Bills QB Josh Allen Could Face NFL Punishment for Incident in Patriots Loss
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen came under fire for a heated moment near the end of last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, and he could soon face NFL punishment for h
Allen was seen getting angry with a Patriots player in the closing minutes of last week’s 23-20 loss, directing some expletives toward a New England defender. While Allen wasn’t flagged for the play at the time, he could be in line for a fine under the league’s rules against taunting.
Josh Allen Came Under Criticism
Allen came under fire for the incident, where he was seen swearing at and taunting a Patriots defender after the Bills saw a late fourth-quarter drive stall out deep in New England territory. The Bills ended up getting a field goal to tie the game at 20-20, but the Patriots took the next drive for the game-winning field goal.
Many fans and reporters criticized Allen for the display, with some saying the league has a different standard for the Bills quarterback.
“If Mahomes did this, everyone would lose their mind but since Josh is such a loveable loser, it gets pushed aside with no one talking about it,” a fan shared in a post on X.
The NFL will announce fines for Week 5 on Saturday, with Allen potentially facing one. The league often issues fines for players even when no penalties were called — which is especially true of taunting. As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noted, the league handed out two fines in Week 1 for taunting that was not flagged for a penalty in the game.
“So five tauntings, but only three were called. If it’s obvious enough to be seen after the fact, it’s something the officials should be spotting in real time,” Florio wrote.
Allen has escaped punishment for some past incidents, including an apparent taunt toward the Miami Dolphins during Buffalo’s Week 3 win. After taking a late hit by the Dolphins that was flagged by referees, Allen appeared to point his finger like a gun — a celebration the league has outlawed. Though many expected Allen to be fined, the league ultimately decided he would face no punishment.
The Bills quarterback has been punished in the past, facing a $10,927 fine for taunting against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023.
Josh Allen Trying to Get Bills Back on Track
After suffering the team’s first loss of the season against the Patriots, Allen has vowed to bounce back against the Atlanta Falcons this week.
Allen said he has some extra motivation this week as Atlanta is one of only two opposing stadiums where he’s never visited.
“It’s pretty cool, it’s surreal. Still doing what I get to do and love what I’m doing. It’s a bucket list to visit all 32 as a kid, I guess this is a way to do that,” Allen said. “I believe Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco, and this one might be it.”
The Bills did face the 49ers on the road in the 2020 season, but a surge of Covid cases in Santa Clara County forced the game to be moved to Arizona.
is actions.
The San Francisco 49ers Just Hosted A Punter Tryout For A Very Unique Reason
Matthew Hayball punts against the Eagles on September 22, 2024.
On September 12, 2025, San Francisco 49ers insider Matt Maiocco reported the 49ers held a tryout with punter Matthew Hayball.
But that’s reportedly not because the 49ers are looking for a replacement for starting punter Thomas Morstead. They actually held the tryout for the benefit of 49ers wide receiver Skyy Moore.
The 49ers had a tryout today with left-footed punter Matthew Hayball (Vanderbilt). This was done to allow Skyy Moore to practice fielding punts from a lefty to get him more prepared for Saints punter Kai Kroeger.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 12, 2025
You see, on Sunday September 14, 2025, the 49ers are facing the New Orleans Saints. The Saints’ punter, Kai Kroeger, is a left-footed punter, and so is Hayball.
The 49ers wanted to get Moore some experience fielding punts from a left-footed punter ahead of the game on Saturday.
Interestingly enough, Hayball was also the Saints’ starting punter last season and spent all of the 2025 preseason with New Orleans as well.
The Saints just cut Hayball on August 6, 2025. Maybe the 49ers could take advantage of the fresh ending to that relationship and gain some special teams intel about the Saints too, about coaching and who Kroeger is as a player.
Moore Has Had Fumbling Issues In The Past
The 49ers are likely taking this opportunity to bring in Hayball because they want to put Moore in the best position to succeed.
The Kansas City Chiefs benched Moore as their punt returner back when he was a rookie in 2022 after he lost three fumbles. In his 49ers debut against the Seattle Seahawks, he muffed another punt, though he was able to recover it for no gain.
Moore’s speed and return ability has always made him a promising NFL player. He ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at the 2022 NFL Combine.
In his 49ers debut, he returned 5 kicks for 63 yards, a solid total. But the fumbling issues have made him difficult to trust, and they flared up again for the 49ers.
So the 49ers are taking every measure necessary to try and help Moore secure all of his returns against the Saints.
They are going to need to play mistake-free football to overcome all their injuries on offense and beat the Saints.
49ers’ Weird Punting Behavior This Season
The 49ers’ tryout with Matthew Hayball is just the latest in a string of weird punting moves they have made already this season.
Moving on from Mitch Wishnowsky and Pat O’Donnell and signing Thomas Morstead was a big change in and of itself.
But then out of nowhere, the Niners cut Morstead during final roster cuts.
The brief panic quickly subsided when insiders and fans found out that San Francisco was keeping Morstead around, they just needed to cut him as a procedural move to shift their roster around.
And now, on the same day the 49ers brought in Matthew Hayball, they are having long snapper Jon Weeks practice snapping directly to new kicker Eddy Pineiro just in case he ever needs to be the emergency punter.
49ers working on an emergency punter scenario: Jon Weeks snapping to Eddie Piñeiro instead of Thomas Morstead.
Reminds me of 2021 season Week 18, when Robbie Gould ended up punting for SF
It’s all odd. None of it clearly indicates that Morstead is injured or the 49ers are not satisfied with him. But if you’re Morstead, seeing all of these other people practice punting for the 49ers has to be odd.
Niners fans, do you think Skyy Moore will be a good punt returner for the 49ers? Are you confident that Morstead is healthy?
