AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

Bills QB Josh Allen recognizes his mistakes and is willing to shoulder the blame for the team’s loss to the Jets on Sunday.

“It’s tough to win in this league when you’re playing a good team and your quarterback plays like s—,” Allen said, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “Made some bad decisions tonight, really cost our team. A lot to learn from, a lot to grow from. But that’s not, that’s not the standard we hold ourselves to. That’s not the ball that we play. So, a lot to look at, a lot to learn from.”

Bills players like WR Stefon Diggs, TE Dawson Knox, and C Mitch Morse are still standing firmly behind the play of their star quarterback.

“[Allen] makes a lot of plays out there,” Diggs said. “So, rallying behind him at a time like this — I mean, turnovers are gonna happen. You hate ’em, but s— does happen. … He didn’t play like s— at all. He had a couple of bad plays. What’s a couple of bad plays to 30, or 40 good ones? He made some good throws. And we’ve just to continue to build off of it. Stay positive. I’m big on affirmations and positive energy. My quarterback is the best quarterback. He’s gonna come out on top, shake that.”

“I mean, obviously, there are some plays that he wants back,” Knox said. “But I mean, he had a couple rushing touchdowns, he made some incredible plays with his legs, had some incredible passes that ended up getting called back, but we got his back through thick and thin. There’s no one in the league we would want more than that guy.”

“They definitely gave their best effort, and we didn’t match,” Morse said. “And that’s on the scorecard. So, we’ll have to come back and no panic, but we have to look at this constructively, accept the criticism, be a pro about it, see where we can get better, and then march on.”

• Ian Rapoport reports that Bills QB Josh Allen could be limited this week due to an elbow injury and will undergo further testing to determine the exact issue.
• According to Chris Mortensen, Allen is being evaluated for an elbow injury to his ulnar collateral ligament and related nerves.
• Ian Rapoport reports that Bills DE Gregory Rousseau suffered an ankle sprain against the Jets and is currently considered week-to-week.
• Bills HC Sean McDermott said the team will know more about QB Josh Allen‘s injury in the next 24 hours and that he will provide an update on Wednesday. (Jay Skurski)
• McDermott on Allen: “We all know Josh and how competitive he is. He loves competing out there with his teammates. I would never count him out. The medical piece we’re still evaluating. I’ll know more tomorrow and update you Wednesday.” (Chris Brown)
• McDermott said that CB Tre’Davious White is still day-to-day. (Alaina Getzenberg)

Dolphins

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill believes HC Mike McDaniel has unlocked his true potential as a No. 1 receiver. 

“He just truly unlocked me to be a true No. 1 receiver,” Hill told Albert Breer. “If I had to choose any answer to pinpoint on what he has done for me in my career, he has truly turned me into a full receiver who really runs the full route tree. So teams really got to respect that. I’m breaking in, I’m breaking out. I’m breaking short, I’m going deep. It’s not a one-dimensional thing, man. So he’s able to put me off the ball, he’s able to put me on the ball, send me in motion, all kinds of gadget things to help me get open. I’m really thankful to just be in this situation.”

Hill added that it feels like they’re building a championship-caliber squad in Miami. 

“For this whole team, I’m looking at the guys right now, I’m on the plane and I’m just seeing how well all the guys get along,” Hill said. “There’s not a moment in our locker room where you see an individual player sitting alone or not talking to somebody, whether it’s about football or whether it’s about life. And to me, that’s why we all really get into sports, just to have that brotherhood, just to have that camaraderie with each other, man. Because that really is what builds true championship teams. So for me, everything was already here.”

Jets

Jets CB Sauce Gardner felt that he had no problem reading Bills QB Josh Allen during their Week 9 matchup.

“We were in a Cover 2 concept, to my side. The receiver got outside of me, and they had a running back there sat in front of me,” Gardner said, via Alaina Getzenberg. “It was a running back or receiver, I don’t know. I just, I felt like I had a feel for Josh Allen and the throws he likes to make.”

• Jeremy Fowler reports that Jets DT Sheldon Rankins suffered a dislocated elbow Sunday and could miss up to 4-6 weeks which includes the team’s bye week.
• Jets QB Zach Wilson commented on Elijah Moore‘s lack of receptions so far this season: “I would love to get E Moore the ball. For my situation, I’m going through the reads. I think that’s more of a question for the coaches. He’s a great player, so we’ll try to figure some stuff out to get him the ball.” (Zack Rosenblatt)