CLEVELAND -- Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen walked alongside athletic trainers and into the locker room just before halftime of Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns. Missing from his right foot was a cleat, and his gait was accompanied by a noticeable limp.
But Allen was cleared to return and did not miss a single play after receiving an X-ray on the foot. Despite the Bills offense only scoring three points and not having a drive longer than 36 yards in the second half, Allen and the team pulled out a 23-20 win to improve to 11-4.
"Yeah, just tweaked my foot a little bit," Allen said after the game. "Just flamed up on me a little bit. Pain subsided, so we're good."
Allen did not have any support or anything additional on his foot in the postgame locker room.
"I don't have a follow-up yet from [head athletic trainer Nate Breske]," coach Sean McDermott said. "Josh seems like he's in good spirits in there. We'll see as we go. I'm sure they'll have further evaluations that they'll get to me."
The injury took place on a sack that was ultimately credited to both Browns defenders Myles Garrett and Alex Wright. On second-and-1 from the Buffalo 23 with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter, Allen dropped back but was pressured quickly and ran around, ultimately going backward to try and avoid Browns defenders before falling to the ground.
"I saw [Allen's] eyes get big when he saw me, so I knew he recognized who it was," Garrett said on the play. "So, he started to hightail the other way, and then he slipped, and then I slipped. So, I was thinking this could be the one to tie [the record] but ended up just a half [sack]."
Allen said he doesn't think the injury impacted his second-half performance. Allen had three rushing attempts for zero yards in the second half (compared to four carries for 17 yards in the first). He also completed 6-of-12 passes for 44 yards in the second half (compared to 6-of-7 for 86 yards in the first).
"Josh isn't one to lead on if he is [impacted by injury]. He's so tough, so competitive," McDermott said. "So, it's hard to tell what's really going on inside of that heartbeat of his. He just loves being out there with his teammates, so, looked like he threw the ball well, but outside of that, I don't have a great feel for where he's at right now because I just haven't had ... I visited with him shortly, but not long enough yet."
Allen, who has not missed time due to injury since his rookie year, took only two sacks in the game. He was helped by running back James Cook, who had 117 yards to take the league lead in rushing.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins also helped limit Garrett despite missing two practices and losing 14 pounds from the flu during the week. Garrett lined up on the left side on 18 of his 22 pass rushes and was held to one pressure and a half a sack when facing Dawkins.
"We feel like we're in playoff mode now, and it's just find a way to win a football game," Allen said. "It obviously wasn't the prettiest way we can win. Got some stuff to clean up, but we'll take a victory."