Diggs a bright spot as Bills offense struggles

As the Bills have struggled offensively for the past six quarters, Stefon Diggs has kept on keepin’ on

Overall, that was definitely not a winning effort by the Buffalo Bills during their recent visit to New Jersey to face the New York Jets. And yeah, I’m still sad about it.

That doesn’t mean it was all bad, though! In an effort to cheer us up a bit, let’s take a look at the bright spot that was wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who was his usual awesome self on Sunday.

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Diggs spreads the Sauce

The Bills tested rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner right away with a long bomb to Diggs. It was successful because Diggs pulled a move that will remind every single person reading this of Kenshin’s struggles against Seta Sōjirō. (Please let at least one reader actually understand this reference without looking it up.)

For those of you who don’t want to look it up, Kenshin has trouble in the matchup because he can’t anticipate Sōjirō’s next move. Diggs goes from long-stride sprinting to very quick, choppy steps. He does that without an obvious lean in any direction. That split-second of doubt allows him to burn by Gardner and come free.

Allen and Diggs in lock-step

In our next play, Buffalo is trying to beat the Jets with a quick pass. Diggs is open enough for Josh Allen, and has the concentration to reel it in. Great throw-and-catch.

Stefon Diggs is simply great

Back to Diggs being great. One sharp, decisive cut and he’s free for the timing pass. He’s four yards past the three they needed on the down. What’s impressive is that often receivers will have a big step to plant and turn like this, but Diggs does it with a short step. This is partly due to a speed change, but he accelerates smoothly enough where it doesn’t even seem like a speed change at full speed.

Diggs’ Flow

This looks like it was intended to be a quick-timing pass. Diggs and other receivers get to their spot, and most pause (as does Diggs). As a group, they all turn toward the quarterback and flow to where they see Allen move to make it as easy as possible.

Stefon Diggs’ elite change of direction

Elite change of direction twice in the same play! The first allows Diggs to come open. The second allows him to slip the tackle and stay inbounds to gain more yards. This 17-yarder is almost all Diggs.

Diggs’ toe-tapping catch

This was the play called back due to holding. Diggs taps the toes to make the catch. The route isn’t his best work, which is not an insult. It didn’t need to be. The Jets are allowing a lot of space, and simply can’t keep up with Diggs and Allen’s cannon arm.

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In summary

I don’t think I’m breaking news when I say that Stefon Diggs is pretty great. Hopefully this helps everyone to cheer up as they root on the AFC-leading Buffalo Bills in Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings, regardless of who is under center for Buffalo.