It was a sight to behold (among many) as Buffalo Bills veteran defensive tackle, Kyle Williams, took a hand off on offense to score a one yard touchdown from the Miami Dolphin’s goal-line in their win on Sunday:
After all, he (Kyle) was Mr. Buffalo Bill. This is a guy that’s endured the longest chunk of losing for any current player on the team during the franchise’s record 17 year playoff drought. And then, some real magic happened.
Soon after the Bills huddled back in their locker room, to catch the very important final moments of the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens game, a storybook ending to their season occurred due to the incredible 4th down and 12 touchdown pass from Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Below is one of the locker room videos that were captured just as the entire Buffalo Bills team realized that Andy Dalton and the Bengals were about to send them into the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons:
Seriously, people, this is the stuff of legend. How many times can the NFL claim to have had such high drama in the final week of the regular season captured as players and fans realize they’re getting thrusted into the NFL playoffs in the most unthinkable and unlikely fashion? I honestly cannot remember seeing this sort of thing unfold like the way it did on New Years Eve. Cue the theme from Rudy as this was simply epic!
And if that wasn’t enough, from that point onward, Bills fans proceeded to flood Andy Dalton’s charitable organization with thousands of dollars in donations. Talk about paying it forward, and in turn doing so to a cause that benefits children. When interviewed on the CBS Evening News about this outpouring of support from Bills faithful, he added, “It’s a crazy story to think that — obviously for me, playing for the Bengals — winning a game to help them get to the playoffs, and there’s a whole different fan base donating to our foundation,” Dalton told “CBS Evening News” anchor Jeff Glor.
Below is a clip of the play that sent the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs, care of Mr. Dalton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUDGs9rget4
The reality is the NFL has been struggling all season long–From the anthem controversy to all-time low ratings, half empty stadiums, and an overall product that’s been becoming more watered down since the 1990s as compared to College Football. It’s now truly rare to see last minute wins like the one the Bengals pulled off to knock the Ravens out and the Bills in. I more than expected a flag to be thrown on that play to bring it back. College Football, however, still has that magic that the NFL used to have, and yet we caught a microcosm reminder of what the NFL used to be with that breathtaking moment.
Bottom line? The NFL is damn lucky to have the feel good story of the Buffalo Bills (and Andy Dalton) brewing right now. This is the sort of thing that could potentially get made into a film someday, or at the very least, one hell of a documentary on ESPN. Perhaps this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Kyle Williams and the Buffalo Bills either. As they face off in their first playoff game in 17 years on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars and their former head coach, Doug Marrone, who walked out on not only the Bills 3 years ago, but also the Syracuse Orangemen program in 2013, maybe, just maybe, karma will come full circle and aid in continuing this uplifting underdog story. Nuff said.
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