Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll orchestrated the sweetest drive of Buffalo’s 8-3 season off the field following Sunday’s 20-3 win versus the Broncos (3-8).
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported this feel-good family story Wednesday ahead of the AFC East second-place team’s trip to Dallas to face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Racheal Hall takes her 12-year-old son Ethan to a Bills game every year. Hall’s cousin Mike Bonefede is a 10-year season ticket holder and the group was heading New Era Field Sunday when Bonefede’s truck broke down. A mere four miles from the stadium, the five-person group Ubered the rest of the way in.
But after the Bills beat Denver, surcharge pricing pushed the cost of a trip all the way home to nearly $300. The group decided to begin walking away from the stadium with the hopes that distance and time away from the just-finished game would lead to more affordable pricing.
During the walk, Bonefede recognized a man in traffic with his window rolled down as the man in charge of the Bills offensive play calling, Daboll himself. Mike struck up a conversation which led to the offensive coordinator offering to drive the group to a nearby Tim Horton’s where they would be able to wait for an Uber the rest of the way.
Hall told the Democrat and Chronicle that she believed her cousin was simply friends with the kind driver and was discussing the game unknowingly, even referencing her son’s wish for his fantasy WR John Brown to catch a pass coming true. Eventually, Hall asked Daboll how he knew Bonefede and learned the truth: the group lucked into a ride from the game for free thanks to their team’s OC.