Jets fans shouldn't be fooled by the latest Josh Allen injury update

The New York Jets are preparing for what, for all intents and purposes, should be viewed as a must-lose game against the Buffalo Bills in the team's regular-season finale on Sunday. The organization is well aware of that fact, too.

While the collection of players and coaches on the field for Week 18 will undoubtedly be trying their hardest to win, the Jets know that an upset victory could see the team fall as far as the seventh pick in this year's draft. Their personnel decisions over the last couple of weeks prove that they know what is at stake.

That's why many Jets fans were quick to celebrate when it was revealed on Friday that Bills star quarterback Josh Allen was off the injury report and good to go for Sunday's game.

Allen had missed the last two days of practice with a foot injury before returning in a limited capacity on Friday. But while he may not have an injury designation and is expected to start, that doesn't mean Jets fans should expect to see much of him this weekend.

Jets fans should not expect Josh Allen to actually play in Week 18

Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Friday that Allen "should be good to go for the game," but declined to elaborate on how much his quarterback will actually play. However, it's not hard to read between the lines here.

It's an eerily similar situation to what the Bills did with Allen last season. The four-time Pro Bowler took the field for the first snap of the game, handed the ball off to running back James Cook, and was then immediately replaced by backup Mitch Trubisky in a Week 18 game against the New England Patriots.

The goal was to extend Allen's active starts streak alive, which now stands at an NFL-best 121 games. Expect the Bills to employ a similar strategy with their quarterback on Sunday.

The Bills could allow Josh Allen to play an entire drive in hopes of reaching another milestone. Allen has 39 total touchdowns this season (25 passing, 14 rushing), and one more would make him just the second quarterback in NFL history to record six seasons with 40 or more total touchdowns, tying Aaron Rodgers.

That would technically carry some injury risk, but this is also the Jets’ defense we’re talking about. It’s hard to imagine Allen even taking a hit if he were to play a single drive. Are the Bills really afraid of Braiden McGregor and Eric Watts?

Either way, Sunday’s finale is shaping up to be a highly anticipated Mitch Trubisky–Brady Cook showdown, with a top-three pick in the NFL Draft on the line for the Jets and wild-card seeding at stake for the Bills.

The good news for Jets fans rooting for the tank is that Trubisky should still have no problem dicing up a secondary led by Ja'Sir Taylor, Tre Brown, and Jordan Clark. Just don’t expect to see Josh Allen for more than a ceremonial snap or two on Sunday.