Yes, it was a little bit person for New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs on “Sunday Night Football” in Buffalo. Then again, it’s always personal for the ex-Bills wideout.
The 31-year-old had easily the best game of his young Patriots career and maybe one of the best games of his entire 11-year run in Week 5 against his old team. Diggs hauled in 10 passes for 146 yards, including some huge drive-extending receptions in the second half. He, along with Patriots second-year quarterback Drake Maye, was the biggest reason the Patriots pulled one of the season’s biggest upsets, knocking off the Bills 23-20.
After the game, Diggs was asked on the field by NBC’s Melissa Stark whether it was a little more personal for him beating his ex-team, and he made it clear what he thought about that.
“One-hundred percent,” Diggs said, as seen on the NBC telecast. “I love those guys and still got a good relationship with those guys, got a lot of respect for them, but I love the game of football more. Every time I go out there, I’m trying to prove it, not just to them, but to myself.”
Stefon Diggs Uses Bills Motivation to Spark Patriots Win
At this point, the Diggs-Buffalo drama might be slightly overstated. So much has been made about it, and enough time has passed that there’s not much left to say. Diggs enjoyed the best four-year run of his career with the Bills where he made four straight Pro Bowls and earned an All-Pro selection in 2020 when he led the league in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,535).
It didn’t end well, though. The Bills never actually broke through to the level of success they should have, and Diggs grew frustrated with evolving team strategies and how he fit those plans.
“The player is famously mercurial.” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in 2024 after the Bills traded Diggs to Houston. “The team’s level of patience with his personality ebbed and flowed. The offense was headed in a different direction. The ratio of the impact of these three causes on Diggs’ exit depends on who’s doing the talking.”
Ultimately, the reason for the breakup, from the Bills‘ point of view, was quite simple: “Tremendous player, but the offense didn’t need him anymore,” a team source told Fowler for that ESPN story.
Is There Still Diggs-Josh Allen Tension?
There’s also the lingering tension between Diggs and his former quarterback, reigning MVP and Bills superstar Josh Allen. Just how much actual acrimony there might be between the two players might only be known by Diggs and Allen.
However, that hasn’t stopped the media — and even the teams — from running with the idea. When he was with Houston, Diggs and the Texans beat Allen’s Bills in Week 5 last season. Cameras caught Diggs giving Allen what appeared to be a side-eye glance on the field after the game.
The Patriots themselves ran with the meme after the game, editing the 2024 photo to show Diggs in a New England uniform, and it stoked the flames further.
Diggs, though, insists it’s all good between he and his former QB.
“They just caught it at the wrong time, and I’ve always wanted to speak on that photo because I was staring at him in the moment because it was like, ‘Damn, that was my brother.’ We won in Houston, but that’s my brother. I do (have) a lot of love and respect for him.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Patriots’ Stefon Diggs Makes Honest Admission After Beating Ex-Team Bills appeared first on Heavy Sports.