Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills into the playoffs with a 35-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, capping the victory with a piece of NFL history that caught the attention of Patrick Mahomes.
In the third quarter of a snowy game at Highmark Stadium, Allen threw a short pass to his left to Amari Cooper, who was about to be tackled with three 49ers players surrounding him.
But the wide receiver then sent the ball to his quarterback and Allen continued the run left and hit the pylon for a seven-yard touchdown.
“That was lit!” Chiefs quarterback Mahomes wrote X, with a crying emoji followed by two fire symbols.
Allen became only the fourth player in NFL history to have a passing and receiving touchdown on the same play, as he gave his team a 28–3 lead on the play.
Cooper caught a -2 yard pass, but with the lateral, Allen was credited with 7 receiving yards and the touchdown.
Josh Allen scored a historic touchdown on Sunday night as the Buffalo Bills defeated the 49ers
Allen’s exploits immediately drew some praise from his rival quarterback, Patrick Mahomes
The last time this happened was against Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in January 2018, when Marcus Mariota pulled it off in a wild-card game for the Tennessee Titans, who defeated Kansas City 22-21.
Mahomes was drafted by the Chiefs in 2017, but spent his rookie year as a backup to Alex Smith, who was playing for Kansas City that night as Mahomes watched from the sidelines.
The win for the Bills on Sunday night clinched their spot at the top of the AFC East and joined the Chiefs in the playoffs.
As for the 49ers, last year’s Super Bowl runners-up have everything to do to make the postseason.
The Bills loss leaves them in last place in the NFC West at 5-7. They’re just two wins away from that division’s leaders, the Seattle Seahawks, so hope isn’t over yet.
But Christian McCaffrey’s knee injury on Sunday night, which appears to have ended his season, makes things a lot more difficult.
The 49ers host the Chicago Bears in San Francisco this Sunday, while the Bills also head to California to take on the LA Rams.