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Bills Fans Should Be Ashamed of What They Did During Win Over Ravens

Andy Nesbitt

Derrick Henry had a water bottle thrown at him after scoring a touchdown vs. the Bills on Sunday night.
Derrick Henry had a water bottle thrown at him after scoring a touchdown vs. the Bills on Sunday night. / @NBC

The Buffalo Bills had an absolutely bonkers comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, scoring 16 points in the final four minutes of the game to somehow get a 41-40 victory in the last-ever season opener at Highmark Stadium.

While today should be a fun day for all Bills fans as they celebrate what will go down as one of the coolest wins in franchise history, it should also be a day that the fanbase grows up a little bit (O.K., a lot of bit) and reflects on two disgusting moves during the game by some of their fellow fans who were sitting close to the action.

Both instances were a terrible look for a team, and its fans, that hope to host huge playoff games later this year and possibly advance to its first Super Bowl since the early 1990s.

The first ugly moment came came in the third quarter when a fan sitting behind the end zone hit DeAndre Hopkins in the helmet as he celebrated his sweet touchdown. Then that fan shoved Lamar Jackson, who reacted quickly in the moment by putting his hands on the fan, which could lead to the quarterback being punished by the league.

Here's a closer look at Jackson's interaction with the fan:

The second ugly moment came early in the fourth quarter when Derrick Henry ran in for a 46-yard touchdown. Moments after he crossed into the end zone he just missed being hit by a water bottle that was thrown at him from the stands.

Bills fans have long been celebrated for their hard-partying ways before games that sees them jumping through tables and doing other silly stuff. That is all good and fun and should continue.

What happened during the game Sunday night isn't fun at all and should lead to the fans being banned from the stadium. Hopefully that happens because the majority of those in attendance at Highmark Stadium were there to let loose and cheer on their team without doing anything that would endanger the safety of players on the field.

The actions of a few, however, will rightfully hang over the rest of the fans in Buffalo because this is their group. The faster they can stop doing stuff like that, the better. Here's hoping Bills Mafia can band together and stop these things from happening again and turn in anyone who makes the decision to throw a water bottle or shove a player.

Because last night's behavior was pretty gross.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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