In Week 4, New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs enjoyed his first 100-plus yard game since Week 6, 2023, a 24-game stretch, including playoffs, below the century mark for the four-time Pro Bowler.
The last time he'd hit 100 yards in a game, he was wearing a Buffalo Bills jersey. It's been a long road since, with a trade to Houston, a season-ending ACL injury, and a move to New England. Diggs returns to Buffalo for a Sunday night game against Josh Allen and many of his former teammates.
"To me, obviously, it's a little sentimental. I spent a lot of time there," Diggs said of his return, via Boston.com. "I'm real familiar with the staff, familiar with the guys there. The guys that I've maintained a relationship with, I'm looking forward to seeing them play. It's going to be a little bit emotional.
"I try to keep the main thing the main thing, but it's my first time back there. It's going to be a hell of an atmosphere. I was a part of that for a long time. I played there before I got there. So, I'm excited."
Diggs faced the Bills last year as a member of the Texans, catching six passes for 82 yards in a 23-20 win, but that game was in Houston. This time around, he'll travel to Western New York.
Diggs, a fifth-round pick, created his career in Minnesota, but really took off with Allen in Buffalo, generating four consecutive Pro Bowls. He led the league in 2020 with 127 catches and 1,535 yards, both career-highs.
The ending in Buffalo was unceremonious, with Diggs disappearing for stretches to close 2023 and an eventual trade.
"It's just the nature of the business, I'm not in control of nothing," he said of leaving Buffalo. "I get open and catch the ball. But, like, the internal stuff, obviously I miss those guys over there. You spend a lot of time with people and it becomes more personal than just professional, so when I say it's the nature of the business, that's just how it goes."
Diggs said his memories of Buffalo are fond, but he enters Sunday trying to knock off a division foe and get the 2-2 Patriots one step closer in the AFC East.
"You get excited, but try not to get too overzealous. It's another game, but it's a division game, more importantly," Diggs said. "All the things outside of that, me being there before, obviously, people are going to make that a huge thing, and it is a huge thing for me. I've got a lot of respect and a lot of love for that city, that fanbase, and even the players."
The question in New England is whether the Week 4 outing, in which he nearly doubled his yardage output for the season (112 yards in Weeks 1-3), was a one-off versus a struggling Panthers defense or a sign that he's got his groove back. Sunday night in Buffalo might give us that answer. Diggs hasn't had back-to-back 100-yard games since a quartet of century-mark outings in Weeks 3-6, 2023.
