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In addition to being one of the strongest and most balanced teams in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills are also quite popular with viewers.
With a sold-out crowd at Highmark Stadium, a corps of Bills Mafia members saw the beloved Bills clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff rankings on Sunday as they beat division rival New England Patriots 35-23. Synchronized to watch secure. afternoon.
Broadcast on CBS, the game helped average 11.8 ratings and 22.73 million viewers in the first half of the network’s Week 18 NFL doubleheader. As expected, Pats-Bills Tilt was the most-watched game of Week 18, earning the highest ratings and viewership of the season in the early (1pm ET) window. His CBS ratings for the final week of the NFL season were also the highest since 2011, with the league pulling in about 27 million viewers.
The emotional Patriots-Bills game, Buffalo’s first, saw the Bills score on the first play of the game since safety Dumar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field just six days earlier. opened the curtain. I believed the pages of the Hollywood script.
After receiving the opening offering of Patriots kicker Nick Faulk at the team’s own 4-yard line, running back/return specialist Nyheim Hines returned the ball 96 yards for a touchdown. The score put the Bills out of the game just 14 seconds off his clock, giving him a 7–0 lead.
“It was mental,” Hines said after the game. “I felt like he [Damar Hamlin] was there with us.
But Hines wasn’t done.in the third quarter he returned the kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown Giving the Bills a 21-17 lead. In doing so, he became the 11th player in NFL history to have two kick-return touchdowns in the same game, and the first since Leon Washington did with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. , a game with two punt return touchdowns and two kickoff return touchdowns.
Hines’ storybook began placing him prominently in the Bills record books as well. The former Indianapolis colt was the first player in franchise history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same game, and also became the first Bill to record 235 kick return yards in a single game. .
With the win, the Bills improved to 13-3 in the regular season, matching the franchise’s best mark. But anyone who didn’t mention the mental motivation that taking the field for the first time since Hamlin’s shocking first quarter collapse against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 would be remiss. right.
After being resuscitated twice for cardiac arrest, Hamlin is making a remarkable recovery. As a demonstration of solidarity across the league, the Patriots and Bills will be joining all teams to show their love and support for Hamlin through pre-game activities, including on-field apparel and his number 3 markings and “To Damar.” Add the word “love”. Hamlin has since been released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and returned to Buffalo to continue his treatment.
Meanwhile, the Bills prepare to host the Miami Dolphins for a Wild Card Weekend at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM ET.
Follow Mike Dabate on Twitter @@.mdabateNFL
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