BUFFALO – Stefon Diggs returned to Buffalo on Sunday night and showed his former team who eats the most – he does.
His 10 catches for 146 yards were reminiscent of his days during four mostly spectacular seasons here as the New England Patriots upset the previously undefeated Bills 23-20, sending Diggs into celebration.
Diggs then bounced up the tunnel as he left the field and into the locker room where he broke out into dance in front of his locker with teammates.
Did Diggs ever show that much joy after a win with the Bills? It’s hard to imagine him being happier.
All of that is of course tied to the way Diggs left Buffalo, preceded by his cryptic posts on social media, an unexplained absence from minicamp in 2023, and the never-ending sense that he was unhappy before being dealt to the Houston Texans ahead of the 2024 season.
In his wake, the Bills did not go and try to replace him by signing another top-of-the-market talent. The team pivoted to the “everybody eats” mantra, which was read by many as the anti-Diggs movement.
Not unlike many in his line of work, Diggs needs to be fed the football and needs the stats to go along with his stardom. It resulted in the greatest four-year span of productivity for any receiver in Bills history. But it also made the Buffalo offence predictable, and at times the burden of getting Diggs the football felt like it was just that.
The fact that the Bills moved beyond Diggs to immediately putting up the highest-scoring season in team history seemed to validate the philosophy, just as it spoke to the greatness of quarterback Josh Allen that he could win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award without an elite receiver on this team.
And while Allen has publicly rejected the notion that “everybody eats” had anything to do with Diggs, the truth on this one has always been in the eye of the beholder.
The Bills could have used their own Diggs on Sunday night, as their receivers struggled to find separation against the Patriots elite corners in Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. Tight end Dalton Kincaid found opportunities against safeties and linebackers, making six catches for 108 yards.
But the concern about “everybody eats” is that the system lacks that one true superstar who can’t be stopped – beyond, of course, Allen, whose talent makes up for a lot of shortcomings in Buffalo’s offence that might otherwise be exposed.
But Buffalo’s problems Sunday night went well beyond their lack of elite receiving talent.
It started with the clunkiest quarter of football the Bills have played all season. After opening their first four games with touchdown drives on offence, the Bills were shut out in the first quarter and were called for five of the 11 penalties they took on the night, the second week in a row they’ve hit that number.
The offence didn’t get running back James Cook going early as they so often do, and he never broke loose for an explosive run and failed to have 100 yards from scrimmage for the first time all season.
And then there were the turnovers.
The Bills have a well-earned reputation of being the most successful team in the NFL when it comes to ball security. Entering Sunday night on a streak of 26 consecutive games without losing the turnover battle is no small part of the success they’ve enjoyed.
For the first time in nearly two years, that script flipped as the Bills fumbled the ball away twice during the opening half and Allen threw a red-zone interception after halftime.
Teams that lose the turnover ratio 3-1 don’t win often in today’s NFL, but the Bills had the chance late, down 20-17 as they marched into Patriots territory inside the final few minutes, eventually kicking a game-tying field goal with less than three minutes to play as Allen struggled to find open receivers.
That left the Bills’ defence needing a stop to force overtime. They failed to do it, continuing a pattern early this season that gives fans playoff nightmares. Twice defensive end Joey Bosa had his hands on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and both times Maye got away.
The Bills managed to do more than enough to open the door for New England to seize a victory that will go a long way to building the confidence of this team under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
And no one enjoyed it more than the former Bills receiver dancing in the visitors’ locker room.
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