Stefon Diggs didn’t believe his teammates on the flight back from Denver.
The Bills had just obliterated the Broncos on Saturday to clinch their first AFC East division championship in 25 years, and the team’s veterans were discussing the size of the crowd that would meet them to celebrate once they landed at the airport.
“They were talking about it on the plane, the whole plane ride home,” said Diggs, who was traded from the Vikings to the Bills in March and has since played every home game in an empty stadium because fans are barred from attending due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “They were like, ‘We wonder how many people are going to be there?’ They said last year they had like a crazy turnout when they came back from a game. And I never even heard none of that. Nothing like that really happened for me, so usually when I get off a plane, it’s just to go home.
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“So they talked about it and I was like, ‘Man, it’s probably not even that many people. They’re just talking.’ And when I got off the plane, I was like, ‘God damn! That’s a lot of people!’”
Diggs was floored.
The Bills’ star wide receiver saw a horde of mostly masked Bills fans roaring in the early morning hours in the cold, having gathered to welcome the players back to Buffalo and celebrate the Bills’ first division title since 1995.
“But that wasn’t even all the people,” Diggs said.
“When we first get off the plane, there was like a little area for people to kick it. But then when I got in my car and I was driving, I swear I saw like thousands of people outside, like banging on my car, like going crazy. So my reaction, I was just happy. You’re thankful to have fans like that, loyal fans, and they give us something to play for as well, knowing that they can’t be in the stadium but they’re pulling for us. It’s a good feeling.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen said it was “awesome to see.”
“It was nuts,” Allen said, though not unexpected. “I was one of the first ones down (off the plane). I passed everybody and I just waited because I wanted to see everybody’s reactions. I wanted to see guys like Stef, who hadn’t been around game days, hadn’t been around Bills Mafia, and guys of that nature, so just to kind of sit back and watch them and talk to them for a quick second as they left the facility there, and just the feelings were all mutual of how crazy it was and how appreciative we are of Bills Mafia. That’s probably one that I won’t forget for a long time.”
Diggs and Allen were named to their first Pro Bowl this week and among five Bills to earn the accolade, including cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and return man Andre Roberts.
Diggs leads the NFL with a career-high 111 catches and ranks third with 1,314 receiving yards, behind only Arizona receiver DeAndre Hopkins (1,324) and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce (1,318), with two games remaining in the regular season.
“When I got the news, I was super excited,” Diggs said. “I was super thankful. I was happy. But it was more so, in that very moment, I was thinking it was a collective effort. It’s not all me. More everything geared to it. My quarterback’s success, the O-line blocking their (butts) off and I thought about everybody else in that moment, because it was a long time coming with that. The situation is different now and I’m more thankful for the people that I’m around and to be able to get put in that position. …
“I really thought about everybody else besides just myself. That’s a team award. That’s not just me.”
The accolade wasn’t anywhere near as stunning to Diggs as his first experience meeting Bills Mafia at the airport.
“That was dope. That was crazy,” Diggs said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. Not in high school, college, definitely I’ve never experienced nothing like that. It was like damn near eye-opening. I’ve never had that many loyal fans around and I was safe – it felt like good energy. I can’t imagine what the stadium would be like now, so now I’m about to get greedy and try to have some stadium experience.”
