
Mike McDaniel plans to reach out to the NFL to discuss whether Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen properly took a knee before halftime against the Miami Dolphins or if the play should’ve been ruled as a fumble. The league is going to give him a very simple answer.
He was down…
First and foremost, Allen’s knee hit the turf on his second effort. Secondly, NFL rules allow for a player to give himself up without putting a knee to the ground.
Mike McDaniel is suspicious.
The play in question took place right before halftime on Thursday night. The Bills chose to let the clock run down to zero to head into the locker room with the game tied at 14.
However, Allen fumbled the snap when he tried to take a knee.
Nobody thought anything of it at first! Both teams went into their respective locker rooms at halftime.
A video on social media raised questions after the fact.
Did Allen’s knee ever hit the ground? It looks like he might’ve handed a live ball to the officials.
is it just me or was this not kneeled down??
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 19, 2025
this is a live ball Josh Allen tossed to the ref
watch it again pic.twitter.com/L0Zwxyk9i6
Mike McDaniel claims he saw it happen in real time. He took a mental note and moved on because he didn’t want to throw an adult temper tantrum.
“It was a great exercise in my mental discipline,” McDaniel said on Friday. “I saw it. I knew what happened. I also saw the whistle blow, and I saw them run in. I ran in to prepare for the second half knowing that he just fumbled — or I thought he did at least. We’ll be in talks with the league. Haven’t gotten any feedback yet. Live speed, it appeared to me that it was a fumble under the assumption that it was a clean center-quarterback exchange. We’ll see how the league rules it.”
The NFL did not provide any feedback for one main reason.
Josh Allen was down.
There are two ways to interpret this play. The first interpretation is simple.
It appears as though Allen missed the first kneel down because of the fumble. He recovered the ball and got down on the second effort, which is why the league lists the play as an “aborted fumble” on the official play-by-play.
Per NFL rules, an “aborted fumble” refers to a fumble that happens during a play that never fully developed, such as a botched snap, a mishandled handoff, or a fumbled snap by a punter. In these situations, the ball is live and can be recovered by either team, but since the ball carrier never had possession of the ball for a complete play, it’s classified as an aborted fumble.
The ball was live, yes. It was dead as soon as Allen’s knee hit the ground.

The second interpretation is equally as clear. NFL rules say a runner — in this case, Allen — can declare himself down by: “falling to the ground, or kneeling, and clearly making no immediate effort to advance.”
Josh Allen made no immediate effort to advance and took a knee. He was down.