After his New England Patriots were walloped by the Buffalo Bills last weekend, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick marched into the Bills’ locker room for an “extended period,” according to one report.
And no, it wasn’t to start any trouble after the Bills’ 47-17 super wild-card victory.
It was to credit the victors for their performance. Specifically to quarterback Josh Allen.
Most one-on-one conversations with Belichick tend to be bound by the Omertà code, but Allen spilled the deets on what Belichick said to him face to face last Saturday night.
“He came up to me, which is really cool,” Allen told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done over his career, and obviously he’s one of the, if not the, greatest coach of all time.
“So for him to come up to me after a game and give me some kudos and dap me up meant a lot to me, just knowing the type of coach that he is, the type of players that he’s been around and he’s coached, and obviously the success that he’s had throughout his career. It was a pretty cool moment for me.”
Allen did to Belichick what few, if any, quarterbacks ever have. The Bills did not punt and scored touchdowns on every non-kneeldown possession. That’s never happened against a Belichick-coached defense.
In a nearly flawless performance, Allen completed 21 of 25 passes for 308 yards and five TD passes, along with rushing six times for 66 more yards.
As McAfee noted, most opposing coaches don’t make that move but that Belichick is sort of in a class of his own in that regard. Did he flatter Allen? Ask him to take it easier on the Patriots next season?
“Just more respect … like, ‘What you did out there was awesome,’” Allen said. “‘You played well tonight. We didn’t have an answer.’
“Again, I shared respect right back, obviously, because I’m a big fan of his and I could go on and on about the accolades that he has. But again, for a coach to do that, that high caliber, was pretty special.”
The Bills face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday night.