NFL Week 5: Josh Allen and smelling salts; a tale of two Kevins; and the return of the other Kelce

Who among us has been offered an ammonia inhalant to treat an ankle injury?

Anyone? Bueller? No?

Just Josh Allen?

The way the NFL treats head injuries is again under criticism from some football fans and doctors with large social media followings after what occurred Sunday in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s loss in Houston. Allen, the Bills quarterback trying to make a play on a third-and-long with just over 6 minutes remaining, was tackled by two defenders as he released an incomplete pass. And when you’re 6-foot-5, around 240 pounds, and moving quickly while being chased and hit by similarly sized humans, there is a lot of force crashing onto the playing field.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ 5 big questions for the season revisited: Jalen Hurts-Kellen Moore partnership has been a mixed bag

Slow-motion replays showed that a large chunk of that force clearly was shouldered by Allen’s head. Replays also appeared to show that Allen may have briefly been unconscious. Allen went into the medical tent and apparently was cleared to go back in the game. He told reporters afterward that he hurt his ankle but was also being evaluated for a head injury. He missed one play, but not before a staffer on the sideline offered Allen what looked a lot like smelling salts.

“I think there’s a lot of factors in play here,” Dr. Brian Sutterer, a sports medicine expert, explained in a video analysis of the incident. “If you look at this replay, though, I don’t know how you can argue, just watching it, that it didn’t look like Allen was unconscious.”

Allen wasn’t seen using the smelling salts after leaving the tent, but Sutterer questioned them being offered in the first place.

“The fact that your team is offering smelling salts to someone who came off the field after looking like they banged their head is all kinds of levels concerning,” Sutterer said. “It raises another level of concern in my mind that he was foggy in the head; they gave him the smelling salts to help wake him up.”

Sutterer said it was concerning because smelling salts “mask” the symptoms of a concussion.

“There’s just a lot of bad optics with this situation,” he said.

Another doctor, Jesse Morse, said Allen “could have suffered another concussion, which could have caused second impact syndrome, which can be deadly.”

And while Allen was not publicly diagnosed by the team with a concussion — the Bills said he was cleared to return to the game — the incident again highlighted the ongoing concerns about the NFL’s protocols and its history with head injuries.

The Inquirer last month published a story about players from the 1980 Eagles, some dealing with long-term effects from head injuries, struggling to get compensated through the NFL’s controversial concussion deal. At least three football-playing teenagers have died this year from suspected brain injuries. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another high-profile concussion during a prime-time game and wants to keep playing.

It is an issue that isn’t going away.

» READ MORE: After Tua Tagovailoa suffers another high-profile concussion, Eagles players grapple with football’s ‘give and take’

... that Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski, pride of St. Joseph’s Prep and recent coach of the year, doesn’t seem to be interested in benching Deshaun Watson to try to jump-start the offense of a Browns team that is scoring just 15.8 points per game — good for 30th in a 32-team league. The Browns might have one of the best backups in the league in Jameis Winston, but they’re in way too deep on Watson, whose $230 million guaranteed money is topped only by Dallas’ Dak Prescott, and whose 21.0 quarterback rating is the worst among the league’s starters.

Talk about a disaster ... and the perfect team for the 2-2 Eagles — who have a friendly schedule the rest of the way — to get at home after their bye week. If they can’t beat this team, with this quarterback, and this coach, who apparently won’t do the easiest thing in the playbook and simply try something different, then maybe they really are in trouble.

» READ MORE: Grading the Eagles: Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and the D-line need improvement

... is leading what may just be the best team in the NFL. That’s Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. While Cleveland’s Kevin won’t speak up and make a change, Minnesota’s Kevin appears to be the quarterback whisperer. Just ask Sam Darnold, whose 11 touchdown passes tie him with Baker Mayfield for second behind Joe Burrow (12). This is the same Darnold who threw nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 12 games during his final season with the Jets in 2020.

The Vikings, the last unbeaten in the NFC, have a balanced offensive attack and a stellar run defense. They have forced a league-high 11 interceptions after picking off Aaron Rodgers three times Sunday in London.

Are they the real deal? They’re rising up the power rankings. The Vikings are off this week, but they come out of their bye with a home game vs. their NFC North rivals to the east, Detroit. We’ll learn a lot then.

Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce has seemingly stolen little brother Travis’ spotlight. Travis dates megastar Taylor Swift and has three Super Bowl victories to his brother’s one. But Jason is everywhere right now, including tailgating with Chiefs fans on Monday, and in the early weeks of the NFL season, it was easy to forget that Travis was the one still, you know, playing in the NFL.

With his Kansas City team dealing with some injuries, Travis shined on Monday night. He had eight catches for 67 yards before halftime, upping his number of receptions on the year by more than 50%. He finished with nine for 70. He’s still without a touchdown on the year, but he has looked a lot more like his future Hall of Fame self over the least two weeks.

Did old friend Doug Pederson save his job with Jacksonville’s last-minute win over Indianapolis on Sunday? Pederson called a reporter’s inquiry into his job status “strange” after Pederson’s Jaguars started 0-4. It wasn’t strange. And it was certainly fair to wonder if he’d still be coaching the team when Jacksonville comes to visit Lincoln Financial Field on Nov. 3. ... Kirk Cousins won’t win any awards for his Swag Surfin’, but he wins the award for biggest eyebrow-raising performance after throwing for 509 yards and four scores in Atlanta’s wild 36-30 overtime win over Tampa Bay on Thursday. ... Which team is the bigger surprise so far, Minnesota or Washington? The vote here is Washington. The Commanders are now 4-1 and a game up on Dallas and 1½ games up on the Eagles in the NFC East. Their plus-40 scoring differential is good for third in the NFL. ... Speaking of surprises, are the 2024 Bengals cursed? It feels like they just keep finding ways to lose games. They’re now 1-4, with a minus-5 scoring differential, and have two road games (at the Giants, then the Browns) before hosting the Eagles on Oct. 27.