ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Stefon Diggs was the last player to enter the visitors’ locker room on Sunday night.
The time was 11:34 p.m., and the veteran receiver trailed Mike Vrabel inside Highmark Stadium. As Diggs and his coach entered the room, screams could be heard in the hallway of the receiver’s former home stadium.
This was an emotional night for the Pro Bowler. It marked the first time Diggs played in Buffalo since the team traded him in 2024. He wouldn’t say it was about revenge or proving his old team wrong, but actions speak louder than words.
Diggs caught 10 passes for 146 yards on Sunday night to help lead the Patriots to a wild 23-20 win over the Bills.
While Vrabel was speaking at the podium, Diggs was in the locker room dancing with his teammates before his Instagram live video was shut down by the team’s PR staff. When the room opened to the media at 11:48 p.m., the receiver was still in his uniform, sitting inside his locker.
His energy was infectious as he shouted compliments about his quarterback.
“Drake Maye is a gamer. Damn, he’s a gamer.”
Then, while speaking to a member of the equipment staff, Diggs explained he was “going for swag points” during the night while making multiple highlight-reel catches.
“I’m so tired,” Diggs yelled out at 11:55 p.m., and still in his uniform. “That must’ve been the most plays I’ve ever played.”
Teammates walked by, laughing and engaging with the veteran.
“He’s got a different personality,” receiver DeMario Douglas explained. “It’s funny to watch. He’s out there hooping. He’s showing us young guys the way – how to go out there and hoop and bring the team with us.”
That’s what Diggs did on Sunday.
Against his former team, Diggs put together back-to-back 100-yard games. He’s the first Patriots receiver to accomplish that feat since Julian Edelman in 2019. His 146 yards are the most he’s had in a game since the 2022 season, when he was a member of the Bills.
Diggs was notably emotional on Sunday. The 31-year-old worked up a sweat before the game started. Diggs gave the Patriots a pregame speech and kept up the motivational talks throughout the game. He screamed and gestured after most plays.
“Diggs, he has a great energy. You could tell he was ready to go from the jump,” Hunter Henry said. “Just made play after play after play. He does it all the time. It’s what we expect out of him. It was really, really cool to feed off that and see him do that in this environment tonight.”
When the Patriots needed a big play, it was Diggs who stepped up.
After the Bills took a 10-6 third-quarter lead, Diggs started the next drive with a 16-yard catch. Then, he hauled in a 32-yard pass from Maye. That set up a Rhamondre Stevenson 4-yard touchdown run.
In the next drive, he did it again. Diggs extended this drive twice with two third-down receptions. Then, he caught a 30-yard pass to set up another Stevenson touchdown.
“It’s storybook. You knew,” Drake Maye said. “Coming back. Primetime. You could see it all week. He just loves football. He’s got a lot in the tank left. It’s good that he’s a Patriot.”
After entering the locker room at 11:36, it took Diggs 43 minutes to come down from the adrenaline high. While sitting in his locker room, he stared at his phone, watching highlight after highlight.
At 12:19 a.m., he stepped up to the podium where he spoke to the media about his Buffalo return and the team’s big win. At 12:27 a.m., he walked through a door leading back to the locker room, where he walked on the team’s bus and headed to his new home.
He played for a different team inside Highmark Stadium, but looked like the same Stefon Diggs – and the player the Patriots hoped he would be.
“He brings the energy. He’s who we expected him to be,” cornerback Carlton Davis said. “The hype is real. The hype is real.”
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