Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to a comfortable 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round. The game was tight in the first half as the Bills led by just three points, but the AFC East team then scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to seal the win.
One awkward moment in the game went viral on social media. Early in the third quarter, Allen was furious with the referees after they didn’t call a defensive hold against the Broncos’ defense.
Bill Vinovich, the head referee, then came to the Bills’ sidelines to talk with Allen, and many assumed he was apologizing to the star quarterback.
Josh Allen Explains the Incident With Referee
It was quite shocking to see the referee talking to Allen right after the missed play, and the 28-year-old quarterback was asked about the incident after the game.
“I wasn’t happy with what was going on, and I was yelling a little bit,” said Allen. “He [referee] just said, ‘Don’t be yelling,’ So my bad, sorry to Bill.”
The reporter then further asked Allen, “Did he [referee] apologize?” to which the Bills star responded, “I won’t say anything about that.”
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There have been instances during the season when the Bills quarterback got a favorable call from the refs, which is why his conversation with the head referee was a topic of discussion.
Allen made the right decision not to disclose the details of his conversation with Vinovich. He apologized to the referees in front of the media, but there were various conventions among the fans about the incident on social media.
Allen Can Make a Big Statement in Divisional Round
The Bills quarterback improved to 6-5 in the playoffs with the win against the Broncos. He went 20/26 passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns against Denver while completing 76.9% of his throws with a passer rating of 135.4.
Buffalo will face the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round, and it is a huge matchup for various reasons. Lamar Jackson was recently named first-team All-Pro quarterback, and he could win the MVP award over Allen, who was viewed as the front-runner for the award for several weeks.
Next week, Allen will have an opportunity to showcase to the world why he is better than the Ravens quarterback. Jackson led Baltimore to a 28-14 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wild Card Weekend. Both MVP candidates played quite well in their first playoff games of this season and will be ready to battle it out to take their teams to the AFC Championship Game.
Allen and Jackson have played each other once in the playoffs. The Bills won 17–3 in the Divisional Round in 2021. The Ravens quarterback didn’t play well in that game, throwing for 162 yards and an interception (a pick-six) before suffering a concussion in the third quarter.
Allen didn’t have an outstanding game either, but he did enough to lead his team to a win.
The two quarterbacks have improved massively since then, and Jackson has an opportunity to revenge the loss after four years.
Both are motivated to win, but if Allen wins and takes the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, it will be quite uncomfortable for Jackson to collect his third MVP award after getting sent home early again in the playoffs.