Firebaugh turns out for favorite son Josh Allen in his first pro game in home state
Firebaugh was well-represented Thursday at the NFL season-opener.
About 350 fans (NFL Network’s estimate) made the trip from the Valley to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to see former Firebaugh High star and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen play.
The Bills defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-10.
It was Allen’s first pro game in his home state since he was drafted in 2018 and it’s the only time the Bills will make the trip to California this season.
“There have been a lot of great moments,” his father, Joel, told the Los Angeles Times. “But this is epic.”
Plenty of Bills fans, including Allen’s family, tailgated in the parking lot and saluted Firebaugh.
“Fireball Shots for Firebaugh! We are hosting the Allen’s and Crew from Firebaugh in LA! Go Bills!” Gameday Hospitality Buffalo tweeted.
Allen delighted Bills Mafia completing 26 of 31 for 297 yards with three touchdowns. He also had 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown, confirming his status as an NFL MVP favorite and the Bills’ ranking as a Super Bowl contender.
The performance was far from perfect in Allen’s eyes. After all, two of his passes were intercepted in the first half and the Bills also lost a fumble.
What could have been a blowout by Buffalo after two quarters instead was a 10-10 deadlock.
“I was actually happy at halftime,” Allen said. “Three turnovers and going in 10-10 — zero to zero — that gave us all the confidence in the world, our defense being able to back us up. We hurt ourselves a lot in that first half. There’s a lot to learn from. But that second half, that’s who we want to be, going out there and executing the way we expect to execute.”
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 8:14 PM.
