Last time we need to hear about the damn Dolphins. Bye Bye Tua. It was a beautiful sight to see once again the Buffalo culture take over the game early and never let up. Tua didn't have Daddy Fitz to save him, and the Flores plan fell on his face. Their season is over.
The Buffalo Bills Season is officially starting. What do I mean? This was all just work. The real season is just beginning.
I don't mean to sound cocky, but nothing this season has surprised me yet. I knew last year we'd be here today. If you stick with me, I'll explain why.
Tyrod, I saw a savior.
I loved Tyrod. I knew he wasn't good enough to win us a Super Bowl. I knew he was the type of LEADER the Bills needed. He was the type of SOUL to give this team an identity. So much of playing quarterback is done with X's and O's. You can ask any All 22er on Twitter how to beat a cover 2. But so much of it is done merely with love and passion for your team and the game.
Anyone can say HOW it SHOULD be done. Anyone can pick out someone WHO ISN"T getting it all done. Tyrod was enough to get us to the playoffs, and no one was grateful enough if you ask me. He had an IT factor. He had a swagger. He had faith, but we knew it wouldn't be enough.
Fitz, I saw a Warrior.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is smarter than probably anyone reading this article, and also an all time great QB and respected by all of his teammates. When Ryan Fitzpatrick was handed the keys to Buffalo, we didn't have these uniforms. We didn't have the facilities that Beane and Pegula installed for player treatment.
We were playing games in Toronto at that point. He would get injured in Toronto ironically. When Fitzpatrick won the game against the Patriots, that was the best moment in my Bills life at that point. I also saw the Foo Fighters live that night.
All we had was who we were then, and Fitz gave it his all. The fearlessness, passion, and IQ was real, but knew it wouldn't be enough.
Other former QB's all put in the work.
They did not have the support, staff, or franchise that Josh Allen has today. Josh Allen has become the savior of this city, and he will be for a long time. His huge arm has lifted the team to new heights. You can even buy a rosary with Josh Allen's face here in Buffalo on Facebook Marketplace. He isn't the first to try. Brandon Beane has put Josh in positions that no QB has ever had. He has given him every opportunity to succeed. No QB can succeed without a supporting cast behind him. Still many did.
Never Say Die
I saw JP Losman throw for 300 yards in a half vs Palmer, TO and Ochocinco and win. I saw EJ beat Cam's Panthers on a last second throw to Stevie. I saw Kyle Orton win a Vikings game at the last second to Sammy. They couldn't get to the playoffs though. They all tried, and couldn't get to the postseason. We knew who we were as a franchise.
Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson are both out there somewhere, and they too still sting from not being able to bring it home for Buffalo. They brought it home together. Rob Johnson's final drive vs the Titans prior to the Music City Miracle is MIRACULOUS. Despite the QB drama, those 2 brought us close. That was probably the last time we thought we knew who we were.
Drew Bledsoe battled to keep the light burning, but couldn't make the playoffs. Tyrod (and Andy Dalton) helped us break the curse and reach the playoffs, but we were outmatched. This article is for all of them. They all gave us hope. Winning removes those memories that were hopeful.
Over time, as Buffalonians and Bills fans, we started to think of ourselves as losers. We were.
Though so many memories remained tarnished and empty, lessons of loyalty, faith, honor, fearlessness, and a will to never give up hope remained in the hearts of anyone who's ever put on a Bills jersey, fan or player.
Winning makes you forget.
Buffalo fans' memories will now get very short. New fans will flock to the BillsMafia from all over the world. The real ones will never forget what it was like. The suffering, the hope, the failures.
Josh Allen, as many have stated, was barely a toddler when Rob Johnson led that ankle-tape last drive. He was at Wyoming when Tyrod took it on the chin vs a VERY GOOD Jaguars team and was shipped out. He was there to see Peterman.
Then it was his turn. He immediately jumped over someone in Minnesota. His second year would prove his will to win and improve fit the mold of Buffalo. The hope, the fearlessness, the faith, the honor started creeping back into the hearts of Bills fans.
