In Houston on Sunday, Bills quarterback Josh Allen hit the ground hard in the fourth quarter, striking his head on the turf. After the game, Allen told reporters he rolled his ankle and that, while being evaluated in the medical tent, he was informed that he also needed to be evaluated for a concussion.
He was. And he was cleared to return.
He missed a punt, four offensive plays by the Texans, and one offensive play by the Bills.
The injury happened with 6:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. Allen returned with 3:36 to play. That’s two and a half minutes of game time missed. And, as we measured on the CBS broadcast, he missed six minutes and six seconds of actual time from the moment his head struck the ground to the moment he returned to the field.
It’s unclear when the concussion evaluation was initiated, if Allen’s version of the chain of events is accurate. The NFL nevertheless activated the evaluation process and cleared him.
The NFL’s doctors, both team-employed and unaffiliated, make the decision. The protocol has been developed and honed in the 15 years (to the month) since Congress called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith to Capitol Hill for testimony on their collective handling (and/or mishandling) of brain trauma.
Whether it takes two-and-half minutes of game time (or six minutes and six seconds of real time) to clear a player is irrelevant. Whether it takes one total play or five total plays or fifty total plays is irrelevant. The process, as developed and utilized by the NFL, controls the process of clearing players to return to play.
On Sunday for Allen, it took two-and-a-half minutes of game time, six minutes and six seconds of real time, a punt, four defensive plays, and one offensive play to be cleared to return.
