Allen back into the game after he clearly smashed his head on the turf then the entire concussion process is flawed. He looked like he was out https://t.co/dOVnvTL8xG
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) October 6, 2024
It appears that he's on track to play in Week 6. The Bills seem utterly unconcerned with his long-term health and safety. Allen has a history of slamming his head into the turf and showing concussion symptoms. Most recently (before Week 5), he "had his bell rung" in Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens. You can see him lying motionless after the hit.
.@KVN_03 knocks the ball out of Josh Allen's hand and the @Ravens recover!
📺: #BUFvsBAL on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1Q0xIZbyzs— NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2024
So while he'll probably play in Week 6, it's reasonable to expect a degradation of play after he suffered two significant brain injuries two weeks in a row. Allen completed just 30% of his passes in Week 5. It's possible he continues to suffer concussions and the team continues to refuse to put him in concussion protocol as well.
It's not a great situation, but he's still a must-start any week he plays.
