Texans’ Stefon Diggs blocking out noise, excited to face Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Week 5 game between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills will be notable for a variety of reasons, and while eyes will be on the matchup between two of the AFC’s best, they’ll also be on wide receiver Stefon Diggs as he plays against his former team.

Diggs, who was traded to the Texans on April 3, said he isn’t making this game bigger than any other.

“Block out the noise. A lot of other people are going to feel away or have a lot to say about X,Y, Z, and I don’t mind. I’m not mad at it,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Just trying to go 1-0. Obviously, they’re a good team. They have a lot of guys that can fly around on the defense. But they’re a really good team. So, I look forward to it.”

Diggs was with the Bills for four seasons after they acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. During that time, he was named a first team All-Pro (2020) and was a three-time captain. With Josh Allen, he had the most receptions (445) and receiving yards (5,372) and was tied for the most receiving touchdowns (37) of any quarterback-receiver duo during that stretch. He ranks fourth in Bills history in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Allen said he views the reunion with Diggs similarly, noting such meetings aren’t out of the ordinary in the NFL.

“It’s not the most unusual thing,” Allen said. “I think this thing happens from time to time, and you know, I’ve got a lot of love for him. I still do. The things that he did for me in my career, and the things that he did in a Buffalo Bill uniform won’t be forgotten anytime soon, especially from me. So, that’s how I look at it.

“At the same time, going into Year 7, I understand the business, and the aspect of what this league is, and again, I’m just trying to focus on what we got going on in this building.”

Allen said they haven’t had much interaction since the trade, but noted “that’s not unusual for any other [former] teammates.” The quarterback said he will look to say hello to the receiver Sunday.

“Hopefully, yeah, I’ll say what’s up, and hopefully the favor’s returned,” Allen said. “I’m sure it will be, so we’ll see.”

Both the Bills and Texans are 3-1 heading into the matchup in Houston. Allen is off to a hot start, leading the league in total QBR (82). And for the first time in his career, he hasn’t thrown an interception through the first four games.

“It’s easy to get a bad rap. Word travels fast, but when you get to a place and people get to know you, they kind of get to gauge you for their own personal and their interaction with you. And things usually turn the corner when I get somewhere else. There’s usually smiles and a lot of positive stuff. I just take it with a grain of salt. I got big shoulders.”

Stefon Diggs

Diggs, 30, has 25 receptions for 233 yards (second on the team behind Nico Collins) and two touchdowns (tied with Collins) with the Texans. Of his receiving yards, 41.6% have come after the catch, which is on pace to be the second-highest rate in his career (2018).

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said the outside perception of Diggs as a diva was a “bad rap by the media” and that “he’s been nothing but amazing to this team and to his teammates.”

“He’s helped me out a ton as you can see, we’re clicking more and more,” Stroud said. “He’s finally having fun playing the game.”

In response to a question about Stroud’s comments, Diggs shared his perspective on what’s been working in Houston.

“It’s easy to get a bad rap. Word travels fast, but when you get to a place and people get to know you, they kind of get to gauge you for their own personal and their interaction with you,” Diggs said. “And things usually turn the corner when I get somewhere else. There’s usually smiles and a lot of positive stuff. I just take it with a grain of salt. I got big shoulders.”

As far as defending a player they’re overly familiar with, the Bills said they’re well aware of the challenge Diggs and the Texans will present.

“Very talented football team, very talented in this case offensively, extremely talented on the perimeter of their offense with the receiving corps you mentioned, and it’s really hard to stop all of them, right, because you don’t have enough guys to double team all of them there,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “So, we will have our work cut out for us. Stef’s playing at a high level, he was a really good player here and competitive, as you guys know, and he’s highly competitive on tape, as I watch, and playing at a high level.”

ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.