How concerning is shoulder injury for Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen?

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen had two touchdowns in the first half of the team’s Thursday Night Football game — one on the ground and another to rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid — and had the Buffalo Bills leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-10 at half time in front of a home crowd at Highmark Stadium.

But at what cost have Allen’s theatrics come?

Allen was seen in the blue medical tent on the Bills’ sideline after his first touchdown of the night. While there was nothing significant about his 13-yard run that would send the franchise quarterback to the medical tent, before that scamper he had one that saw him take a fall on his already-injured right shoulder. After rolling out of bounds, Allen was seen rolling his shoulders.

Despite Allen’s backup, Kyle Allen, warming up on the sideline, after Buffalo’s defense forced the Buccaneers to settle for a field goal, QB17 came right back into the game, never missing a snap.

While a tipped pass resulted in an interception on Allen’s first play back on the field, it’s unlikely that it was the result of shoulder pain, instead looking more like a lack-of-awareness pass.

The Buccaneers scored on offense following that interception and then it was back to work for Allen. While he looked sharp and had some nice passes, including a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid, Allen was seen getting attention from Buffalo training staff, including head trainer Nate Breske and team doctor Dr. Fineberg following the touchdown throw.

Also noted was that while Allen made sure Kincaid got the football after his touchdown celebration, since it was the first of the rookie’s career, he didn’t raise his arm or give high-fives to teammates.

As the Bills took the field after halftime, the broadcast showed head coach Sean McDermott telling sideline reporters that Allen “is fine and he’s back in there.”

Before the clock hit zero for the night, Allen had another touchdown — a four-yard pass that was really closer to 25 air yards to wide receiver Gabe Davis — to give him a stat line that wouldn’t indicate any issues with his throwing arm: 31-of-40 for 324 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, with another 41 yards and a touchdown on seven rushes.

Josh Allen only had three days to manage the pain in his shoulder between Sunday’s loss and last night’s win, but now he’ll have a full ten days before he takes the field again. Allen said that he had hoped to take a few days away during the long week, but now he will be spending those extra days with the training staff.

Last night, Allen’s shoulder didn’t alter the outcome of the game. Will we be able to say the same thing a month from now?