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Bills' rising star offers hilarious explanation of what really happened during scrap with Buccaneers' Shilo Sanders
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills concluded their preseason with a 23-13 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During the contest, Bills tight end Zach Davidson and Buccaneers defensive back Shilo Sanders were grabbing onto one another down the field. What resulted was Sanders throwing punches at Davidson near the end zone, not taking too kindly to the extra love on the block. A wild turn of events that saw Sanders be removed from the contest. Immediately after the game, Davidson offered a hilarious explanation of what really went down. Matt Parrino, Bills beat reporter for Syracuse.com, interviewed Davidson postgame.

"Something on the backside of screens we preach is that the guy on the back side is making the touchdown block [. . .] I was just chasing the DB and trying to finish through the whistle. He had a little bit more to say." Davidson told reporters, "I didn't say anything, I may have gestured something, but if you get mad for getting blocked, I can't really control what he does."

Davidson made an impact outside of just his tight end responsibilities. The Buffalo Bills were without their starting punter due to an illness, so Davidson got an opportunity to demonstrate his special teams prowess. He was an All-Conference punter at NCAA Division II Central Missouri. If there was any doubt of his abilities, the first punt was sure to remove any of those fears. My wife, sitting next to me during the game, whipped her head around and asked, "Was that the tight end?!" after a booming punt that flipped the field position. I think we all had the same reaction.

It's nice to know that if something drastic happens at the last moment, the team has some emergency relief. It wasn't the first time in his career that Davidson was hitting double duty, catching passes and kicking punts in college. When asked about what it's like to get ready on fourth down after being on the field for offense, it was all business.

"Rob was doing a good job of making sure I was available on third down, getting ready mentally. I told him I was used to it. I was out there for all four downs in college. For me, it was just taking a step back to my college career, being out there all four downs, being ready, being able to recenter myself behind Reid. Get out there and do what I could."

While the Bills Mafia was impressed, and rightfully so, Davidson showed humility and walked through his mindset after the first punt. Culture matters here, and this is yet another example of how what the front office has built is so special.

"Damn, I didn't know I still had it. It was nice, I wish I had a little more hangtime, a little more to the left to help the boys out . . . Hopefully that's not my last time, I'll be better next time."

The tight end opened up on the timeline of events that saw him take over punting duties for the team.

"Earlier today. Brad (Robbins) showed up on the trip a little sick, so the talk was in the air with the coaches. Making sure to communicate where he was at. Got out after his pregame warmups, I was getting dressed to go out and warm up with the tight ends, and I got notified, it's a go. I did everything I could to make sure I was ready mentally. Went out there and did what I could."

Maybe during the regular season, we'll see Ray Davis kicking some field goals and Zach Davidson in on punt duty. That would mean disaster happened, or the Bills were winning by so much they wanted to keep these guys fresh.

Nevertheless, it was an impressive display from Davidson in more ways than one.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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