Bills’ Beasley: Glad to be on this side in Dallas
ARLINGTON, Texas — Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley swore his first game back in Dallas was not a “revenge game,” but he didn’t play like it.
The former Cowboys receiver turned in his best game of the season in the Bills’ 26-15 victory over Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, catching six passes for a game-high 110 yards and one touchdown in his first game against the team with which he spent his first seven NFL seasons.
Speaking from a locker room he’d never been inside of before Thursday’s game, Beasley said his joy stemmed from a happiness with his current team, rather than a disdain for his old one.
“I’m just glad I’m in a place coaches believe in me, teammates believe in me and they give me opportunities to do what I do,” he said. “I was telling everybody before the game, I’m just glad I’m on this side while we’re here.
“It’s been a great experience, and everybody else played their butts off and got win No. 9. That’s the most important thing, so I’m just glad to take another step forward.”
In his first season in Buffalo, Beasley is on pace for a career-high 847 receiving yards on 73 catches. His projected seven touchdowns and 108 targets would also set career highs.
The former SMU player also went to high school in the Dallas area, and signed a four-year, $29 million deal with the Bills this offseason. It hasn’t taken long for him to ingratiate himself with his new teammates.
Beasley was the last one into the Bills’ locker room after the game, and his teammates erupted in cheers as soon as he turned the corner.
“I’m just grateful, really, for [Cole] and his mindset, as well, because of what he comes from and what he stands for,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “He’s just one piece but there’s a lot of other stories in our locker room of guys like Cole — that maybe it didn’t work out in one place, but it works out in Buffalo.
“That’s the culture we’re trying to build, where guys come to Buffalo … and they can become the best version of themselves.”
Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson, one of four players left from the previous front-office regime, spoke to the obvious culture change throughout the organization.
“I told people we built different, man, this team too different,” Lawson said. “Not high-powered superstars, you know what I’m saying — we’re just built different.
“It feels great to be a part of this. Like I told these guys, I’ve seen a change since my rookie year — it was completely different. To see us winning, man, and see the city love us, it feels great. You get the right people and culture change — it’ll change quick. They’ve got the right people here to do it.”
Beasley swapped jerseys with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and embraced several AT&T Stadium staff members before and after the game. From his perspective, it’s hard to be angry with the past when the present is going so well.
His time with the Bills is proof.
“Man, there’s a bond here that I don’t think can happen in many places, just with the way it’s kind of set up,” he said. “I can’t explain everything, but we’re always together. It’s a different kind of brotherhood here, and we’re always together. Our kids are together, the coaches, the players — everything.
“It’s really a unique and awesome thing that we have here in Buffalo, and I know my family has loved every bit of it. That’s part of why I said I’d play here until the wheels fall off.”