The Buffalo Bills were rolling along quite smoothly, demolishing the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-0 late in the second quarter of Monday’s AFC Wild card playoff game.
But then, on a routine field goal attempt, all hell broke loose, a video shows.
Attempting a 49 yard kick in frigid conditions, the Bills lined up kicker Tyler Bass with punter Sam Martin holding the attempt.
The Steelers not only blocked the attempt, but as the ball sputtered to the opposite end of the field, Martin, who was sprinting to try and recover it, pulled up lame appearing to have pulled his hamstring.
watch the punter get sniped at the end pic.twitter.com/LJFEOjF8Ir
— 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄 (@FrankiesTwoLoud) January 15, 2024
The optics of this are just hilarious. First of all, Martin is carrying his hand warmer in his hand while he tries to track down Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig. It’s not like Martin is small by NFL standards — he’s listed at 6’1 and 211 lbs — but he would probably need his full capacity to take on the 240 lb Herbig.
Luckily for Martin, Herbig would simply dive on the ball, allowing Martin to jog off the field with his faulty hamstring, hand warmer and all. (RELATED: Insult To Injury: Playoff Losers Have Flight Delayed For Hours After Brutal Loss)
Despite the glaring limp Martin displayed, he would actually return to the game and punt a ball in the 3rd quarter. The heroic effort prompted CBS Sports broadcaster Tony Romo to compare the punter to Willis Reed, the Knicks star of the 1970s who fought through a muscular tear in his thigh to help propel the Knicks to their first NBA Championship in 1970.
Sam Martin is basically Willis Reed pic.twitter.com/hlaqngxTS5
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 15, 2024
The comparison is apt considering Martin absolutely delivered in the moment, flipping the field for the Bills and booting the ball from within his team’s own 20 and getting it deep into Steelers territory.