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We now know what happened to Brandon Allen.
Late in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Bengals’ quarterback suffered a bone bruise on his knee, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
#Bengals QB Brandon Allen -- who left today’s game against the #Cowboys -- suffered a bone bruise in his knee, source said. More tests Monday, but optimism he’ll be OK. Allen was 27-of-36 passing for 217 yards and a TD before the injury.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 14, 2020
The injury occurred during the Bengals’ first drive of the fourth quarter. Allen scrambled for three yards on a third-and-five when he was tackled by two Cowboys defenders short of the line to gain. Two plays later, Allen was hit from behind after completing a short pass to Samaje Perine.
Allen was consistently limping after those two plays, yet he was left out on the field to try and finish the drive. The offense would fail to convert on fourth down on the Cowboys’ 10-yard line thanks to an overthrow from Allen. It’s clear that Allen should’ve been taken out of the game as he was completely immobile and couldn’t put power behind any of his throws.
This was just Allen’s third start this season, but this is the second injury he’s had. He suffered a chest injury a week prior against the Miami Dolphins.
Considering the diagnosis, Allen very well could miss next Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and if he would rather let Ryan Finley take the hits against that defense, we wouldn’t blame him.