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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNSep 25, 2024, 05:08 PM ET
- Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen clarified on Wednesday that his recent positive comments toward his current teammates were not digs or in any way directed at his former teammates.
Some of what Allen said in his postgame news conference following the team’s 47-10 win in Week 3 over the Jacksonville Jaguars was perceived by some people online and on sports talk shows as referring to people who used to be on the Bills, specifically now-Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Allen’s clarifying remarks came in response to a question about how encouraging it is to see the team embrace the offense’s “everybody eats” philosophy this year, which stresses that everyone can be involved in the offense at any time and has players focusing on every route like they will be targeted.
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“I know there’s a lot of people talking out there, again, I’m not trying to tear down anybody,” Allen said on Wednesday. “I’ve loved everybody that I’ve played with, and you don’t have to tear other people down to build each other up. And we’re building each other up right now and that’s all we’re trying to do and trying to stay together as a team. We’re really caring about each other and everybody in this building’s got that feeling.”
When he was asked what he was referring to, Allen said, “You know what I mean. You know what I mean. Whether it’s former players…”
He was then asked whether by that he meant Diggs specifically. “Yeah, and again, I love 14, I still do. But everyone wants to keep making this thing a thing. We’re so focused on what’s going on inside of our building and that’s the only thing we’re caring about right now.”
Allen’s initial comments that sparked interest were in reply to a question about what six Bills players catching touchdowns vs. the Jaguars shows about their offense.
“That’s the beauty of it when guys get to buy into this and really understand like I may not get the ball four or five times thrown to me a game but the one or two times I do, I’m going to have opportunities to be in the end zone,” Allen said on Monday night. “It’s a fun and wonderful thing when you got a bunch of guys that don’t care about the stats, they don’t care about the touchdowns.”
Diggs was traded from the Bills to the Texans in April along with a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 189 overall) and a 2025 fifth-round selection, with the Bills receiving a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings).
The three-time Bills captain led the team in targets and receiving yards each of his four seasons with the team. Coming into 2024, Diggs accounted for 21% of Allen’s career targets, 11 percentage points higher than his next-highest player (Cole Beasley, 10%).
Ten players caught passes in the team’s win over the Jaguars. Allen is off to the best statistical stretch of three games in his career.
The 3-0 Bills will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), marking the next phase of the matchup between 2018 first-round draft picks Allen and Lamar Jackson.
“[Jackson has] really changed the way that I think guys play the game, but make no mistake about it. He can throw the snot out of the football,” Allen said. “Got a lot of respect for him, a lot of love for him. Love watching him play because every play is never dead with him. He’s got a crazy ability to keep plays alive and make guys miss and then get the ball downfield. So, he’s a special player.”
