Bills' C.J. Gardner-Johnson's 1 Game Suspension for Spitting Stands After Appeal

Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson's one-game suspension for spitting at Las Vegas Raiders players in Week 6's game has been upheld by appeals hearing officer Jordy Nelson,

Gardner-Johnson is one of two Bills players who were suspended for spitting during the road game against the Raiders. Defensive back and special teams captain Sam Franklin Jr. was also suspended for one game. Franklin denied spitting in a post to his Instagram Story on Wednesday and has also appealed his suspension.

Gardner-Johnson will miss the Bills' Week 8 game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo is on a bye this week.

Bills coach Joe Brady said Monday that there'll be no further punishment for Gardner-Johnson from the team beyond the league's suspension. Brady remained committed to Gardner-Johnson as a starter when he's eligible to return from suspension in Week 9.

Gardner-Johnson was ejected from Sunday's game after spitting in the direction of Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and center Tyler Linderbaum shortly before halftime. He apologized to his teammates after the Bills' 33-30 victory and said he needed to be a better veteran moving forward.

In his first season with the Bills, Gardner-Johnson has one interception and 17 solo tackles.

Buffalo is 5-1, and once again, Josh Allen looks like the best player in the NFL. The QB has 1,504 passing yards, nine passing touchdowns, 240 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.

Allen leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns. 

Against the Raiders, Allen went 23-of-33 through the air for 255 yards. He threw one touchdown and didn't throw an interception for the first time since Week 2. 

Midway through the third quarter of the Bills' 33-30 win over the Raiders, Allen showed why he's a once-in-a-generation player by juking and sidestepping defenders and leaping into contact to shovel-flick a ball 12 yards through the air into the wide-open arms of receiver Keon Coleman for a touchdown.

After the game, Allen admitted the pass wasn't a no-look flick. He said he knew Coleman was open and waiting, but after getting hit and spun around as he threw, Allen couldn't see whether the pass was completed.

With so many Bills fans speckling the crowd at the Raiders' Allegiant Stadium, Allen couldn't hear whether he'd thrown a touchdown.

"Once it comes out, you kind of get hit and tumble around," Allen said. "It's so hard in these away games which feel like home games. Once you hear the crowd go crazy, you're like, 'I don't know if it's a touchdown, and I don't know if it's an interception.'"

Allen wasn't the only Bills player who noticed the friendlier-than-normal road atmosphere. Running back James Cook III, who accounted for 153 scrimmage yards in the win, argues that Bills fans were a little louder than Raiders fans.

"This is what Buffalo fans do," Cook said. "Like I said, they always show up and show out. Coming from Buffalo or wherever they came from, just to show that they support us and care about us. It shows a lot of gratitude to those fans. I want to say thank you and we appreciate you guys."

Fans far outside of western New York are noticing Allen's exploits and so too are his teammates. Left tackle Dion Dawkins said he tries to numb himself to the excitement and awe that Allen's circus-act plays inspire, but in this case, Dawkins couldn't help but approach Allen the way a giddy fan would afterward.

"I went over to Josh and I said, 'I've been around you a while, bro, and I don't ever want to be like, 'Oh my God, Josh Allen you're the best! But you are him. You are Himothy,'" Dawkins said. "We're seeing it in real time."

Allen has 31,606 career passing yards, 229 career passing touchdowns, 4,961 career rushing yards and 87 career rushing touchdowns with the Bills. His starting record is 93-40-0.

Buffalo has been to the AFC Championship Game twice in the Allen era, losing to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs both times. 

We could see Allen face Mahomes again this year in the AFC Championship Game, as the Chiefs are 5-0 and Mahomes looks amazing after suffering a serious knee injury last season.