He was there for the Cowboys coming out party on Thanksgiving.
He was there to ALMOST beat Tom Brady.
He was also here last year, for the Texans loss.
For the first time, he got to feel how it REALLY feels to be a Bill. (or Bills fan)
Still though, pundits doubted him. His accuracy. His decision making. The Grinch fans were too hurt by years of trauma.
I never did. I continued to point to the heart.
As amazing as this season has been, it's pretty incredible to see not only WHAT has happened, but the incredible shift in HOW it's happened. This isn't just about sports. There are thousands of cursed souls who spent their lives drinking in the stands and listening to WGR550. I get it it's great for Buffalo fans. It's also good for the Kelly's and Reed's to get some of their street cred back. There has been a shift in 2020 in Buffalo, from the top down.
There are so many who battled their asses off for this franchise and never got a taste. And they are getting it now. They are FOREVER BILLS. The memory of being a BILL can change now.
This is for every one of those players who fought for the Bills. So many warriors and saviors who had hope and faith and didn't get there. Josh Allen became one of those last year versus the Texans. He didn't get there. He couldn't bring it home.
As we enter this playoff season, as fans, don't forget what it was like to want. Remain grateful for this. Enjoy every second. You never know when you're going to get this again. Many players lived to see this and feel this and never did. This goes out to every Bills player, QB or other, who worked for this franchise.
We have our QB, we have our team, and we have a future. 2 Seed home matchup against the Colts, Frank Reich. Someone who knows a bit about Buffalo QBing. What a world we are living in today. The Bills are the HOTTEST TEAM in the NFL and have the HOTTEST QB. The QB that NO ONE wants to play. Everyone is a little afraid of playing against the Bills, and everyone is afraid to play against Josh Allen.
So wait, how did I know we were going to be here?
If you think back, you may have a hazy memory of Desaun Watson winning the game in the Playoffs. How do you remember the Texans game going? Do you even remember?
I vividly remember and constantly remind others of how Josh Allen had the Bills in position to kick to win the game. A phantom crackback block call prevented us from kicking to win and advance. I truly believed we had a QB who could upset ANYONE. We got screwed. AGAIN. Music City, No Goal, Crackback.
Many "fans" spent the offseason doubting him. I knew after the Texans loss we would be here today. I knew. How? The truth is in the eyes.
If you want to judge a QB or a football player, you can judge their stats, you can judge their release, you can judge the way they look, walk, or talk. I look in the eyes.
There is a look. There is a fire. There is a truth. I knew Josh Allen would never end up a loser. Some people just don't. When Josh Allen started his first game as a Bill he was one person.
When he lost that game versus the Texans, he became another person.
He became one of us.
He got to feel what it was like to be a loser.
A failure.
A Bill.
The difference is, he wasn't okay with it. He will never be okay with it. That's not who HE IS. In 3 short years, he changed what it has meant to be a Buffalo Bill forever, what it means to be from Buffalo forever, and has reminded every Buffalonian of who they REALLY are on the inside.
I remember seeing the look on Josh's face and remember him being meme'd for it. Any real warrior knew what that look meant. The boy turned into a Giant that day. That day created a monster for all 31 other teams in the NFL.
He may look like a giant on the outside, but it is his heart on the inside that is truly gigantic. The eyes tell the truth.
He was always one of us, someone with hope, faith, work ethic, fearlessness and loyalty. That's what got him all the way from California, to Wyoming, to here, against all odds stacked against him. That's what gave him the opportunity to lead an NFL franchise, and to change an entire city.
Everyone wants to be the first one to believe in Josh Allen now, but I'll be the first to admit..
We thought we were going to teach him what Buffalo was all about.. maybe we were wrong. Maybe it was us that needed him to REMIND us who we really were all along. BILLS.
So yeah, I knew the day we lost to Houston we'd ALL be here today. Josh Allen's eyes told me we will never be the same franchise or city again.
If you want to really judge a QB, a football player, or a person for that matter.... look into the eyes. That is how you can tell the future.
LETS GO BILLS.
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