Now that we no longer have any undefeated teams left in the NFL, with the Denver Broncos taking down the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 and the New England Patriots handing the Buffalo Bills a tough 23-20 loss on Sunday Night Football, all 32 fanbases can now relax. Teams can play hard the rest of the season.
The Bills now need to take a deep breath and prepare for next week's road contest against the Atlanta Falcons. They will once again be featured in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football. The team will need to address specific areas, as one player in particular had their number Sunday night.
Stefon Diggs got his revenge vs. Bills in Week 5
The New England Patriots came to Orchard Park on Sunday night, bringing along a former teammate who is no stranger to playing in this stadium and putting on a show for the city of Buffalo. Former Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots star Stefon Diggs made his much-anticipated return to a place where he and Bills quarterback Josh Allen had made magic for four seasons.
As a player, Diggs was that true number one wide receiver the Bills needed to acquire during the early stages of the Brandon Beane era. He totaled four straight 1000+ yard seasons and broke Eric Moulds' franchise record for the quickest player to get to 100 catches in a season.
The attitude problems that followed Diggs with him at the end of his time in Minnesota forced the Bills to trade the receiver to the Houston Texans for a 2025 second-round pick. Then, in his one year at Houston, he tallied 496 yards in only eight games played due to his season-ending torn ACL non-contact injury.
Since signing a three-year, $69 million deal, the 31-year-old has had to mature into more of a team leader. It showed in his individual performance as he lit up his former team with 10 catches of 146 yards, 119 of them in the second half. The Patriots ended up winning the game 23-20 on a game-winning field goal by Andres Borregales with 15 seconds left.
A great outing at a bad time for the Buffalo Bills
Diggs came into this game extra fired up, wanting to prove to the Bills that the veteran still has what it takes. Last week, he had another 100-yard outing for a second-straight week in a 42-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, and he was not going to lose this game against Allen and his former teammates.
While the Patriots passed a huge test by beating the five consecutive AFC East champions on Sunday night, Diggs was thrilled but not satisfied with the win. They expect to continue building on this, with the hope of eventually ending the Bills' current reign at the top of the AFC East.
As for the Bills, it was a disappointing performance from an offensive perspective. The Bills committed three turnovers early in the game, which ultimately gave New England a chance to kick the game-winning field goal, which they did. A bright spot, though, was the young defense playing a great game, only allowing 23 points against an up-and-coming Patriots squad.
Now that no teams in the league remain undefeated, we can all relax and enjoy how the rest of the season unfolds.