The Buffalo Bills are coming off one of their more underwhelming regular seasons this year. Thanks to the ascent of the New England Patriots, they could not walk away as divisional leaders. Instead, they were going on the road in the Wild Card round to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A back-and-forth first half saw neither team take complete control of the encounter. However, for the road team, the game came at a heavy price, with multiple injuries racking up for their MVP, Josh Allen. As a result, some believed his backup, Mitchell Trubisky, could get some burn in the game.
Who Is Mitchell Trubisky?
Currently serving as the backup in Buffalo, Trubisky began his football career in Ohio before taking his talents to the University of North Carolina for his collegiate career. In the program, he served as a backup for his first two seasons before finally donning the starting role in 2016.
Starting all 13 games, he threw for 3,748 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, while costing his team just six interceptions. Making his way to the NFL, he was a highly touted prospect who struck the fancy of the Chicago Bears, who selected him with the second overall pick in 2017.
Unfortunately, his four seasons with the Bears were marred by inconsistent play and a generally underwhelming stint throughout. As a result, the team did not extend his contract beyond his rookie deal, as he ultimately signed with the Bills in 2021.
However, he mostly served in a backup capacity for Buffalo and the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he remained for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Finally, in 2024, Trubisky chose to re-sign with the Bills, this time on a two-year deal.
Still in a backup capacity, the majority of his snaps have come when Allen is out of the lineup, either in blowout victories or his patented one-snap outings in Week 18 of the regular season.
For his career, the veteran quarterback has 13,028 passing yards for 78 touchdowns and 48 interceptions in 57 starts.
Injuries Mounting for Josh Allen
Coming into the game with lingering issues in his foot already, a scramble from Allen saw him come away looking worse for wear, leading to a trip to the medical tent. Unfortunately, the injury concerns were only just beginning for the superstar dual-threat quarterback.
In the second quarter, on an absolute dime to Keon Coleman down the right sideline, Allen’s hand hit his offensive tackle’s helmet on the release. Immediately clutching his fingers, it was clear that he was in a world of pain.
But Buffalo remained undeterred, getting into the end zone on a designed run for Allen, which got them their first touchdown of the night and put them up 10-7 going into halftime. Unfortunately, that score also came at a cost to the reigning league MVP.
“Josh Allen with a quick stop in the medical tent after his left knee/leg got caught underneath pile after rushing TD,” wrote NFL insider Cameron Wolfe on X. “But looks OK now sitting on bench. Allen came in less than 100% with foot injury and he’s getting banged up once again. But no chance he’s coming out of game.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
