Getty Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen celebrate a touchdown against the New York Jets.
After what would have been a spectacular touchdown toss and catch was ruled out of bounds, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs was confident that he and Josh Allen could re-create the magic.
Diggs had a breakout game in Buffalo’s 45-17 win over the New York Jets on November 14, catching 8 passes for a season-best 162 yards. But the most important snag of all may have been the one immediately following his near-touchdown, where his confidence in Allen would pay off.
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Diggs Calls His Shot
The Buffalo Bills wide receiver revealed to reporters on Wednesday that it was not his fault he couldn’t get both feet inbounds on a fade to the endzone late in the first half against the New York Jets. Diggs said he knew they could run the same play back again and get it right, and said he immediately brought the idea to Allen in the huddle.
Allen didn’t need much convincing.
“I said throw it again,” Diggs said, via Thad Brown of WROC-TV. “He said, ‘I was already going back to you.’ ”
The replay worked, with Allen finding Diggs in the same exact spot with a nearly identical throw, only this time close enough to the boundary that Diggs was able to twist around and get both feet down for an acrobatic touchdown. The score put the Bills up 17-3.
Allen To Diggs …. Touchdown!
It was something of a breakout game for Diggs, who has seen his share of targets split up more this season between Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley. His 162 yards were not only a season-best, but the highest total of his career with Buffalo. Peter King of Pro Football Talk named Diggs one of the offensive players of the week for the effort.
“Entering Sunday’s redemption game at the Meadowlands, Diggs was averaging two catches and 22 yards less per game than in his all-pro season of 2020. Diggs had but one 100-yard receiving game in his first eight games,” King wrote. “So he, Josh Allen and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did something about that in the 45-17 rout of the Jets. He caught eight passes for 162 yards and a TD, leading the Bills to scores on seven of their 11 drives. Smart for the Bills to focus on Diggs against the weak Jets’ secondary.”
Diggs Fuels Big Win
Coming off a shocking 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bills were looking to bounce back against their divisional foes and keep pace with the surging New England Patriots. While Diggs may have led the way on offense, a number of other players made key contributions, with four different players scoring rushing touchdowns.
The defense was just as tenacious, forcing five turnovers including four interceptions from quarterback Mike White. Levi Wallace, who snagged one of the interceptions, said the defense wanted to make up for the disappointing loss to the Jaguars.
“Having that bad taste in our mouth from last week, not performing to our standard, it kind of put a little more urgency in our preparation,” Wallace said, via The Associated Press. “We didn’t get enough turnovers last week to give the offense more opportunities.
“I think that was one of our main focus, trying to make the other team one-dimensional — make them throw the ball, which creates turnovers.”
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