Bills' Nyheim Hines Earns NFL Award After 'Spiritual' Game

Buffalo Bills returner Nyheim Hines' stellar Sunday afternoon was rewarded by the NFL to the tune of the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award for Week 18 action.

Hines helped the Bills (12-4) clinch the second seed on the AFC East playoff bracket with the most prolific return day in Western New York history. He became the first Bill (and only 11th player in NFL history) to run back two kickoffs for a touchdown while setting a franchise record with 235 return yards (breaking a two-plus decade record previously held by Charlie Rogers).

The former Indianapolis Colt, who arrived in a November trade, set the tone early in what became a 35-23 victory over the New England Patriots. He took Nick Folk's opening kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown, providing an emotional score in the team's first game since defender Damar Hamlin endured a cardiac arrest episode during a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

A day to remember in Buffalo 💙@TheNyNy7 | @BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/O6lhxXF2B8
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 10, 2023

Hines' Buffalo teammates quickly spoke about the impact that instant touchdown had on the rest of them.

"It was spiritual, it really was," quarterback Josh Allen said. "Bone-chilling. It was special.”

“It was such a tone-setter. You could feel how palpable it was in the stadium," center Mitch Morse added. "It was so surreal. Really the trajectory of that was paramount for us and the crowd was into it, the team, it really interjected a lot of energy.”

The latter score in Hines' box score permanently placed momentum on Buffalo's side: with New England holding a 17-14 lead in the third quarter after a Folk field goal, Hines went triple digits, taking the ensuing boot back 101 yards for the lead. It kicked off a 21-6 run over the final 22 minutes of game time that sealed the deal and helped eliminate the Patriots' playoff prospects.

As teammates noted, it had been three years and three months since the Bills' last touchdown via kick return, matching the digit on Hamlin's game jersey. He has averaged 29.2 yards per return since coming over from the Colts and claimed to the team's official site that a special teams break was brewing for a while despite the lack of scores.

"I feel I've been hitting it hard, just been a step or two there, there have been a couple of times (where) I've slipped and fell on my guys, but even in the meetings, it's been hashtag free Hines," Hines said. "Ever since I got here, this transition has not been the easiest, but those guys out there blocking for me on kick return and punt return have had my back.

"I know there are 10 guys out there who believe in me. So I think this kick return was long overdue and I feel like all the guys out there would say the same."

Hines and the kick return unit face a formidable challenge on Sunday in the AFC Wild Card Game against the Miami Dolphins (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Miami has the best kick-return coverage among the 14 postseason teams, allowing only 18.9 yards.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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