How did Buffalo Bills fans react when their team made the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons? Judging by the videos making their way to the internet after the team’s miracle finish on…
How did Buffalo Bills fans react when their team made the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons? Judging by the videos making their way to the internet after the team’s miracle finish on Sunday, they party like it’s 1999.
Coming into the day on Sunday, the Bills had just a 12.5 percent chance of reaching the postseason for the first time since the 1999 season. They first needed to win over a 6-9 Dolphins team, then get a big heap of help. With a Bills win, there were then two scenarios that would put the Bills in; either a Cincinnati win over the Ravens, or losses by both the Chargers and Titans.
The Bills took care of their own business, withstanding a late rally by the Dolphins to win 22-16. But that was where it got dicey. The Chargers and Titans both won, and the Ravens looked to be wrapping up a win over the Bengals as well, holding the ball with a three-point lead and a little more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
But the Bengals held the Ravens on third down, forcing a punt and taking over on their own 10-yard line. The Bengals drove to midfield with less than a minute remaining, but were held at a fourth and 13. All Baltimore had to do was stop the play and they would have won and advanced to the playoffs, but Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton found Tyler Boyd for an improbable 49-yard touchdown.
The Ravens did nothing with the ball when they got it back, and the Bills made the playoffs in miraculous fashion.
Suffice to say, Bills fans across the country were overjoyed. Some viral videos show the large contingent of Bills fans who were in Hard Rock Stadium to watch the win over Miami, waiting in the concourse and watching the finale of the Bengals-Ravens game on the concourse televisions.
The Bills themselves had quite the celebration in the locker room, led by 12-year veteran Kyle Williams. Expected to retire after the season, the Bills gave the giant defensive lineman a carry from the 1-yard line. Williams barreled through the Dolphins defensive line, scoring his first career touchdown on his first career carry, a score that turned out to be the game-winner.
There were plenty of other reactions to the Bills making the playoffs across the internet; and plenty of love between Bills fans and the Bengals, their new best friends.
Bills fans now have a week to savor the feeling of making the playoffs. They will kick off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at 1 p.m.
