Bills Central

Bills' fan who made viral catch of Josh Allen pass reveals what he did with football

The Buffalo Bills' fan who caught Josh Allen's pass last week against the Patriots says he has returned the ball to the team.

Richie Whitt

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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Josh Allen's most infamous completion of the season turned out to have a happy ending.

In last Sunday night's upset loss to the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium, the Buffalo Bills' quarterback had a rough night with two turnovers. He finished 22 of 31 for 253 yards, but one of his incompletions was actually a completion ... to a fan.

All of America — and even NBC's Mike Tirico — was amazed when Allen's errant pass in the third quarter sailed out of the end zone and into the stands, where it was caught by a Bills' fan in the front row wearing a Matt Milano No. 58 jersey. The fan, now identified as Brian Kemp, deftly tucked the football under his shirt and scampered up the steps and into the night with his new prize.

Kemp this week broke his silence on the episode, telling Buffalo's WIVB-TV that he initially intended to the ball as a valuable souvenir.

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"The next thing I know, that bullet from Allen is coming … I mean, the biggest gun in the league, you know there was some heat on that ball," he told the station. "I was able to grab it, bring it in, and I looked at my wife and I said, ‘I’ll meet you at the car.’"

Stadium security, however, soon approached his wife and asked that her husband return the ball. They offered to give him a different Bills' football. Kemp wound up returning to his seat to watch the rest of the game and, eventually, returning the ball thrown by Allen to the team.

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"I did wind up going back to the seat and happily returned the ball," Kemp said. "They did give me another ball in exchange, so this ball unfortunately is not the actual ball that Allen threw that I caught. However, all is right with the world. No theft occurred. There was no stolen property."

It's perhaps the best fan catch during an NFL game since this guy caught an extra point at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football in 1995 while jumping from the stands into the tunnel.

Fans yell and scream cheering on the Bills as they warm up before the Bills home game against the Patriots.
Fans yell and scream cheering on the Bills as they warm up before the Bills home game against the Patriots. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.