What could have been?
The Bills will never know, but at least Cody Ford’s wallet is a bit heavier now.
In overtime of the Bills’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, Ford received a questionable penalty. On a Josh Allen run, Ford was flagged for an illegal blindside block in the back.
Allen would have set up at 55-yard game-winning kick attempt for the Bills as it would have been fourth down regardless, but instead, Ford’s penalty put the Bills way back. Would Stephen Hauschka have been trotted out to try it? Would the Bills have gone for it on fourth-and-5? We’ll never know.
After that very questionable penalty, the Bills and their fans were very upset. Buffalo punted and the ensuing Texans’ drive ended in the game-winning kick. Still, the NFL slapped Ford with a fine for good measure, the typical $28,075 fine associated with the penalty.
Maybe a bit of justice? Ford announced on Thursday that his fine was reduced, adding, “I still believed I did nothing wrong”:
Thank You Bills Fans…the money you guys raised through the go fund me for my fine was donated to charity….My fine was reduced to just over 4K…I still believe I did nothing wrong on that play #BillsMafia
— Cody Ford ✞ (@Cody_Ford74) February 20, 2020
Also another silver lining: charity. Bills Mafia started a Go Fund Me fundraiser to pay for Ford’s fine. It raised just short of four thousand dollars, which is about where Ford’s fine was reduced to. But Ford’s not going to tap into that to pay it, as he announced, that money is going to charity instead.
Maybe not a win-win all the way around, but still a nice ending of sorts.
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