Stefon Diggs proves why Bills were right in trading him away

In a critical game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, Stefon Diggs wasn’t able to make much of an impact.

New England Patriots WR Stefon Diggs and teammates warm up before the game against the Buffalo Bills. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Sunday was a huge game for the New England Patriots, who had a chance to clinch the AFC East title by knocking off the Buffalo Bills.

New England entered the game as underdogs, but they came out swinging. They even took a 21-0 lead in the first half before the Bills took over and outscored them 35-10.

Buffalo wound up with a 35-31 victory and pulled to within one game of the Patriots in the division. It was an impressive win for the Bills, especially since they were shorthanded in the secondary.

MORE: The unsung hero of Bills' comeback road win over Patriots

Cornerback Christian Benford, who has been on fire in recent weeks, missed the game due to injury. That meant former Bills’ wide receiver Stefon Diggs had the chance to stick it to his old team, just like he did in Week 5 when he had 146 yards on 10 receptions in the Patriots’ 23-20 win.

This time, however, Diggs was a non-factor. He finished with just 26 yards on three receptions, which reminded Bills fans why they weren’t too brokenhearted when he was traded away ahead of the 2024 season.

WR Stefon Diggs in a big, late-season game with the #Bills missing their top cornerback in CB Christian Benford today:

▪️4 targets
▪️3 receptions
▪️26 yards
▪️0 TDs

This is one of the reasons why I was fine with trading Diggs away. He was a non-factor in way too many December…

— Kevin Siracuse (@kevin_siracuse) December 15, 2025

Trading away a difference-maker like Diggs is always a tough decision. In four seasons with Buffalo, he had 445 receptions for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns.

In clutch games, however, Diggs wasn’t always at his best. That included the postseason, where he scored two touchdowns during his first year with the team but no others in the final three. During his final campaign in 2023, Diggs averaged just 7.3 yards per catch in the playoffs.

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Bills were right to trade Diggs, but still didn’t adequately replace him

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 AFC divisional round game. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The lack of performance in the playoffs was just part of the reason Buffalo was right to trade Diggs. The only problem is that general manager Brandon Beane hasn’t done what he needs to do to replace him.

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Adding Keon Coleman hasn’t worked out, leaving Josh Allen without a true No. 1 wide receiver. That’s made things much harder on the reigning MVP than it needs to be, and it has to be fixed this offseason if they want to keep pace with New England.

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