AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Drake Maye, Aaron Rodgers, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills QB Josh Allen had another monster game in the win in Week 13, including four touchdowns and a play where he was credited for two scores. Allen talked about how unique the lateral touchdown was and how it was elite improvisation from him and WR Amari Cooper.

“It’s got to be up there. I wish he got credited for something there, an assist or a passing touchdown,” Allen said, via John Wawrow of The Associated Press. “I just kind of chased the ball to be there and we made eye contact. … It was dope.”

Cooper admitted he was confused to see Allen right there but figured he was trying to get the ball back.

“I was wondering what he was doing over there,” Cooper said. “I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him.”

• Allen on his left hand injury: “Got hit in the not-so-funny bone. It was bad…I don’t know if anybody’s ever been hit that hard in the funny bone where it feels like your hand’s on fire. That’s what it felt like…just kind of had no feeling in my fingers for a few plays. Not fun.” (Alaina Getzenberg)

Jets

After another tough loss to fall to 3-9, rumors continue to swirl that Jets QB Aaron Rodgers is nearing the end of his career with the team. Rodgers blamed himself and the entire team for their struggles throughout the disappointing season.

“Well, there are 11 guys on the field,” Rodgers said, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “Sometimes it’s my fault. Definitely multiple times today. And then the details aren’t there in some other spots, too.”

Rodgers didn’t comment on his future with the team or how he would react if they decided to bench him.

“Yeah, I don’t know. We’ll figure that out when we have those conversations.”

“It’s a hypothetical. I’ll tell you after the fact if that happens.”

• Seattle DT Leonard Williams spoke on Rodgers missing an open receiver on his game-changing pick-six: “I think he’s an older guy, doesn’t want to take big hits like that anymore. So, sometimes if you feel the guy coming feel speed at him, he’s going to chuck it and duck. We had him a situation where Mike called a great call and it paid off.” (Ryan Dunleavy)
• Jets RB Breece Hall feels he lost the team the game in Week 13 against the Seahawks: “This year has been the most trying year of my life.” (Connor Hughes)

Patriots

It’s been hard for the Patriots to contain their excitement with the way first-round QB Drake Maye has played to start his career. However, one point of improvement that’s consistently come up is turnovers, as Maye has eight picks and five fumbles in eight starts. 

“It’s very easy to forget that he’s a rookie quarterback. What I will say is the one thing that he is definitely going to improve going forward is just the turnovers, and we can’t play that way. He understands that,” Patriots HC Jerod Mayo said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Patriots OC Alex Van Pelt added some turnovers are just going to be a part of Maye’s transition to the NFL and are to be expected with the learning curve. But he’s careful to make this area a point of emphasis to prevent bad habits from creeping in. 

“There are some mistakes he’ll make just from experience [and] he’ll get more reps in certain plays and understanding the concepts,” Van Pelt said. “But he continues to develop and does a really nice job. Just have to take care of the football.”

• Mayo said he wanted to use the final five games to evaluate OL Layden Robinson, Cole Strange, Caedan Wallace, and the receivers. (Andrew Callahan)
• Mayo talked about not challenging the catch by Colts TE Will Mallory late in the game: “Timeouts are definitely vital in those positions. We lost a challenge like that last week. We lost one to the 49ers and I would say this week, at least the one clip that I saw real quick, it was tough. It was for me as far as did he catch it, did he not catch it. I understand the question as far as momentum and things like that. At that point and time, it didn’t feel like we had a good enough view.” (Mark Daniels)
• Mayo also touched on the non-call on DT Christian Barmore on the final two-point conversion: “Look, they didn’t call it. I thought he got held. Watched the film and it’s pretty clear to me but it wasn’t called, so there are no excuses for me on that.” (Daniels)
• Patriots OL Vederian Lowe was fined $5,472 for Unnecessary Roughness (blindside block) in Week 12.