After quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills decimated the New England Patriots in a 30-point blowout victory in their AFC wild-card game, a special visitor paid tribute to Allen in Buffalo’s locker room.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick went up to congratulate Allen and compliment him on a stellar performance after Buffalo won 47-17 Saturday.
“He came up to me, which was really cool,” Allen said Thursday on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done in his career. Obviously, he’s one of the — if not the — greatest coach of all time, so for him to come up to me after the game and give me some kudos and dap me up, it meant a lot to me, just knowing the coach that he is, the type of players that he has been around and coached, and obviously the success he has had in his career. It was a pretty cool moment for me.”
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Allen completed 21 of 25 passes for 308 yards with five touchdowns, while adding 66 more yards on the ground on six carries. On all seven of Buffalo’s possessions that did not take place in end-of-half situations, the Bills scored touchdowns, making it one of the most efficient and prolific games in recent history.
Belichick, 69, is one of the most respected and productive coaches in NFL history and hasn’t shied away recently from congratulating opponents after notable performances.
Earlier this season, he shared a short post-game hug with former Patriot and current Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. During the moment after the game, Belichick told Brady he wanted to catch up with him in the locker room, where he spent around 20 minutes with Brady.
“It was more respect, ‘What you did out there was awesome,'” Allen said of the conversation with Belichick. ” ‘You played well tonight and we didn’t have an answer.’ And, again, I shared the respect right back at him. Like I said, I’m a big fan of his, and I can go on and on about the accolades that he has. But for a coach to do that, a high-caliber, it was pretty special.”
The Bills, the No. 3 seed in the AFC, will travel to Kansas City to face the No. 2 Chiefs Sunday in the divisional round.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bills QB Josh Allen recounts ‘special’ meeting with Bill Belichick