Josh Allen Proves He’s Still a Cheat Code

Josh Allen and the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills earned their first road win in the NFL playoffs since 1992 when they beat the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 in the wild-card round on Sunday. They advanced to take on the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos on the road in the AFC divisional round on Saturday.

Allen led the banged-up Bills to victory with a standout performance. He completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, adding 11 carries for 33 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Bills quarterback had to do a lot of heavy lifting because his group of offensive playmakers keeps shrinking. Wide receiver Joshua Palmer was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, followed by wideouts Tyrell Shavers and Gabe Davis sustaining injuries during the Jaguars game.

Shavers returned to the game, but Davis had to be carted off after a gruesome knee injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. On Monday morning, the outlook for Davis for the rest of the playoffs looked bleak.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Davis’ knee was so swollen that the Bills had trouble initially diagnosing his injury. CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, who covered the Bills-Jaguars game, suggested that Allen will be without his veteran wideout for the rest of the postseason.

Davis got an MRI on Monday, and Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed that he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee.

Davis tried to stay positive in on social media. After the game on Sunday, he posted a photo on his Instagram story in a large knee brace with the caption, “Appreciate everybody reaching out, we gone shake back.”

On Monday morning, he followed up with a photo without the brace on, showing the extreme swelling and bruising. “Nothin but a bit of a flesh wound,” joked the Bills receiver.

Davis had two catches for 14 yards against Jacksonville. He only played in six regular season games, but with Palmer out, he was up to the No. 5 WR on the depth chart for the playoffs.

The lack of pass-catchers for Allen showed against the Jaguars. No. 1 WR Khalil Shakir had 12 receptions for 82 yards, but no other player had more than five targets or three receptions.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid caught the lone passing touchdown from Allen, but concerns remain over the dwindling list of playmakers on the outside, especially without Davis for the rest of the season.

Considering the Broncos’ ability to limit Shakir with star cornerback Patrick Surtain II, finding a consistent second option will be crucial for Allen and the Bills offense if they hope to make their Super Bowl dreams a reality.