The Bills acquired rising wideout Stefon Diggs from Minnesota before the 2020 season hoping he would unlock quarterback Josh Allen’s ceiling and be the final piece needed to deliver Buffalo its first Super Bowl. Diggs largely lived up to those expectations on the field, but the franchise still fell short of the ultimate prize.
In his debut year in Buffalo, Diggs led the NFL in catches and receiving yards and earned first-team All-Pro honors. It was the first of two All-Pro nods in three years and came amid a string of Pro Bowl selections. More importantly for Buffalo, Diggs’ arrival coincided with a dramatic jump in Allen’s accuracy — Allen’s completion percentage rose from 58.8% in his second NFL season to 69.2% in Diggs’ first year with the team — helping Allen reach his first Pro Bowl and setting the stage for his later MVP campaign.
Buffalo transformed into a perennial AFC threat with a dominant offense, but one hurdle remained: the Kansas City Chiefs. Diggs never got to a Super Bowl during the Allen era, and Buffalo traded him to the Houston Texans before the 2024 season. After an injury-shortened year in Houston, Diggs signed with AFC East rival New England as a free agent, brought in to give rookie quarterback Drake Maye a bona fide No. 1 target.
As the Super Bowl approached, Diggs reflected on his time in Buffalo with no apparent bitterness — only affection for the team and for Allen, and regret that they couldn’t get past certain obstacles together. He praised Allen as a future Hall of Famer and admitted “part of me wishes things had been different.” Diggs even encouraged former Bills teammate Gabriel Davis, who returned to Buffalo in 2025 after a season in Jacksonville, to reunite the old receiving core.
Meanwhile, the Bills were still reeling from a painful playoff exit. In the divisional round, Allen had what many viewed as one of his worst games, committing four turnovers in a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos and visibly fighting back tears afterward. A week later, Diggs and his Patriots beat the same Broncos in frigid Mile High Stadium to reach the Super Bowl, and Diggs himself was moved to tears — this time by vindication and the prospect of one more shot at the title. If New England wins on Sunday, Diggs could walk away satisfied that he finished what he set out to do.
Through it all, Diggs says his affection for Buffalo remains intact, and he appears to be rooting for Allen to eventually get the ring he never earned together.
Fan Take: This story matters because it highlights how a single veteran playmaker can reshape a quarterback’s career and alter the balance of power in the AFC. For NFL fans, it’s a reminder that player movement and personal narratives — not just X’s and O’s — shape championship windows and keep the league’s storylines compelling.
