Bills’ Dawson Knox stands by Josh Allen after latest playoff failure with epic ‘gladiator’ take

The Buffalo Bills suffered yet another disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and tight end Dawson Knox came out with a vehement defense of quarterback Josh Allen amid some of the criticism he has received since the loss.

“I pray that I get to spend the rest of my career playing with him,” Dawson Knox said, via James Palmer of NFL Network. “There’s not a single person on this team that wouldn’t say the same. Every game he’s got blood, cuts and bruises literally putting his body on the line every single play for all of us. He really is a warrior. A modern day gladiator.”

Josh Allen has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, but he receives criticism because he has not achieved the level of playoff success that many had expected him to have years ago. It is clear that Allen has the respect of Knox and his Bills teammates.

You could argue that Allen has done all he could to achieve playoff success. The infamous overtime loss to the Chiefs in the 2021 season was arguably Allen’s best game as a pro, but the Bills defense let up a lot of points, including a game-tying field goal drive after Allen threw a go-ahead touchdown to Gabe Davis with 13 seconds left.

During Sunday’s game, Allen threw many passes that could have been caught by Bills receivers, and he had the team in position to kick a tying field goal with under two minutes left, but Tyler Bass missed.

With Allen’s cap hit taking a big jump for next season, there is uncertainty about the Bills being able to contend. However, there is no uncertainty regarding Allen’s support from his teammates in the locker room.