Josh Allen has been dealing with a left-hand injury all season. However, it appears his throwing hand also took the same damage in the fourth quarter of the team’s Week 16 contest vs. the New England Patriots.
Below are the latest updates on the condition of the MVP favorite.
What Happened to Josh Allen?
Allen hasn’t actually missed any time, so it’s not accurate to call him injured based on the current information. However, the game broadcast captured Allen shaking his right hand repeatedly.
Josh Allen #bills
The shaking of his hand is common after a nerve palsy, looking at the video he may have hit his ulnar nerve (funny bone) which would affect grip strength. Often this is short term pic.twitter.com/dfhFcxjjY5
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) December 22, 2024
The good news is that this doesn’t appear to be a significant issue. Allen was seen with trainers on the sideline but didn’t exit to the blue medical tent or locker room.
After the game, Allen spoke to sideline reporter Evan Washburn and said that he took a helmet to the funny bone, which can cause temporary loss of feeling and would make sense with the video of Allen shaking his right hand repeatedly.
"Got a helmet to the funny bone. I went to throw the next one, and I had no feeling in the hand. Came out a little wobbly."
– Josh Allen to @EvanWashburn on what happened to his throwing hand pic.twitter.com/bA312VmkU9
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 23, 2024
This appears unrelated to his pre-existing injury. Saturday brought a report that Allen has played through a fractured left hand that he hurt back in the season-opener vs. the Arizona Cardinals.
Allen is the MVP favorite entering Week 16, and for good reason. The Bills quarterback ranks second in PFN’s QB+ metric for the season (93.2) behind only Lamar Jackson.
Allen’s recent run leading up to Sunday has been particularly impressive. Over the last four weeks, he ranked first in the league in QB+. His 0.24 EPA/DB and 5.0 TD/INT both rank third in the league. If we break down his performance into that from a clean pocket and when pressured, he ranks fourth from a clean pocket and third under pressure this season.
Potential Fantasy Fallout From Allen’s Injury
Analysis via PFN’s Kyle Soppe
The injury to Allen is worth monitoring, but given how he plays, this is nothing new. James Cook is having a great season, and it’s possible that he soaks up some additional volume, but you’re starting him weekly regardless.
The structure of this offense makes it tough to count on any receiver, and that would certainly continue to be the case if Allen were to be limited and/or miss time. It’s Allen (when active) and Cook that you can lock in with the pass catchers more being in-case-of-emergency options.