Cincinnati QB Dalton donates to Buffalo
Cincinnati — Whenever Andy Dalton is spotted by a Bills fan, he’ll hear another “thank you” for helping Buffalo break its long streak of playoff futility.
This weekend, Dalton and his foundation are saying “thank you” in return.
Dalton, his wife Jordan and their foundation will donate to the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo while the Bengals are in town to play a preseason game on Sunday.
Dalton became one of the most popular sports figures in Buffalo on New Year’s Eve when his 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 49 seconds left sent the Bengals to a 31-27 win in Baltimore. The fourth-down pass eliminated the Ravens and gave the Bills their first playoff appearance since 1999.
Buffalo’s playoff drought was the longest in the NFL and the longest among the four major professional sports in North America. Immediately, Dalton began getting donations to his foundation from fans in Buffalo. He’s been thanked in person countless times by Bills fans over the months.
“I’ve heard I should run for mayor,” Dalton said. “I’ve heard I’ll never have to pay for anything in Buffalo. So we’ll see.”
It wasn’t a fad. Donations continued after the Bills lost their playoff game against Jacksonville. So have the in-person shows of gratitude.
“If I go anywhere and there’s somebody from Buffalo, they’re going to come up to me and tell me they’re a Bills fan or they come from Buffalo or have some tie to Buffalo,” Dalton said. “That hasn’t gone away since the play happened.
“It’s really cool and crazy that it’s a completely different fan base that has a lot of love for me, and obviously for Tyler, too.”
On a fourth-and-12 play, Dalton found Boyd open just inside the Ravens 25-yard line. The receiver slipped through an attempted tackle on his way to the winning touchdown, which set off a wild celebration in the Buffalo locker room.
Dalton said that as of this week, his foundation has received 17,000 donations for more than $450,000 that can be traced to the Buffalo area.