On a snowy night in Orchard Park, the Buffalo Bills won the AFC East for the fifth straight season with a 35-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
"I'm extremely happy for the fans that they get a chance to experience this at home, in the snow," head coach Sean McDermott said. "Like I said, in the locker room, and Coach Levy said it, 'Where else would you rather be, than right here, right now?' Just an awesome, awesome moment."
The win was not easy, as both teams played in a snowstorm that intensified as the game went on. The players and coaches, however, enjoyed every moment of it, as could be seen after the game when McDermott and QB Josh Allen did snow angels together following the victory.
"It's fun," TE Quintin Morris said. "Fans throwing snowballs, it's all exciting."
"I absolutely love it, and it's better than playing in the heat, for sure," RT Spencer Brown said. "The first couple drives everybody kind of runs the ball. Jimmy (James Cook) and Ray (Davis) and Ty (Johnson) did a good job."
"There's really no atmosphere like it," Epenesa said. "Especially when you get a big Sunday night game like tonight, against a good team like the Niners, it's snowing out. Fans are excited. This is one of the best atmospheres in the world. In the NFL, it's got to be top tier… It just brings another energy level for us as players, and it helps us fight through the cold, fight through that snow, and just really have fun out there."
Even with the snow, the team did not skip a beat as the offense rushed for 220 total yards and three touchdowns and the defense forced an additional three turnovers.
While there were many big plays, including a 65-yard touchdown by RB James Cook, a fumble recovery at the goal line by CB Christian Benford that he ran back for 43 yards and a touchdown pass to WR Mack Hollins in the front right corner of the end zone, the play of the game happened when Allen connected with WR Amari Cooper, who lateraled the ball back to Allen, who then dove into the end zone to score the touchdown that increased the lead to 28-3.
"That's special," Johnson said. "You don't really coach that. Those things just kind of happen, like you're playing backyard football. That is one of the greatest plays I've seen this year. It was just a special play and can't really stop that when that happens."
When asked what they saw and where, both Allen and Cooper weighed in on the play.
"I wish he got credited for something there, an assist or a passing touchdown," Allen said of Cooper. "I kind of threw a bad ball, so I was just kind of chasing it. He made a heck of a catch. I threw it, it was just kind of sticky hand. And I just kind of chased the ball just to be there. And we made eye contact, and he just pitched it and I had to go make a play. It was dope."
"I was wondering what he was doing over there," Cooper said. "That doesn't usually happen when you throw a dart route like that. I just saw him. I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him."
Including this touchdown that was counted as a receiving touchdown, Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to record a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in a game.
Cooper is known to his teammates for being quiet and not showing too much emotion, but C Connor McGovern saw some extra emotion out of him after the play.
"He gave a little smirk so that's a lot of emotion coming from him. It was great to see," McGovern said.
Dawkins also praised the play, adding that the trust that Cooper and Allen have been able to build in a short amount of time is proof of the type of program that this team has built.
"The amount of trust, Coop lateraling the ball back to Josh. Coop just got here, so the amount of trust that goes into that shows what type of program that we have here, that the guys can come in in the middle of the season and build the trust that they can do things like that and feel confident in doing it."
Emotions were high in the locker room following the game, as smiles were seen from players toting their AFC East champion hats.
"I don't take it for granted," CB Taron Johnson said. "I'm just blessed, happy that we have this opportunity. Got a great team, have a great quarterback, and just want to keep it rolling."
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One player that has been part of the team for all five AFC East titles is Epenesa. Both he and Dawkins gave credit to the front office, coaching staff and players for bringing this group together.
"I've had a lot of great teams, I've been here for all five years that's going on, I've had a lot of great teammates," Epenesa said. "A lot of credit goes to our front office and everybody bringing in the right people. People who are all about the team and ready to win and play for each other… It's not about chasing numbers, it's about chasing letters, W's… Guys are really bought into that, gives us a lot of success and a lot of hope to just to be successful."
While they were able to check one box off their training camp list, their goal is bigger than simply winning the AFC East.
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"The only thing that this does is guarantees a spot in the playoffs," QB Josh Allen said. "Still a lot to learn from and grow from throughout the season. We've got to play five more games, and next week we're going across the country so we've to be ready for that one."
CB Rasul Douglas had the same mentality, adding that they want "something you can remember forever."
"Now we are participating in something bigger," Douglas said. "You want some hardware, something that you can keep forever… You just want the whole trophy or ring, or something that you can be remembered forever."