The Bills Can Ride Mack Hollins’ Carefree Vibe Into The Postseason
Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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Just @MackHollins things. 😂#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/n2oGkf9u4u
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 8, 2024
Most Buffalo Bills fans have fallen in love with Mack Hollins by this point, and why wouldn’t they? He’s productive on the field and has a contagious energy about him. Hollins is his teammates’ biggest cheerleader, celebrating as hard as Gronk, even if he’s not the one making the plays.
I honestly never want Mack Hollins to leave the #Bills!
🎥 via @News_8 #GoBills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/08C0vEAdWe
— Dave Myers BIB (@DaveMyersBIB) December 30, 2024
Those types of vibes can’t be faked, they can’t be manufactured, and being able to take the grind of a regular season and bring a spirit of fun to it can boost a team. The Bills need to latch onto Hollins’ energy as they turn the page from the regular to postseason.
Hollins, who was the college teammate of Bills’ backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, is a wide receiver whose listed at 6-foot-4, but is in practice, larger than life. In a game where every minute detail is taken incredibly seriously, the Bills have an opportunity to ride into the postseason with the good vibes from a talented receiver who never puts his eccentric personality aside.
Mack Hollins doesn't wear shoes
Mack Hollins doesn't use utensils
Mack Hollins thinks small cats 'steal your soul'
Mack Hollins hasn't eaten a vegetable in 3 yearsMack Hollins is the 'MOST INTERESTING MAN' on the #Bills and BELOVED by his teammates. #BillsMafia @BuffaloPlus pic.twitter.com/jQyXwiYwzW
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) July 29, 2024
(But seriously, put some spinach or something in a smoothie. You won’t taste it, I promise!)
The journeyman wide receiver is doing much more than being a quirky mascot for the Bills, though. He currently leads the team in receiving touchdowns, with five.
“Mack was a huge signing for us in [the] offseason,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “We knew his mindset, the way that he goes about everything that he does, his preparation, his leadership. This team bought into who he is and allowed him to be himself.”
Buffalo will need every ounce of his talent and personality as they enter a postseason with various question marks, particularly on defense. But even in the Bills’ biggest moments, Hollins has never changed who he is, and the Bills have found a way to make his energy contagious. During Josh Allen’s clutch touchdown run against the Chiefs, the beloved target managed to find a way to let his eccentricity shine.
Mack Hollins knew Allen was scoring before he hit the 20 yard line. pic.twitter.com/PdxJI0eBpV
— Tweets by Sneaky Joe (@SneakyJoeSports) November 18, 2024
He was even seen waving goodbye to Jets defenders during Tyrell Shavers’ 69-yard touchdown (his first of the season) in Sunday’s blowout win. It could be seen as taunting, except it was against Aaron Rodgers’ team, so it’s a victimless crime.
Mack Hollins waving bye to the jets I’m DEAD LMAO https://t.co/fSXQcZQnht
— T2R ShermanatorTTV (@ShermanatorY) December 29, 2024
In a league where just about every player tweets out the same AI-generated Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson quotes on a daily basis, Hollins is on social media delivering life hacks, being a mad scientist, and lying comfortably in the snow. The Bills allowing him to truly be himself has not only enabled him to feel comfortable on the field and take his craft seriously, but it will also bleed out to the rest of the team as they look to get themselves through the grind and stress of the postseason.
“I’ve only been around him for a few months now, but the energy and the juice that he has is infectious towards his teammates,” Josh Allen said back in June. “Constantly in a good mood, constantly trying to get better. He’s a very unique guy, but it is so authentic to him, and it’s a breath of fresh air. He’s not trying to be anybody else but Mack Hollins, and guys respect him for that, and I know I sure as hell do. It’s good to have a guy like that on your team.”
He’s “a good football player” (Sean McDermott’s words, not mine), but that’s not always enough. A team needs its glue guys, too, which is why Hollins is necessary as the Bills look to win their franchise’s first Super Bowl. He’s been public about his affinity for being barefoot and his disdain for… cats? Football isn’t a simulation. It’s a human game where weird things happen, and momentum and vibes can either propel or devour a team, and Buffalo will need to embody Hollins’ carefree attitude with the way momentum swings in the back-and-forth affairs that come with the playoffs. So far, the Bills have excelled, and Hollins is a big part of why the Bills have, at times, been able to energize themselves on a moment’s notice.
“I love that guy, he deserves all the credit,” Josh Allen said in regard to Hollins’ Week 13 touchdown reception against San Francisco. “I’m glad I can get him another touchdown.”
Hollins has already won a ring in his career, taking one home in his rookie season with the previously-Super Bowl-less Philadelphia Eagles. Coincidence? He has the opportunity to prove that he still has the secret sauce as the long-suffering Bills Mafia hope to end a Super Bowl-less streak of their own.
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