ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 35-23 victory against the New England Patriots on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. Should anyone be surprised the Bills received what could qualify as divine intervention in a game played in the aftermath of one of the most emotionally trying weeks in franchise history?
I sure wasn’t. You knew something special would happen in the first game since Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest last Monday night, resulting in the cancellation of the Bills’ game against Cincinnati.
But could anyone have anticipated that intervention would come via Nyheim Hines’ 96-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff? I sure didn’t. Josh Allen was spot on in describing the play as “spiritual” and told teammates on the sidelines that “God’s real.” Allen added, “You can’t draw that up, write that one up any better.” Then, the quarterback said he had been told it had been “three years and three days since the last kickoff return” for a touchdown by the Bills.
“So,” Allen said, his voice cracking. “Pretty cool.”
Hamlin’s No. 3 could be seen everywhere throughout the stadium, from the patches on the Bills’ jerseys to the T-shirts and hats worn by players and coaches to the giant video board to the signs held up by countless fans.
2. Nyheim Hines wasn’t finished with his game-opening splash. Amazingly, he would add a 101-yard kickoff return for a TD to give the Bills a 21-17 lead in the third quarter.
The bottom line is the Bills needed those unlikely plays (Hines is only the 11th player in NFL history to have two kickoff returns for scores and the first Bills player to do so) to secure the win that gave them the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
For the better part of three quarters, they weren’t getting the kind of production from their offense that has defined the Allen era. Allen, who threw an interception and misfired on other passes, finally got in gear late in the third quarter with a 42-yard touchdown connection with John Brown, who made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone, and a beautiful 49-yard TD throw to Stefon Diggs with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bills won this game largely on the strength of big plays from special teams and defense, which intercepted Patriots quarterback Mac Jones three times. They will need much better from their offense in the postseason.
3. The raw emotions continued to linger well after the game.
Not only did Allen get choked up in his remarks to the media, but the same was true with Tre’Davious White, who had one of the interceptions. It was the first for White this season.
Talking about the Cincinnati game, he said seeing Hamlin stand after his contact with Tee Higgins and then collapse backward before undergoing CPR to get his heart restated is “just something I can’t un-see. Every time I close my eyes, it replays.” White described Hamlin “as one of the most resilient, honest and just pure people that I’ve met.”
White also shared that Hamlin sent a text to White and other teammates “checking in on y’all” and actually apologizing for putting them through what they’ve experienced in their concern for him. That, White said, was the epitome of Hamlin’s character: worrying about others while going through such a traumatic ordeal.
4. I loved this take from Dion Dawkins, who did his postgame press conference with his 3-year-old daughter, Delila, on his lap.
Dawkins spoke about no one being promised another second, let alone another day, month or year.
“For the situation that happened, it just opened up all of our eyes,” Dawkins said. “It has made me become a better father. It has made be become a better teammate, a better person. To really just understand that you’ve got to take life for what it is, but you have to make every moment the best that you can possibly make it. Like, we’re all in here together and we can’t take this for granted.
“… Like, if we have dinner tonight at 7, let’s go because next week we might not all be able to be there.”
He’s so right. Hamlin’s injury did much more than provide inspiration for a team, a league and a community. It also created a foundation for important life lessons.
5. A word about the Miami Dolphins, who the Bills will face in next weekend’s wild-card round.
It’s an opponent the Bills should be able to beat, especially at home. But let’s not forget the Dolphins found a way to beat the Bills early in the season in South Florida (though it was more a case of the Bills finding a way to beat themselves). Let’s also not forget the Dolphins gave the Bills all they could handle when the teams met on Dec. 17.
After that game, Allen said he expected to see the Dolphins again in the postseason. He should expect the same outcome as the previous meeting.