The Buffalo Bills might have to rely on the arm of Nathan Peterman if they’re going to come back against the Houston Texans. Late in the third quarter against Houston, Buffalo’s rookie quarterback, Josh Allen, was hit in the arm on back-to-back plays. Allen exited the game and has since been seen on the bench with a hat on, not appearing like he’ll come back in the game. The team has since announced that Allen’s return is questionable. Here’s the play that Allen was hurt on:<doc-sep>Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen left the field with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter. After taking successive hits while delivering a deep pass to rookie Kelvin Benjamin, looked to have a problem with his throwing arm. Allen played one more play but clutched his arm after missing a throw, and was replaced by second year passer Nathan Peterman. Third string quarterback Derek Anderson is inactive today. Allen’s being evaluated on the sidelines, and we’ll keep this updated with future updates about the injury. Update 3:09 PM: Allen has an elbow injury and is questionable to return to the game. Update 3:13 PM: Per a former team doctor, Allen may have avoided structural damage with his elbow injury, but the pain might keep him off the field for the rest of the day.<doc-sep>Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen suffered an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow Sunday against the Houston Texans that forced him out of the game, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports. Josh Allen's injury is to ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, per @mortreport. It’s not considered major, but MRI will be sent to Dr. James Andrews for second opinion. Titans QB Marcus Mariota's week one elbow injury also considered UCL-related. He missed two starts. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 16, 2018 Allen's reported injury is similar to the one Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered early this season that cost him two starts. Mariota's injury was considered to be UCL-related. After Allen left Sunday's game against the Texans criticized backup quarterback Nathan Peterman entered the game and cost the Bills with an interception on the fourth quarter that was returned for a touchdown. Peterman did throw one touchdown pass but it was overshadowed by his two interceptions and it led to questions Monday directed to Buffalo coach Sean McDermott about where Peterman stands after another bad performance. McDermott said he remains confident in Peterman. "I'm confident in every football player on our team and with respect to Nate, it's no different," McDermott said. "I know he had some good plays yesterday and I know there were some plays he'd like to have back. I'm confident in every football player on our team." While the trainers were working on Josh Allen yesterday, someone tripped a nerve that really stung the rookie. Never seen a player sent to his knees in pain on the sideline during an examination. Clearly, whatever happened to his elbow didn't tickle. #Bills #Billsmafia pic.twitter.com/qT2lUM684A — Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) October 15, 2018 The Bills signed veteran backup Derek Anderson last week to be a mentor for Allen while he develops in his rookie season. But after Peterman's struggles Anderson may be called upon to play. That may depend on how quickly he's able to get up to speed. McDermott said Anderson is still a work in progress and getting up to speed on the system and it may be a long shot for him to be ready for Sunday. McDermott said at this point he hasn't ruled out any of the three quarterbacks for Sunday. "I think the newness, whether it's the offense to some extent, whether it's the players he'd be working with. There's just familiarity and you build trust over a course of reps together, and so on and so forth," McDermott said of the challenges facing Anderson coming in after the season started.<doc-sep>HOUSTON -- Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen suffered an elbow injury in the third quarter of Sunday's 20-13 loss to the Houston Texans and did not return. He was replaced by Nathan Peterman, who led the Bills on a go-ahead touchdown drive before throwing an interception that was returned by Houston for the game-winning score with less than two minutes remaining. Peterman was intercepted again on Buffalo's ensuing possession. Peterman chalked up his pick-six, returned 28 yards by Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, to being "just a bad decision" on a short pass toward the sideline intended for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin. "It's something I'm going to learn from," Peterman said. "Critical time. I just thought there was so many lessons for me to learn and get better from." Peterman has appeared in seven games, including the AFC wild-card playoff loss last season, since he was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. He has thrown 10 interceptions in those games, including five in the first half of his starting debut in November, and two before he was benched for Allen in last month's regular-season opener. "We got to have more respect for the football," coach Sean McDermott said of Peterman's two interceptions Sunday. "I thought he tried to force the football in those situations. You can't do that. You have to take what the defense gives you." Peterman completed six of 12 passes for 61 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zay Jones early in the fourth quarter. Allen, the No. 7 overall pick in April's draft, was hit in his right elbow by Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus after releasing a pass on what became a 39-yard completion to Benjamin. Allen shook his right hand as he ran to the huddle after the completion, remaining in the game to throw an incompletion on the next play. Allen then took a knee and was walked to the sideline by trainers. He remained on the bench but did not re-enter the contest. Allen did not speak to reporters after the game. McDermott said Allen's injury was being evaluated. Peterman was active as the Bills' backup quarterback Sunday over veteran Derek Anderson, whom the team signed last week.<doc-sep>
The Buffalo Bills lost quarterback Josh Allen during their 20-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday. Allen was hit on back-to-back plays, one of which included Allen being hit in his right elbow with a defender’s helmet. Allen’s exit is concerning because the team is hoping he’s the future at the team’s most important position. He’s struggling right now, but the plan is for him to thrive in the future. It’ll be hard to do so if he can’t grip the football. That might be the issue currently with Allen. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier Monday that the fear in Allen is similar to the fear Marcus Mariota had earlier this year with an elbow injury. The Tennessee Titans’ quarterback had trouble even holding everyday items and starting his car. Fears even reached that of career ending in the Titans camp briefly, but thankfully things were OK a short time later. On Sunday when Allen left the game, WHAM13-TV caught Allen on the sideline on video being examined. It appears that Allen might have some sort of nerve damage in his elbow after taking a hit. Here’s the video of Allen being examined: While the trainers were working on Josh Allen yesterday, someone tripped a nerve that really stung the rookie. Never seen a player sent to his knees in pain on the sideline during an examination. Clearly, whatever happened to his elbow didn't tickle. #Bills #Billsmafia pic.twitter.com/qT2lUM684A — Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) October 15, 2018 Allen dropping to his knees is not a good sign for the 22-year-old, but hopefully in the coming days Allen will improve. On Monday, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott labeled Allen as “week-to-week,” so it’s unlikely he plays in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. The next update on Allen will come on Wednesday as the team has Tuesday off.