As he puts a Pro Bowl bow on his NFL career this weekend, Kyle Williams took time to reflect on his 13-year career to provide us with the top 10 moments from his time in the league.
Below is his list of memorable times with the Bills organization as he recently described all he wanted to be as a teammate.
"As far as what it means, for me as a player, the only thing that I ever wanted to accomplish was I wanted an opportunity to compete and be the best that I could," said Williams. "Moving forward, the only thing that I hope is, whether it's present day teams, past teams or future teams, that our fans, our organization, our people would say that, 'You know a good guy to have on this team would be Kyle.' If that's the case on any of those points, then I can rest easy."
10. Swimming against Marshawn
Former Bills RB Marshawn Lynch claimed he was the best swimmer in Buffalo's locker room, and though he could swim well, Kyle Williams challenged him to a race in the team's therapy pool. We covered it on Buffalobills.com. Suffice to say that Lynch was overmatched by the former high school All-Sectional swimmer. Lynch was stunned to see the 300-pound Williams pull ahead of him quickly and then throw in a flip turn as well as Williams won easily by about five strokes.
9. Getting drafted
Time and again, all Kyle Williams said he wanted was an opportunity. The Bills gave him that opportunity making him the first pick in round five of the 2006 NFL draft. By Week 6 of his rookie season, Williams was named a starter. Only one player in the entire 2006 draft class went to more Pro Bowls than Williams. Former Jets C Nick Mangold, who went seven times.
8. INT vs. Bears – 2014
The one and only interception of Kyle's career came in the fourth quarter of the season opener in 2014 at Chicago. Williams stepped in front of a Jay Cutler pass with 11 minutes left in regulation. The turnover led to a go-ahead field goal by the Bills before the Bears got a field goal to tie it and send it to OT. But Buffalo won in overtime 23-20.
7. All his sacks of Tom Brady
Williams had a half dozen sacks on the Patriots quarterback over his 13 seasons with his last coming in Week 16 of the 2017 season at Gillette Stadium.
6. Week 3 vs. Patriots 2011
The 34-31 win that broke New England's 15-game winning streak against the Bills. After falling behind 21-0, Buffalo's defense got four interceptions and held the Patriots to just 10 points in the second half.
5. His 2013 Pro Bowl nod
Williams appreciated all of his Pro Bowls, but he most enjoyed this one as he had the chance to go with two of his fellow defensive linemen as Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus were also named as Pro Bowl representatives for the Bills, in a season where Buffalo led the league in sacks with 57.
4. Touchdown run vs. Dolphins
Lined up as a fullback caught even his own teammates by surprise, as Williams told no one on the defensive side of the ball that week about the possibility of him getting a goal line carry in the 2017 season finale, but his one-yard touchdown run proved to be the winning points in the 22-16 final.
3. Fan reception at airport – Jan. 1*st*, 2018
Despite the air temperature being two degrees, several hundred Bills fans showed up at the airport to welcome the team back from Miami after they qualified for the postseason. The loudest chant by Bills fans was, "We want Kyle!!! ----- We want Kyle!!"
2. Farewell game at New Era Field
From being surprised by his family during pre-game introductions to catching the first and only pass of his career to taking a lap around the stadium to high-five fans and allow them to thank him for all he did on the field, Williams called it a memorable and fitting way to end his time with the Bills.
1. Locker room celebration with two sons after making playoffs – Dec. 31, 2017
I'll let Kyle handle describing this one.
"It was awesome. Those boys, they had a great time," said Williams. "To be able to play on the field with them and enjoy that moment with them in the locker room. I'm hopeful that they'll remember that. They were pretty young, I hope they'll remember that forever because their dad won't forget. There are photos and video and a lot of things that commit that to memory that my family is going to hold tight to and near and dear for a long, long time."
