Getty Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs at FedExField on September 24, 2023.
During the Buffalo Bills’ 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, video of wide receiver Stefon Diggs losing his cool on the sidelines and smashing his tablet on the bench went viral.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen revealed during a press conference on October 11 that his top receiver’s reaction was Diggs’ getting mad at himself for running a wrong release on a route.
“He’s a captain for a reason,” Allen said. “When you look at the sidelines of guys that are talking and making sure everybody’s ready to go, for better or worse, he’s up in guys’ faces and he’s making sure we have as much juice as we need — and he supplies that to our offense, especially in times we need it. He doesn’t get the burn he deserves there. Frankly, it kind of ticks me off when people want to say stuff about him, but we’ll keep that all internal here.”
Josh Allen on this Stefon Diggs reaction during #Bills loss to Jags: “He was mad at himself for running the wrong release on a route. I’m tired of hearing all this nonsense from people… It ticks me off when people want to say something about him.”
Diggs was asked about Allen’s comments on Thursday, October 12, and the three-time Pro Bowler was grateful for Allen’s support.
“I’m thankful to have a quarterback to have my back in every instance,” Diggs told reporters, “especially considering people don’t know what’s going on on the sideline. They don’t hear, they just see. And it’s easy to react and draw whatever conclusions you want from what you saw. But as a player and leader on this team, I hold myself to a very high standard and people don’t understand that.
“To a lot of people in the regular world, I consider it to be a game, and it is a game, but I just don’t play about this game. I take it to heart. I give it everything I got and I’m very hard on myself.”
While the offense struggled to find their rhythm against the Jaguars, overall, Allen and Diggs are having an outstanding season thus far. While Allen leads the league in completion percentage (73.1%), per ESPN, Diggs ranks sixth in receiving yards (520) and is tied for the most receiving touchdowns (5).
Stefon Diggs Is Excited to Face Brian Daboll & the Giants in Week 6
GettyBills wide receiver Stefon Diggs on October 01, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York.
Diggs and the Bills will see several familiar faces when they host the New York Giants (1-4) at Highmark Stadium on Sunday Night Football, including the team’s former offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll.
“That’s my guy,” Diggs said. “I know he’s going to be fired up coming in here. You know this is hometown and I know he’s gonna wanna win and he’s going to come in with a great plan. So, we gotta execute at a high level.
“I look forward to this game and I know he is, too, ” Diggs continued. “He taught me a lot… He taught me some key things as far as getting open and how to get open — he really never ran the routes – but he showed me what I’m looking at and what you’re seeing, and the flow of the game… when to do what and when to chop their head off.”
Josh Allen and Brian Daboll still FaceTime each other every other week and it usually goes like:
“What’s up?”
“Miss ya.”
“Bye.”
The two will be back together in Buffalo on Sunday night, just on different sidelines.
Allen also gave credit to Daboll for his development into the elite player he is today. “When you look at the grand scheme of things, in terms of football, and how to handle being a quarterback in this league, relying on the knowledge he has and the guys he’s been around in his career. I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Allen surmised.
“There’s been a lot of people that have had their hand in the pie with the success we’ve had in Buffalo. First, and foremost me, for, it was him first. Just making sure we were on the same pages and talking about certain things.”
Bills Offense Will Use Different Code Words vs. Giants
GettyBills quarterback Josh Allen at Highmark Stadium on October 01, 2023.
With so many former players and staff as opponents intimately familiar with Buffalo’s inner workings, Allen is switching things up ahead of Week 6.
“They know a lot of our offense; it’s basically the same offense,” Allen said, noting there have been some new changes under offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, along with natural schematic shifts in tandem with how the league’s style of play has evolved.
“In terms of code words, we’re going to have to change some things because I’m sure those DBs and people have heard what we’ve said. Maybe they’ve switched it, I don’t know. So, we’ll see.”
Temporarily switching audible names is a bold move, as it could get confusing on the field. However, former Bills players expected to be active in Week 6 include defensive end Boogie Basham, defensive back Nick McCloud, wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, running back Matt Breida, and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Wide receiver Cole Beasley was designed to return from IR on October 10, but it’s unclear if he’ll be elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. Tight end Tommy Sweeney is still on IR.
Of course, the familiarity goes both ways. “In terms of what they’re doing, it’s a lot of what we used to do,” Allen said of the Giants.
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Bills WR Stefon Diggs Responds to Josh Allen’s ‘Ticks Me Off’ Comment