Getty Stefon Diggs looks on during a Buffalo Bills game.
Aviral video of a questionable hit on Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs is adding a bit more fuel to the rivalry with the New England Patriots.
The video appeared to show Patriots safety Adrian Phillips hitting Diggs with a knee and then kicking his head after a play, sparking anger among Bills fans and calls for the league to punish the Patriots player. The game had some other heated moments, leading to some likely fines from the NFL.
Bills Fans Angry With Incident
The hit took place with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter of Buffalo’s 24-10 win over the Patriots on December 1. After Diggs caught a 19-yard pass from quarterback Josh Allen, Phillips first appeared to dig a knee into the Bills receiver’s side as he was pulling himself off the ground and then kick Diggs in the head after he stood up.
The video was shared on Monday by WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio, who noted that Diggs appeared to be pleading with the referee to call a penalty just after the play. There was no penalty on Phillips.
“I didn’t know about this until a caller just posted it out,” Capaccio tweeted. “But after the play Diggs was pointing to his head and I didn’t know why at the time. Now I/we do.”
Many Bills fans said they noticed the play in real-time during Thursday’s game, calling the kick “dirty” and asking for the NFL to punish Phillips. The league announces fines for the previous week on Saturdays, and often issues fines for plays that are not flagged as penalties at the time.
A Bills player will more than likely be among those fined. Safety Damar Hamlin was ejected in the final minutes of the fourth quarter after hitting Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers in the head and neck area. New England quarterback Mac Jones found Meyers in the endzone for what would have been a touchdown, but Hamlin’s hard hit broke up the play.
Though Hamlin was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave the Patriots a first-and-goal on the eight-yard line, the Bills held the Patriots to a field goal and then recovered an onside kick to close out the game.
Phillips Had Interesting Statement About Rivalry
Before Thursday’s game, Phillips shared a bitter memory about New England’s blowout loss to the Bills in the playoffs that included some curious language.
“We went out there and it was, what, negative-one? Went out there and basically got our face kicked in,” he said, via MassLive.com.
The Patriots safety went on to say that he and his teammates were trying to move past the rough ending to last season at the hands of the Bills.
“You definitely think about (the loss), but you don’t harp on that,” Phillips said. “You look at what they did and how they were able to control the game and the plays that they were able to make. You think about them not punting the ball basically for two games. It’s a big deal. But at the same time, you can’t let that consume you.”