The Bills’ Hallmark Christmas Movie Is An Infomercial For A Health Insurer

Sunday was bittersweet for Buffalo Bills fans. Yes, Buffalo rallied in thrilling fashion to beat the Bengals with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the snow made for a festive atmosphere. But there must’ve also been some tears in the crowd too, because this was the last holiday game at the old Highmark Stadium.

The annual holiday game is a tradition for Bills fans—for all of Buffalo, really. That’s what I learned from watching Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, this year’s officially licensed, NFL-themed Hallmark Christmas movie. Last year’s Holiday Touchdown was about the Chiefs, and gave us a scene where Trent Green pockets money meant for charity. It also had higher-end production values, actors, and storylines than the average cable TV Christmas film. Credits for this season's NFL-Hallmark collaboration include such Bills luminaries as Thurman Thomas, Steve Tasker, Sean McDermott, Damar Hamlin, Dion Dawkins, Jim Kelly, Dawson Knox, Joshua Palmer, DeWayne Carter, Reid Ferguson, Andre Reed, and fucking Scott Norwood. Presumably James Lofton was busy. Presumably Billy Shaw would’ve made a cameo if he hadn’t died last year. Presumably you were expecting me to reference a different recently deceased Bills player in the previous sentence.