After a win like that, a massive 23-20 upset that ended the Bills’ 14-game home winning streak in front of a national audience on Sunday, the Patriots‘ social media department has the right to indulge in some gloating. And they did, using a particularly funny meme to do so, starring one of the key players from the last-minute win, Stefon Diggs.
First, the numbers: Diggs was incredible on Sunday, a game for which he had been building up excitement for some time. Though Diggs left the Bills after four stellar seasons last year, when he was traded to Houston, it was his first return to Highmark Stadium since his departure and he conceded it would be an “emotional” time for him.
Diggs was visibly fired up throughout the night, and had 10 catches on 12 targets for 146 yards on the day, arguably the biggest catalyst to the win over his old team and his old quarterback, Josh Allen.
Stefon Diggs’ Famous Josh Allen Side-Eye
And now, the meme. A year ago in Houston, before Diggs suffered the torn ACL that ended his season in October, the Texans also beat the Bills by a 23-20 count. After that game, Diggs was caught on camera giving Allen a devilish side-eye glance.
It was a quirk of the photo angle, of course, but still, it seemed to speak volumes about Diggs and his modicum of revenge that day. The Patriots dusted the meme off on Sunday, photoshopped with a New England jersey for Diggs.
Twitter/XStefon Diggs from the Patriots Twitter/X account.
Patriots Had Clutch Play From Star Receiver
Diggs, for his part, found the photo funny after his very, very clutch performance. It wasn’t just the catches and the yards, it was the fact that Diggs came through when the team most needed him–he had five of his catches during the Patriots’ fourth-quarter two scoring drives.
Allen was brilliant, too, on Sunday night (22-for-31, 253 yards, 53 yards rushing), making the Patriots‘ win all the more satisfying–it wasn’t as though Buffalo simply had a poor night. The previously undefeated Bills played well and still New England won.
Diggs used the opportunity to explain the side-eye photo.
“They had that picture, right? Of me side-eyeing him,” Diggs said. “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. It kinda looked like a little side-eye, but that’s not what it was. I was staring at him for a second while he was walking away like, ‘Damn, that was my guy.”
Patriots Getting the Best From Diggs
He also spoke highly of Allen after the game, which make sense–Diggs was a four-time Pro Bowler with Allen, tallying 5,372 yards in four years. He’s trying to reboot the back end of his career in New England after signing a three-year, $69 million contract in the offseason, but he has not forgotten what his time in Buffalo did for him.
“That’s my dawg, man,” Diggs said. “Obviously things happen, the business happens, but I spent a lot of time here and I’ve got a lot of love and respect for that young man. He’s a tremendous player. He’s one of the boys. Obviously things happen and I’m not here (anymore), but I consider myself a real one… we built a special bond.
“That was my guy. I’m not going to switch up or act like I don’t have a lot of love and respect for that young man. So when I see him, I try to give him that reminder.”
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