The Buffalo Bills are in the AFC title game for the second time in the last five seasons. But if Josh Allen had been a bit more overzealous in a critical goal-to-go moment against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round last Sunday, Buffalo would probably be sitting at home right now.
Late in the fourth quarter of the Bills’ win, we saw Allen seemingly thinking about lateraling the ball to running back James Cook as he was getting tackled near the goal line. Now, Cook was pretty open, and he genuinely may have scored. The issue is that because Allen was sandwiched so much in a scrum, if he had tried the lateral, it might have turned into a costly fumble instead of ever getting the ball to Cook in the first place.
The Bills wound up kicking a field goal on the drive, and those points proved necessary when the Ravens and tight end Mark Andrews later failed on a must-have two-point conversion at the end of the game.
On Wednesday, Allen denied wanting to lateral it to Cook. Well, while smirking. The superstar quarterback clarified that a younger, less mature version of himself might have actually tried it, but the “good guy” on his right shoulder ended up talking him out of the chaotic decision.
That sound you hear right now is every Bills fan everywhere letting out the biggest sigh of relief:
I asked Josh Allen if he THOUGHT about pitching the ball BACK to James Cook in the game vs the Ravens
Josh Allen: "No."
*smirks*
Me: Would young Josh Allen have done that?
"He would have done it yes. It may have crossed the mind… I didn't do it"#BillsMafia @BuffaloPlus pic.twitter.com/KLuJsj00Yo
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) January 22, 2025
Even if Allen didn’t lateral the ball, let’s make one thing clear. He’s a wild boy for even considering it for a second. I can’t knock him too much, though. For one, he didn’t lateral it. That’s pretty straightforward. Good job.
For the other, this sort of adventurous, playmaking spirit has Allen and the Bills on the doorstep of the Super Bowl in the first place. And it’s really funny to think about. May Allen never change.
