ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Week 5 matchup between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills will be notable for a variety of reasons, and while eyes will be on the matchup between two of the AFC’s best, they will also be on to wide receiver Stefon. Diggs while playing against his old team.
Diggs, who was traded to the Texans on April 3, said he wouldn’t make this game more important than any other.
“Block out the noise. A lot of other people are going to feel bothered or have a lot to say about X, Y, Z, and that doesn’t bother me. I’m not angry about that,” Diggs said Wednesday. “I’m just trying to go 1-0. Obviously, they’re a good team. They have a lot of guys who can steal on defense. But they’re a really good team. So, I’m looking forward to ‘be there.’
Diggs was with the Bills for four seasons after acquiring him in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. During that time, he was named first team All-Pro (2020), was a three-time captain, and, along with Josh Allen, had the most receptions (445), receiving yards (5,372) and tied for the most the most receiving touchdowns (37) of any quarterback-receiver duo during that stretch. He ranks fourth in Bills history in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Allen said he views the reunion with Diggs the same way, emphasizing that such reunions are not out of the ordinary in the NFL.
“It’s not the most unusual thing,” Allen said. “I think this thing happens every once in a while, and you know, I have a lot of love for him. I still love him. The things he did for me in my career and the things he made in a Buffalo Bill’s uniform will not soon be forgotten, especially on my part. That’s how I see it.
“At the same time, going into year seven, I understand the business and the aspects of this league, and again, just trying to focus on what we have going on in this building. “
Allen said they haven’t had much interaction since the trade, but noted that “it’s not unusual for others [former] teammates.” The quarterback said he would look to say hello to the receiver on Sunday.
“I hope so, I’ll say what’s going on, and I hope the favor is returned. I’m sure it will, so we’ll see,” Allen said.
The Bills and Texans are 3-1 heading into the game in Houston. Allen is off to a hot start, leading the league in total QBR (82). And for the first time in his career, he didn’t throw an interception through the first four games.
“It’s easy to get a bad reputation. Words travel fast, but when you get to a place and people get to know you, they can kind of evaluate you for their own personality and their interaction with you. And things usually turn around when I get somewhere else there are usually smiles and lots of positive things I take it with a grain of salt.
Steve Diggs
Diggs, 30, has 25 receptions for 233 yards (second on the team behind Nico Collins) and two touchdowns (tied with Collins) with the Texans. Of his receiving yards, 41.6% came after the catch, which is on pace to be the second-highest rate of his career (2018).
Texans quarterback CJ Stroud said the outside perception of Diggs as a diva was a “bad reputation from the media” and that “he has been nothing but incredible to this team and his teammates” .
“He’s helped me a lot, as you can see we’re clicking more and more,” Stroud said. “He’s finally having fun playing.”
In response to a question about Stroud’s comments, Diggs shared his perspective on what works in Houston.
“It’s easy to get a bad reputation. Words travel fast, but when you get to a place and people get to know you, they can kind of evaluate you for their own personality and their interaction with you,” Diggs said. “And things usually change when I get somewhere else. There are usually smiles and a lot of positive things. I take that with a grain of salt. I have big shoulders.”
When it comes to defending a player they know all too well, the Bills said they are well aware of the challenge Diggs and the Texans will present.
“Very talented football team, very talented in this case offensively, extremely talented on the perimeter of their offense with the receiving corps that you mentioned, and it’s really hard to stop them all, isn’t it, because you don’t have enough guys to double team everyone there,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “So we will have our work cut out for us. Stef plays at a high level, he was a very good player here and competitive, as you know, and he’s very competitive on tape, as I watch him, and he plays at a high level. »
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
