'Winning is fun': With camaraderie on display and division title locked up, Bills stay loose
Coming off a win where he leapt into the end zone on one play and had a negated but celebrated chest-pass throw on another, Bills quarterback Josh Allen agrees that this is the loosest he’s seen his team.
Eventually, Josh Allen got so distracted that he had to look away.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback was holding his weekly news conference as teammates threw a whistling Nerf football in the background. Backup quarterbacks and specialists spread across the field house as they threw the ball farther, the whistles getting longer and louder.
Meanwhile, Allen tried to answer if he is physically playing his best football right now.
“I think so. You know, in terms of ball placement, especially these last few weeks, making sure that I’m staying consistent with my mechanics,” Allen said as he began looking to his left and laughing. “I’m sorry, guys.”
Allen couldn’t help but grin as a reporter quipped that this is serious business.
“I know, right? And we get to have fun,” Allen said. “They’re having fun. We get to have fun here. This is what it’s all about.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates a touchdown run by Ray Davis against the 49ers on Dec. 1. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Wednesday was fun for the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are 11-3 as they prepare to host the 3-11 New England Patriots. Buffalo already has won the AFC East, but the team knows there’s more on the horizon. Even so, the team seemed relaxed after Wednesday’s walk-through practice.
Right before his news conference, Allen was the recipient of a Styrofoam peanuts bath as part of his celebration for winning the NVP – Nickelodeon’s Most Valuable Player – weekly award. Allen gathered his offensive linemen to distribute the slime-themed swag, put on sunglasses and gave his signature thumbs up as he posed with the trophy. The group worked as a team to clean the peanuts off the field.
Coming off a win where he leapt into the end zone on one play and had a negated but celebrated chest-pass throw on another, Allen agrees that this is the loosest he’s seen his team.
“I would say yes, for the fact is, you know, we have a playoff spot locked up,” Allen said. “We didn’t have to wait until one of the final weeks to do it. But again, I just think throughout my time I’ve been here having fun, making sure I’m coming to this building, having a smile on my face when everybody sees me, it’s I’m making sure I say hello and dap them up and let them know how much I love being here.
“Because I think it is infectious. I think it’s something that can spread throughout the team.”
Left tackle Dion Dawkins is one of four players that has been with the Bills since Allen’s rookie season. Dawkins has seen Allen evolve over time, and the team follows its leader.
Dawkins, wearing an NVP hat and an undershirt that had “Shnow is love” stitched on the collar, had another theory for the good vibes around One Bills Drive.
“I don’t want to keep bringing energy to it,” Dawkins said, “But I’m telling you, like, when you have a strong female behind you, and when you’re in the right mental space of going home and everything is peaceful and going to your cell phone, and seeing a heart in your phone, and it just makes you bubble or something – it’s something about it.
“He’s having fun because everything around him is right. And because he’s right, we’re right. And because we’re right, he’s right. It’s a fun year.”
Allen proposed to fiancée Hailee Steinfeld during the Bills’ bye week. Dawkins thinks that – along with other factors – was a boost to the Bills.
“I think the energy is right,” Dawkins said. “Everybody’s smiling. You’re not just smiling because it’s Christmas. We’re not just smiling, one, because we’re winning, but because of that, the energy is right. And it comes from every source that’s here. …
“Josh is the head of our football team. When that is right, everything else is right. (Coach Sean) McDermott is happy – he’s doing snow angels, right? Like, look at it for what it is, and understand that we’re not robots.”
Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins runs onto the field prior to playing the Chiefs on Nov. 17 at Highmark Stadium. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Whatever the reason, players around the Bills locker room agree that the team is having more fun than usual.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” running back Ty Johnson said. “It’s a hell of a time. It’s a good time. I couldn’t imagine the type of fun that I’ve had here anywhere else. So, it’s been great.”
The Bills are extremely intentional about team building. It starts with who they bring to the roster, and the tangible work begins during training camp at St. John Fisher University. There, as one of just eight NFL teams that spend camp away from their facilities, the Bills are forced to grow closer.
It’s one thing to trumpet a tight-knit team in August. Now that it’s Week 16 in a long and grueling season, those bonds are more important. In Orchard Park, they’re more evident than ever. And the Bills are benefiting from that on Sundays.
“I think that chemistry, just that camaraderie you build off the field always translates to on the field,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “And we’ve just got a group of guys that genuinely likes hanging with each other off the field, having fun on the field, singing songs – I mean partying to ‘Mr. Brightside’ – stuff like that makes it more fun to play for each other and helps you play to a better level.”
It’s not new for the Bills to brag about their brotherhood. Year after year, the team chemistry is cited as a reason players stay – or come back – to Orchard Park. But players feel there’s something different this year. Second-year right guard O’Cyrus Torrence compares it to all different levels of football.
“I think a lot of fun – even more so than I’ve had in recent years, like in college and stuff, and more so than last year,” Torrence said. “Like, right now you hear the guys in (the locker room) still playing ping pong.
“It’s five minutes from our meetings, and guys still trying to enjoy their little time together. So, I feel like definitely just guys being able to be themselves and have fun definitely has been a part of the culture that’s been brought up around here.”
But to really enjoy every day, the Bills aren’t just goofing off between meetings. Torrence said that the loose nature of the team goes hand in hand with a competitive drive to play one’s best for his teammates.
“To do that, you’ve gotta win,” Torrence said. “I think winning is fun.”
And in the end, one statistic most dictates the energy radiating from the Bills.
“I guess the winning aspect of it is the most fun part,” Allen said. “And when you’re winning, you’re afforded to do some more fun things on the football field.”
Injury report
The Bills held a walk through on Wednesday. Everyone participated in some fashion, as McDermott said would be the case ahead of the practice.Six players were limited, including four defensive starters: cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee), safety Damar Hamlin (rib), linebacker Matt Milano (biceps/groin), safety Taylor Rapp (neck), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (rub) and linebacker Dorian Williams (elbow).
Allen was not listed on the injury report, despite having a “funky fall” in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Allen went into the X-ray room in Detroit after the game, but said he was “all good.”
Six other Bills players were listed on the report as full participants: right tackle Spencer Brown (neck), defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist), wide receiver Amari Cooper (wrist), tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), tight end Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin), and defensive end Dawuane Smoot (wrist).
Wide receiver Keon Coleman, who made his return to the lineup after missing four games with a wrist injury, was not listed on the report.
For the New England Patriots, safety Kyle Dugger (ankle/illness), running back JaMycal Hasty (ankle) and cornerback Marcus Jones (hip) did not practice.
Nine Patriots were limited: wide receiver Javon Baker (concussion), defensive tackle Christian Barmore (not injury related), cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), tackle Vederian Lowe (shoulder), offensive lineman Cole Strange (knee), linebacker Jahlani Tavai (groin), offensive tackle Caedan Wallace (ankle) and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (foot).
Allen honored
In addition to the prestigious NVP honor, Allen picked up a couple of other accolades.Allen was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. It was his third such honor of the season and his 15th career nod.
This also was the eighth time that a Bills player has earned an AFC Offensive Player of the Week award this season, which marks the most in a single season in franchise history.
Allen was named one of eight finalists for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Every team nominates one player, the initial 32 nominees were announced in November. The finalists – four from the AFC and four from the NFC – are selected by a panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community. The winner is announced as part of NFL Honors ahead of the Super Bowl.