Getty Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen celebrate after a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
Josh Allen has a simple yet fitting name for the nearly unguardable route that Buffalo Bills teammate Stefon Diggs unleashed against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving.
Diggs and Allen connected for a five-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Bills a 17-0 lead over the Saints on Thursday night. On the play, Diggs showed off some elite footwork against three-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore, leaving him twisted around and unable to keep up with Diggs. Allen opened up about the route after the game, talking about how difficult it is for opposing cornerbacks to keep up with Diggs.
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Diggs Hard to Stop
Allen was asked about the route after the game, fielding a question about whether the two had given a name to the stop-and-start route that burned Lattimore.
“Diggs get open, basically,” Allen answered, via USA Today’s Bills Wire.
Allen went on to say that it’s almost impossible for defenders to keep up with Diggs, who is a master at putting opposing cornerbacks on their heels.
“He’s a route technician, I think everybody knows that,” Allen said. “I don’t know what you’re supposed to do when you’re out there with him because one he’s very smart with the way he sets you up, the quickness and the speed out of his cuts it’s pretty unbelievable so I saw him open and I just tried to get it to him as quickly as possible before he got out too wide,”
Cooked him. 👨🍳
📺: @nbc
Diggs on Pace for History
The win over the Saints marked the third consecutive game that Allen connected to Diggs for a touchdown pass. The All-Pro wide receiver now has seven touchdown grabs for the season, tied with tight end Dawson Knox for the team lead. Both are on pace to beat the franchise record of 11 touchdown catches.
Stefon Diggs receiving this season
🎯 99 targets
🎯 1 drop
The impact for Diggs stretches beyond receptions and yards alone this season. Though he leads the team with 67 catches for 847 yards this season, there have been games where fellow pass-catchers Emmanuel Sanders or Knox become the top targets for Allen.
Diggs said he’s not getting down about the lack of targets, instead trying to contribute to the offense in other ways.
“But for me, I just try to be a good teammate, I try to have the right approach and still be that positivity regardless if I have the ball in my hands and find other ways to try to impact the game,” Diggs said following the team’s 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, via SI.com. ‘I know it’s pretty hard, but whether it’s throwing a block here or being an encouragement, helping my O-line or being there for them — but as far as not being a target, I can’t control it too much and I just try to do my job and hopefully just let the chips fall where they lay. But as far as I can contribute, I’m doing the best that I can.”
The Bills could need more All-Pro performances from Diggs over the final stretch of the season. The surging New England Patriots have tied the Bills atop the AFC East, with two games between the rivals still ahead, starting with a Monday Night Football matchup in Buffalo on December 6.
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