Grief can be a powerful motivator and the Bills have experienced it firsthand the last couple of weeks.
Following last week’s win, RB Zack Moss shared that he had lost his Aunt prior to the game. This week, it was Offensive Coordinator, Brian Daboll.
Following the Bills 43-21 thumping of the Washington Football Team, Quarterback, Josh Allen shared with the media that Daboll had lost his Grandmother.
“Daboll lost his Grandma this past week. She was, you know, the woman that raised him,” Allen said.
He had a pretty tough week and to go out there and play the way we did and execute the way we did… I know him and his family are hurting right now, but it’s just crazy how the roles are reversed.”
Allen lost his Grandmother last season, in a well documented turn of events that resulted in the Bills Mafia donating over $1 million in her name to Oishei Children’s Hospital and creating the Patricia Allen Fund.
“Last year I got to come in the locker room and had a heartfelt hug with him and this year, you know, he falls in my arms,” Allen continued. “So, he’s a guy that I love dearly and to go out there and play the way we did for him, the guys understood that and wanted to go out and execute and play well for him.”
While Daboll received his fair share of criticism after Allen and the offense’s slow start to the season, the offense’s bond with their offensive coordinator is apparent.
“My heart aches for him [Daboll] and I think, you know, our guys on offense would say the same thing,” Allen replied when asked how he and the rest of the team was able to maintain their composure during such an emotional time.
“He cares so much about football and so much about being the best version of himself for us to put ourselves in situations to be successful. He takes everything very personal about this game and that’s why we love him. He’s an extremely fiery competitor and when you see a guy hurting, you know, guys rally around that. And they wanna try to help ease that pain and ease that tension, so it’s never an easy situation… I’ve been in that situation, there’s nothing you can say to help him/his family feel better… over time it feels better, but to have that type of support here and share that pain with, it takes a lot off of it.”
Left Guard, Dion Dawkins, started his post-game press conference by stating that, “this win was for Brian Daboll” and followed up with a similar tweet later on.
We love you buffalo. This one was for Brian Daboll #YouAlreadyShnow ❄️❄️
— Dion Dawkins (@DDawkins66) September 26, 2021
With the support from the players, Head Coach, Sean McDermott, was asked what it meant for him to see his team rally around Daboll.
“It’s a tragic situation obviously when someone loses someone else in their family,” McDermott said to the media. “Just thankful for the togetherness of our football team and the way that they supported Brian. Our hearts go out to Brian and his family of course.”
While Daboll’s loss received most of the attention, it shouldn’t go without mentioning that defensive back, Siran Neal, also was grieving during today’s game.
Neal was excused from practice earlier this week for, “personal reasons,” and shared on social media this morning that he lost his Grandfather.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUSeUNlL1rE/
While this Bills team is undeniably talented on the field, personal moments like this show just how close they also are off of it. We know that McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane set out to create a specific culture when they arrived in Buffalo and if games like this are any indication, they’ve been successful in doing just that.
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