‘God is Real!’ Josh Allen, Damar Hamlin & Bills vs. Patriots Emotion
Damar Hamlin's inspiring road to recovery has been partly headlined by the fact he asked if his Buffalo Bills won the canceled game he was forced to leave. With Hamlin watching from his hospital bed, his teammates provided a resoundingly positive answer to that question on Sunday afternoon.
Behind 254 yards and three scores from Josh Allen (104 and one of those respective tallies going to Stefon Diggs), the Bills capped off their regular season affairs on a high note, dismantling the New England Patriots by a 35-23 final at Highmark Stadium.
Though the playoffs don't start until next week, Buffalo (12-4) engaged in some early eliminating, dispatching the Patriots for the second consecutive season but this time doing it on Week 18 rather than Wild Card Weekend.
What can we gather from a Buffalo perspective?
Hamlin Honored
No look back at the Patriots' visit would be complete, or even be able to begin, without acknowledging the efforts to commemorate both Hamlin's ongoing recovery from his on-field collapse on Monday in Cincinnati and the efforts of the Buffalo training staff that helped save his life. Tribute surfaced through the league's Week 18 action but it was obviously a personal cause to properly commemorate all those involved in Orchard Park on Sunday.
On the afternoon of a Bills victory, it was the team's training staff that earned the loudest cheers of all, as each member was introduced and honored. A common show of support for Hamlin was a raising of three fingers, an act that referenced Hamlin's jersey number and was performed by players and fans alike. Hamlin himself expressed his appreciation by assuring fans and players he was watching the game from his hospital room in Cincinnati and was no doubt pleased by Sunday's developments.
While Hamlin still has a ways to go in his recovery, Buffalo's return to action was an undeniable reminder that the entire team community is prepared to have his back.
Hines Shines
The No. 3 made its prescience felt at Highmark Stadium and beyond, but the uncanny coincidences surrounding Hamlin's numeral ... previously present amidst the Buffalo Sabres' victorious affairs ... continued to make their prescience felt.
Nyheim Hines broke a three-year, three-month moratorium on Buffalo kick returns for touchdowns on the opening boot, as his 96-yard, six-point runback gave Buffalo an early lead as Highmark Stadium roared, creating a moment that Allen described as "spiritual."
“I can’t remember a play that touched me like that in my life,” Allen said. "I was just going around to my teammates saying ‘God is real.’ You can’t write or draw that up any better.
"It was a spirited game. I knew we would come out spirited,” Hines added of the opening runback. “We have received support from not only the fans but every team in the NFL. It was all about 3. It was all about Damar.”
Another lucrative return from Hines, this one earning 101 yards and another six points, gave Buffalo a permanent lead, one that came after New England partially cashed in on a Devin Singletary fumble deep in his own territory via a Nick Folk field goal to briefly go up 17-14. The pair allowed Hines to become the first returner in Bills history to score on two kickoffs in a single game.
Get Back, Mac
Entering Sunday's game, New England had taken exceptionally good care of the ball over the holiday season, having lost only three turnovers since Nov. 20.
While Buffalo had some issues keeping their hands on the pigskin ... Allen threw an interception at the cusp of the end zone just before the half while Singletary and Taiwan Jones were charged with fumbles (the latter on a botched punt return block) ... its defense was on hand to provide plenty of post-Christmas gifts.
The last interception, admittedly, could've been the side effect of late desperation from Jones (though recipient Termaine Edmunds surely wasn't complaining). But the other two undeniably came at crucial times that broke New England's will. An end zone takeaway from Tre'Davious White ended a 10-play, 60-yard scoring trek just short of the red zone while Matt Milano's with just over five minutes remaining more or less sealed the Patriots' fate.
Perhaps Jones is better off sticking to the background when the Bills are in town: since his infamous three-pass victory over Buffalo last December, Jones is winless in four attempts against them, posting a 68.4 passer rating in the rematches.
What Can Brown Do For You?
The Bills expanded their lead to two possessions in the penultimate minute of the third quarter on a 42-yard scoring hook-up between Allen and John Brown, a veteran Bill back for another term with the team.
Called up to the active roster shortly before kickoff, Brown played only six offensive snaps on Sunday but one of them yielded his first touchdown in two-plus calendar years.
Following the fateful score, Brown had no intentions of keeping the ball for his collection, a keepsake for a realization of a long way back to an NFL game field. He instead gifted the ball to Denny Kellington, the Bills' assistant athletic trainer who performed CPR on Hamlin in the immediate aftermath on Monday's incident.
Up Next
The Bills will face a familiar opponent in the AFC Wild Card round, which will serve as the site of a rubber match against the Miami Dolphins. Miami (9-8) was the beneficiary of the Patriots' loss and completed the transition process with an 11-6 victory over the New York Jets in South Beach.
The two annual regular season meetings between the long-standing AFC East rivals were decided by a combined five points and each team successfully defended its home stadium. This marks the fifth instance of the rivalry crossing over to the postseason, the last occurrence coming during the 1998-99 Wild Card round, which accounted for Miami's only win amongst the prior quartet.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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