The Buffalo Bills (8-3) victory over the Detroit Lions (4-7) was an ugly win, but quarterback Josh Allen‘s final drive with 23 seconds left on the clock was a thing of beauty, quickly positioning Tyler Bass to kick the 45-yard game-winning field goal.
While Allen and his No. 1 receiver, Stefon Diggs, struggled to get on the same page throughout the matchup, he targeted him 10 times for just three catches throughout the first three quarters, the final drive of the game showed why they are one of the best QB/WR duos in the NFL.
So just how fast did Josh Allen throw this football?
The ball traveled 45.1 Air Yards in 1.566 seconds. That means that Josh Allen threw this football ~58.91 MPH 🤯
With Allen’s first throw of the final drive, he tossed a wildly impressive 36-yard dart straight to Diggs — the longest pass of the game, which immediately put the Bills in field goal range. After Bass’ field goal eked through the upright, the two shared an intimate sideline moment. Diggs had asked Allen to trust him in late games, per New York Upstate‘s Matt Parrino, and was so thrilled with how things turned out, the 28-receiver whispered to his quarterback during that extended hug, “I love you.”
“That’s like my real sibling. My little, big brother. He’s huge and all, but that’s still my little brother,” Diggs continued. “I can tell that he has that energy that’s contagious. And I never want him to ever display bad body language. He’s so hard on himself because he’s a great player.”
Victory hugs.
While the Bills are firmly back in the win column with two straight victories before entering Week 13, Diggs makes it clear that he has Allen’s back during the losing streaks, as well.
“I always tell him, ‘Yo, hey, chin up. We ready. It’s OK, forget about it.’ And kind of giving him that positive energy because it’s hard being quarterback, I imagine,” Diggs said. “And as much as I get frustrated, I know his job is hard.”
Concern Lingers Over Allen’s Arm Health
Most turnovers this season
Josh Allen 14*
Matt Ryan 12
Davis Mills 12
*has 7 INT in last 5 games
With back-to-back wins at Ford Field in just five days, a full week before the Bills’ next matchup against their AFC East rival, the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, will provide some much-needed rest for Allen, who continues to struggle with an elbow sprain suffered in Week 9.
Allen showed up to practice for the first time without a brace on his throwing arm while preparing for the Bills’ primetime Thanksgiving Day matchup, but the Wyoming alum revealed that this doesn’t mean that he’s 100% — in fact, that’s far from the case.
“Still working through it,” Allen said. “I just trust in what our strength staff is saying. Bit of a walkthrough today so obviously no chance of contact or anything like that. Just trying to get comfortable without throwing it. Who knows game time if I’m wearing one or not. We’ll take it day by day.”
During the Bills’ 28-25 win over the Lions, Allen completed just 57.14% of his passes, which is a far cry from his 83.87% completion rate in Week 1. While several analysts called out the quarterback for not being back to full health during his shaky performance last week, during which he completed 66.67% of his passes, CBS commentator Tony Romo announced during Buffalo’s Thanksgiving matchup that he believes the UCL sprain was still impacting the Bills star’s play.
Allen, however, says that entering Week 13, no NFL player is in full health. “We’re 8-3. I’m out there,” he said, as reported by Parrino. “Everybody’s battling injuries and bumps and bruises. If I’m going to be the guy that I think I am, I say I am, and my teammates think I am, I gotta be that guy. That’s all there is to it.”
Photos and Videos of Allen & Diggs’ Bromance Went Viral on Twitter
Twitter had a field day with the viral moment of Diggs and Allen’s extended hug after the game, and fans loved the receiver’s sideline hype just before Bass kicked the game-winning field goal. Dimers.com posted the video of the hug with the Titanic theme song in the background, while a fan tweeted, “I want someone to hold me like Allen holds Diggs.
This moment between Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen is definitely better with the Titanic music 🤣
I want someone to hold me like Allen holds Diggs
The best part about Josh Allen is that he genuinely loves his teammates.
Diggs, Allen, and Bass were named the players of the game, and as the trio prepared to try to the turkey legs provided by CBS, 13WHAM‘s Dan Fetes tweeted a photo and wrote, “I hope everyone finds someone in life that looks at you the way Josh Allen looks at Stefon Diggs.”
I hope everyone finds someone in life that looks at you the way Josh Allen looks at Stefon Diggs:
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Bills WR Reveals What He Told Josh Allen After Game-Winning FG