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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen wows fans by ‘playing rugby’ in NFL playoffs

Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills warms up prior to the NFL Match between Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 08, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

It seems that former Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit could slot into the Buffalo Bills’ backfield with a sense of familiarity after quarterback Josh Allen wowed fans by “playing rugby.”

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During the Bills’ divisional round matchup with Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs during the NFL playoffs, Allen sent social media into a frenzy just 30 seconds into the contest.

With their first offensive drive of the contest, the Bills needed some Josh Allen magic to retain possession as they prepared for a 3rd & 17. ‘Rugby’ was that magic.

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Allen, 27, ran the ball upfield before finding running back Ty Johnson with a backwards pass. It may not have been an underhand pass but rugby fans are praising the move.

This isn’t the first time that Allen has stunned fans with a rugby-like move against the Chiefs either. Another social media user was blown away by the quarterbacks’ hurdle in 2022.

That one video generated plenty of chatter online, too, with more than 350 reactions, 47 retweets and 19 comments.

Looking to avenge last year’s playoff loss to the Chiefs, who went on to win the Super Bowl, Allen has let his actions do the talking as the quarterback led the way for the Bills.

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Allen had completed all by five pass attempts during the opening half, which saw the Bills’ main man pass for 111 yards.

But Allen was especially impressive with the run game. Off only eight carries, the quarterback ran for 51 yards and two game-changing touchdowns. The Bills led 17-13 at half-time.

There’s no denying that plays like this make the Bills a perfect candidate to utilise Louis Rees-Zammitt’s skillset within the NFL.

The former Wales wing has been released from his rugby duties to pursue an opportunity with the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP).

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“Gloucester Rugby has been a huge part of my life. From the start at Hartpury College and my first professional rugby contract with Gloucester in 2020, to my Wales and Lions caps; the Club has been central to my development as a player, and I’m so grateful for their support,” Rees-Zammitt said.

“I will always be very proud of my time at Kingsholm and want to particularly thank the incredible fans who make the Club so special. Also, to my teammates, to George Skivington and Alex Brown, thank you for giving me such special memories and for supporting this next stage of my career.

“I have had the incredible honour of playing rugby for my country which, as a proud Welshman, I’ve never taken for granted. However, I believe that this is the right time for me to realise another professional goal of playing American football in the US. Those opportunities don’t come around very often.”

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2 Comments
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Leon 287 days ago

What a contrived article. that wasn’t a rugby style pass it just happened to be backwards.
yes i get it rugby players are going to try out NFL for a couple of season likely fail miserably because the system favours collage players over IPP regardsless of skill or impact and then go back to rugby but stop with the NFL articles for the sake of it

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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