Bills Beating Patriots? ‘Everyone Knew,' Says DB Jordan Poyer

Stopping the Buffalo Bills from getting a win in Week 18 was already going to be a difficult task for the New England Patriots. But with Damar Hamlin fueling the fire, a Bills loss seemed near impossible.

After everything the Buffalo Bills had been through, veteran safety Jordan Poyer knew a win was coming Sunday against the New England Patriots after receiving a motivational text message from Damar Hamlin’s father.

“After I read that, I was like ‘Let’s get it,’” Poyer said on his podcast. “I knew we were gonna beat the Patriots, everyone knew we were gonna beat the Patriots.”

So, what did the message say?

Said Poyer: “The messages that I got back from his dad … he said ‘We need you to be a leader for the men. It’s time to get back to work and finish the mission. Damar sacrificed himself to help the team accomplish. It’s what he’d want. Ten toes down.’”

At first, a win over New England didn’t look like it’d come all too easy, even after Bills running back Nyheim Hines took the opening kickoff to the house in miraculous fashion.

Buffalo allowed New England’s offense to catch a rhythm in the first half and trailed the Pats 17-14 at the beginning of the third quarter.

But after Hines had his second return touchdown of the day, the Bills led the rest of the way. Even while playing with a torn meniscus, Poyer and the defense sealed the win with a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter.

Now, the Bills look to the postseason, as they’ll host the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on Sunday in the AFC Wild Card round. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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