Panthers at Bills Storylines: Josh Allen to Start, but Will he Finish?

The injured quarterback may not have starting left tackle Dion Dawkins protecting his blind side.

Because the Buffalo Bills' margin for error is essentially down to zero, there really isn't much of a chance quarterback Josh Allen will miss his first start since 2018.

Barring a setback in his recovery from a foot sprain that features a turf toe condition, he'll start Sunday against the Carolina Panthers in a game the Bills (7-6) figure they have to win to make the playoffs for a third straight season.

Here are the three top storylines leading up to this matchup:

All eyes on Allen

As we mentioned, Allen is expected to start, but will he be able to finish if starting left tackle Dion Dawkins, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, can't play? After all, Allen's mobility won't be 100% because of the foot injury, and now he likely will be without his top blind-side protector.

The last thing the Bills need now is a more serious injury for Allen.

Even with Dawkins, the Bills could temporarily close the portion of the playbook that features designed runs by Allen, their most efficient ballcarrier by far.

Furthermore, their passing game may be adjusted for more screens and quick outs designed to literally keep deadly pass rushers Haason Reddick and Brian Burns off Allen's back.

The two have combined for 18.5 sacks, or just 4.5 less that the Bills have as a team.

Panthers QB du jour

Who's going to play? P.J. Walker? Cam Newton? Both?

Coach Matt Rhule said Newton will start but Walker will rotate in because Newton is still learning the system in his return to Carolina and has been turnover-prone while doing it.

By announcing that, Rhule forced the Bills to prepare for both, which is always more difficult.

On the other hand, the Panthers have been poor at that position all season no matter who is manning it. That includes original starter Sam Darnold, who is on the injured reserve list.

The three players have combined for 17 interceptions against just 11 TD passes, a 58.6 completion percentage and a 69.5 quarterback rating.

COVID-19 Alert

The virus is wreaking havoc with the NFL again, which means anything can happen at any time.

The Bills could wake up on Sunday to find that Allen or any combination of their other valued starters will have to sit because of a positive test, which is what happened to linebacker A.J. Klein right before the Bills' game against the Patriots on Dec. 6. He missed last week's game at Tampa too.

That goes for every team, though.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.