ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen sat glumly at the postgame lectern, his mood resembling the dark clouds that hung over Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
Refusing to let on how sore his body might be after he was sacked five times and hit numerous others, Allen kept returning to the play that decided the Buffalo Bills' 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Allen came up short — a foot wide, actually — on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have won the game. With 5 seconds left, he sailed a pass just out of the reach of open receiver Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone.
“Yeah, I just missed. Rolling left, I’ve got to get him a better ball,” said Allen, who got the Bills into position for the winning 2-point try by rushing for two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.
“It just comes down to us executing, making one more play than they did. And obviously you saw that we didn’t make that last play,” he added, before correcting himself. “I didn’t make that last play.”
The loss only mattered in the playoff seedings for the Bills, who clinched a postseason spot a week earlier. Buffalo (11-5) dropped to the AFC’s No. 7 seed and handed the AFC East title to New England, ending the Bills' five-year run of winning the division.
What hurt Allen, who takes pride in carrying the franchise, was the feeling he let down his teammates, coaches and fans.
“We can learn a lot from this experience,” Allen said. “I’d rather have won and learned from that too, but again, I got to make a play.”
Allen made no excuses. Although he visited the X-ray room after the game, he dismissed questions about whether he was hurt. Coach Sean McDermott said those tests were negative.
“I’m good,” Allen said.
He said the right foot he hurt a week earlier in a 23-20 win at Cleveland and limited him in practice was not an issue.
“Zero,” he said after he finished 23 of 35 for 262 yards.
McDermott rallied to his quarterback’s defense.
“He’s the best quarterback in the league and I’d take him 1,000 out of 1,000 times to make that throw, and he’ll make it,” he said of the reigning MVP, who on Sunday became the NFL’s first player with 300 total touchdowns before turning 30.
McDermott’s only concern was Allen getting hurt, especially with the playoffs looming.
While acknowledging he was ready to pull Allen at the first hint of an injury, McDermott also noted how difficult it would have been to do so.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had my eyes on Josh. Just because of how important he is to us,” he said.
“But I also know who he is. And he’s as competitive as there is, and as good as there is,” McDermott added. “To get (number) 17 off the field, I’d have to wrestle him.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, right, and Philadelphia Eagles' Jalyx Hunt meet after an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (17) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen pauses during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks captain and center Nick Foligno returned to Chicago's lineup on Sunday, scoring his first goal of the season and taking three shots against Pittsburgh.
It wasn't nearly enough to help the struggling Blackhawks, who lost 7-3 after the Penguins scored on four of their first seven shots against Spencer Knight.
The 38-year-old Foligno seemed like his old self after missing 19 games with a left hand injury. But last-place Chicago came out flat a night after snapping a six-game losing streak in Dallas with a shootout win and lost for the ninth time in its last 11 (2-9-0).
Foligno has one goal and six assists in 16 games this season, his 19th in the NHL. He entered leading the Blackhawks with a 51.8 faceoff win percentage.
“I thought Fliggy played pretty good to be honest with you for a guy who missed significant time,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “He's just a really smart, strong player. He just knows how to play hockey. That's why he's played for such a long period of time.”
Foligno got Chicago on the board at 10:50 of the second period, cutting the Penguins lead to 4-1. Foligno was at the edge of crease when Colton Dach's shot struck him in the stomach. The puck dropped and Foligno flicked it between his legs with a backhander and past goalie Arturs Silovs.
It didn't swing the momentum, however. Justin Brazeau scored his second and third goals of the game for his first NHL hat trick minutes later to put the contest out of reach.
“I feel good,” Foligno said. "You just try to come back and make an impact. It stinks to be in a game like that tonight to be honest with you. You get amped to get back and then it kind of goes south really quick.
“I could care less about that (the goal)," he added.
With Foligno's return, the Blackhawks placed center Frank Nazar on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 20.
Foligno was hurt when he was struck by a shot in a 3-2 home win over Toronto on Nov. 15. Nazar was hit in the face with a shot by Senators defenseman Jordan Spence in a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20 and is expected to miss another three weeks.
Nazar, 21, is in his second full NHL season and has been emerging as one of Chicago's young stars. The Detroit native, drafted 13th overall in 2022, has six goals and 15 assists in 33 games to rank fourth on the Blackhawks with 21 points.
Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev missed a second game Sunday, following the birth of his daughter. Chicago leading scorer Connor Bedard remains sidelined until at least early January with an upper-body injury.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno, right, celebrates with center Sam Lafferty after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno, left, scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno, left, scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar (91) gets knocked down by Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly (44) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno (17) head butts a puck into the net during warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Seattle KrakenMonday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond, File)
