Josh Allen credits Bills' forgotten weapon for maintaining 'mentality'
He initially appeared to be a promising free-agent addition, but wide receiver Curtis Samuel fought through a relatively quiet first season with the Buffalo Bills.
Fully healthy for the first time in months, Samuel, who has battled nagging injuries, stepped up to lead the team in receiving during Buffalo's 31-7 wild-card win over the Denver Broncos.
"He probably didn't have the season that he wanted to have. He was dealing with a few things early on and during the middle of the year, but he kept grinding, kept being quiet and stayed focused," said quarterback Josh Allen.
Over 14 regular season appearances, Samuel totaled a modest 253 yards and one touchdown on 31 receptions (46 targets). His 8.2 yards per catch average was the lowest in any of the six seasons where Samuel played more than nine games.
In his first-ever playoff game, however, Samuel rose to the occasion. Headlined by an impressive 55-yard touchdown reception on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Samuel caught all three of his targets for 68 yards against the Broncos.
“Curtis did a great job of using his speed and getting yards after catch and made a play there for us," said Allen about the touchdown that extended Buffalo's lead to 28-7.
This past offseason, reuniting the speedy Samuel with offensive play caller Joe Brady seemed like the recipe for unlocking the playmaker's potential. When the two men worked together in 2020, Samuel totaled a career-best 1,051 scrimmage yards for the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately for the Bills and their free-agent addition, multiple successive injuries prevented him from carving out a role within the offense.
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First, a turf toe injury emerged late in the preseason. In Week 7, Samuel banged up his shoulder. He was back on the injury report in December due to a rib issue.
"I've never lost any sort of trust in him, and he's just continued to work hard," said Allen. "That's kind of the mentality that we've had all year, is everybody eats and today was his day.”
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