NFL

Diggs points to the Bills' toughness after gritty Thanksgiving win

By Sports Desk November 24, 2022

The Buffalo Bills took a number of punches in their 28-25 Thanksgiving win against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, but continued to get off the canvas to tough out a gutsy win.

Despite coming out on the losing side, the Lions took the lead in the first quarter, re-took the lead in the fourth quarter, and after the Bills were able to pull back in front, they clawed their way down the field to tie it with 23 seconds remaining.

But every time the Lions thought they had the visiting Bills on the ropes, Josh Allen and company were always able to find the answer, using those final 23 seconds to make their way into field goal range and escape with the win in regulation.

Coming into the game without two key starters on defense with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and pass-rusher Greg Rousseau out hurt, their injury list received another unfortunate edition in the second quarter when future Hall-of-Famer Von Miller was carted off with a knee sprain.

Touching on how the Bills continued to push through all the adversity they faced, top wide receiver Stefon Diggs said it comes from everybody's belief in the next-man-up to get the job done.

"That next-man mindset is real," he said. "I hate to preach it, sound like a broken record, but guys came in and played at a high level. 

"We just preach it to everybody to do the job. You don't need to do more than your job and you do your one 11th, we'll find a way.

"I tried to tell the guys everything in the past is the past. We didn't get off to the best start, but you keep rolling with the punches. 

"Things aren't gonna be perfect; I'm riding with my guy [Allen]. We just had to try to get on the same page, every week is different… things didn't happen perfectly, but we figured it out."

Allen echoed that sentiment, and highlighted the mental fortitude of kicker Tyler Bass to come out and nail the game-winner shortly after missing an extra-point.

"Guys are resilient, the ups and downs of an NFL game, that's a good team playing very well, playing good football right now," he said. 

"But again, guys just continuing to grind, guys going down and stepping up finding a way. I'm proud of our guys for doing that.

"I don't think you understand how big it is for a guy to do that in this league, for [Bass] just to feel that rollercoaster of emotions, to go step up for our team and nail it."

Head coach Sean McDermott also made sure to praise his kicker, saying he knew he could trust him despite the previous miss.

"You're going to have some [misses]," he said. "But to be able to let a player reset after making a mistake and come out, that's how you earn trust when you do that, right? 

"When you can give a player that second chance right there. I didn't have to mess with him. I knew he's so mentally tough, and he showed it again today."

The Bills are now 8-3 and atop the AFC East, with a Thursday fixture on the road against the New England Patriots up next.

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