The Buffalo Bills traded to acquire ascending wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the 2020 season, hoping that he was the missing piece to unlock quarterback Josh Allen's potential and propel the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship.
Diggs delivered on a lot of that promise. But the Bills ultimately came up short.
In his first season in Buffalo, Diggs went from a no-time Pro Bowler to a first-team All-Pro selection while leading the league in receptions and receiving yards. It was the first of four straight Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro teams in three years for Diggs.
And he indeed, helped Allen unlock his NFL potential. Allen went from completing a dismal 58.8% of his passes in his second NFL season to 69.2% in his first season playing with Diggs, a remarkable jump in accuracy that earned him his first Pro Bowl nod and set him on his track to win NFL MVP last season.
The Bills, meanwhile, made the jump from wild-card hopefuls to beasts of the AFC East and perennial Super Bowl contenders. Buffalo's offense was a juggernaut, and there were few teams that could stand in their way. But there was one.
The Kansas City Chiefs were the road block the Bills could never barrel through, and Buffalo traded Diggs to the Houston Texans ahead of the 2024 season, having failed to advance to a Super Bowl during the Allen era.
One injury-shortened season in Houston later, and Diggs joined the rival New England Patriots as a free agent, facing a similar task as he did in Buffalo: help a young quarterback in Drake Maye develop as his true No. 1 target.
On Sunday, Diggs and the Patriots will play in the Super Bowl. Allen and the Bills — if they can stomach it — will once again watch the Super Bowl from home.
Diggs: 'Parts of me wish things were different'
On Monday, during Super Bowl Opening Night, Diggs reflected on his time with the Bills while speaking with media. There was no bitterness and no anger — only love for Buffalo and Allen and regret that they couldn't get over the hump together.
"Listen. I love y'all,'' Diggs said of Buffalo. "I know I'm far gone, but I do miss y'all. I have a great relationship with y'all. Keep hanging your hat on that quarterback. That quarterback is a Hall of Fame quarterback.
"Parts of me wish things were different. I've got a lot of love and respect for that team."
Diggs then invoked his former Bills teammate Gabriel Davis, who returned to Buffalo in 2025 after a single season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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"Even when Gabe Davis went back, I was talking to Gabe, I was like 'look at you go,'" Diggs continued. "Ya'll getting the band back together? I said where's Cole Beasley at?"
Crushing defeat in Buffalo
While Diggs prepares for the Super Bowl, Allen and the Bills are coming off a playoff loss that by all accounts was devastating.
For the first time since ascending to contention, the Bills entered the postseason without the boogeyman Chiefs standing in their way. Thanks to Diggs' Patriots, they weren't a division winner with a home path in the playoffs. But many believed this to be the Bills best shot at getting to that first elusive Super Bowl of the Allen era.
Instead, they came up short on the road against the Denver Broncos in the divisional round in what was arguably the worst game of Allen's career.
Tears of anguish for Allen, joy for Diggs
It was a crushing defeat of which the Bills couldn't escape the emotion in their postgame media availability. Allen fought back tears at the podium on the heels of the 33-30 loss in which he committed four turnovers.
"Just missed opportunities throughout the game," Allen said when asked about his emotions. "It's been a long season. I hate how it ended. And it's gonna stick with me for a long time."
One week later, Diggs' Patriots beat those same Broncos in frigid conditions at that same Mile High Stadium to earn a trip to the Super Bowl. Contrast Allen's emotions with those of Diggs, who also shed tears in the immediate aftermath of that AFC championship game win.
"It made it all worth it, man. All the hard work. We've got one more," Diggs said, fighting back tears. "I just want to rejoice and take this moment in, and just be thankful for God. It's hard, man.
"They was calling me washed. Said I ain't have it no more, man. I just wanted to prove it to myself. I am who I say I am."
Diggs' 2025 season journey is not over. He's got one more game to achieve the ultimate goal and will try to do so with a quarterback in Maye whom he clearly respects and holds in esteem as he does Allen.
And if the Patriots pull off a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Diggs can close his career whenever he chooses to do so without regret over what might have been.
But nothing will take away his love for Buffalo. And as long as they're not standing in his way, it sounds like he's rooting for Allen and the Bills to get that Super Bowl ring before Allen's done.
