Josh Allen: Bills' fans support after grandmother's passing 'means the world'

When Bills fans learned after Sunday's victory against Seattle of the death of Patricia Allen, they began donating $17 in her memory to Buffalo's Oishei Children's Hospital, to which Allen has given time and generosity since joining the team in 2018. Oishei reported Wednesday that more than $300,000 in donations have been made by thousands of donors. 

"Words can't really describe how I feel, how my family feels," Allen told reporters Wednesday, the first he has spoken since his grandmother's death became public. "Every time I call my parents and let them know the new number, they just start bawling all over again. And to know that people care and that so much good is coming out of a tough situation, it means the world to myself, it means the world to my family.

"It just shows how this Bills community and this Buffalo community rally around each other and that's what they've been known for and that's what they're still known for. I mean, I can't thank everybody who supported and donated, I can't thank them enough. It's overwhelming, for sure, but so much good is coming out of such a tough situation that you can't help but smile at it. It's unbelievable."

Allen described the woman everyone in his family called "Grammy" as the "sweetest, nicest lady you'd ever meet. Not a single mean bone in her body." He reflected on her cooking "the most amazing food" and spending holidays with her and the rest of his family in Firebaugh, Calif., and Fresno, Calif., after Patricia and her late husband moved there.

"I mean, she was a huge, huge supporter of myself," Allen said. "She went to all the high school games and she made a few NFL games. It's going to stink going on without her for sure. I wish I could have been there with my family and give them all hugs, but it is what it is. She'll be greatly missed and never forgotten, for sure."