Former Buffalo Bills involved in Championship Weekend

If Buffalo Bills’ fans are trying to figure out who to root for in the AFC and NFC Championship games this weekend, this is a list of former players and coaches on the final four teams.

Since Buffalo Bills’ fans won’t be able to root for their team this weekend, they may be trying to find teams to pull for during this weekend’s games. One way to determine who to root for could be to look at which former Bills are still involved and pull for those teams.

Of the final four teams left, the Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, three of them have some connection to the Bills. The only one that doesn’t have a former player or coach is the Tennessee Titans, who is led by former Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The team that has the most players from the Bills, is the Kansas City Chiefs. One of the biggest names Bills fans will remember is obviously LeSean McCoy. The former Pro Bowl running back spent the past four seasons in Buffalo prior to being cut before the start of this season. He was a one of the top running backs during a time with the Bills and finished with over 3,800 rushing yards, over 1,300 receiving yards and 30 total touchdowns.

However, his first season in Kansas City has been lackluster with only 465 rushing yards, 181 receiving yards and five touchdowns. If there was one player that fans could rally around it would probably be McCoy.

The other two players on the Chiefs are former top picks with wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Reggie Ragland.

Watkins, who was the fourth overall pick in 2014 by the Bills, was traded to the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2017 season and then signed with the Chiefs as a free agent prior to last year.

However, he never seemed to be able to match the production with what was thought to be unlimited potential. This season he has only 673 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, fans likely won’t see much of Ragland, who was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, as he is in a backup role for the Chiefs. The Bills traded Ragland to the Chiefs prior to the 2017 season.

The other player formerly with the Bills playing this weekend is wide receiver Jordan Matthews, who is currently with the San Francisco 49ers. The Bills traded for Matthews prior to the 2017 season in a trade that sent cornerback Ronald Darby to the Eagles.

Matthews only spent one season with the Bills but dealt with a number of injuries and played in only 10 games. He had 282 receiving yards and one touchdown. Since Buffalo, he has had stops with the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers.

While the Green Bay Packers don’t have any players, there is a strong connection to the Bills as their offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, and defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine, were in similar roles with Buffalo under Doug Marrone.

Pettine was the Bills defensive coordinator for one season in 2013, coming over from the New York Jets who was coached by Rex Ryan at the time. The Bills had a Top 10 defense that season and Pettine was named the head coach of the Cleveland Browns the following season. After being fired in 2015, Pettine was out of the NFL for a few years before returning as defensive coordinator for the Packers in 2018.

As for Hackett, he followed Doug Marrone to the Buffalo Bills after their time at Syracuse University and was named offensive coordinator. He remained in that role for two years before leaving with Marrone to join the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, he was fired towards the end of the 2018 season and was hired by Matt LeFluer as offensive coordinator prior to this season.

If Buffalo Bills’ fans want to root for a former Bills’ player or coach, they will have plenty of options this weekend.