Legend of the Game

Presented by

Darryl Talley announced as Legend of the Game in Week 14 battle against the Bengals

Dec 04, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Sydney Ciano

Seasonal writing associate

The Buffalo Bills announced former linebacker Darryl Talley as Sunday's Legend of the Game. The Week 14 matchup at Highmark Stadium against Cincinnati is slated for 1 p.m. ET.

Talley played for the Bills from 1983-94. He was the 39^th overall selection of the 1983 NFL Draft with Buffalo selecting him in the second round out of West Virginia. The linebacker played in every game as a rookie that season, registering 39 tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Over his 12-year career and 188 games with the Bills, he had 1,128 tackles, 38.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries for 76 yards, and 11 interceptions. Two of his interceptions he ran back for a touchdown.

Following his time in Buffalo, Talley spent one season each with Atlanta and Minnesota, adding an additional 124 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception to his all-time stats.

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A DARRYL TALLEY AUTOGRAPHED FOOTBALL!

Talley was a two-time first-team All-Pro selection by the Sporting News in 1990 and 1993. He was also a two-time Pro Bowl selectee in back-to-back years (1990 and 1991). In 2003, the Bills inducted Talley into their Wall of Fame and awarded him the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 2000. In 2011, Talley as inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025.

On Sunday, he returns to Buffalo to fire up the crowd as the Legend of the Game.

Talley said he's excited to feel the energy of the crowd. As a former player, he knows just how important fan energy is and how the team uses that to fuel them through tough situations. With the end of the regular season underway, Bills Mafia needs to show up and be loud for its team to finish off the season how it started.

"We started like a house on fire, then we just sort of cooled off a little," Talley said. "Now, it's definitely, have to start to actually stick our feet in the ground and get our feet stuck in the mud a little bit."

Related Links

After the Bills' offensive performance in Week 13 against the Steelers, Talley said the run gam stuck out to him, especially with running back James Cook. He said regardless of how many or how little plays Buffalo runs, it's enjoyable to watch the Bills harp on what they do best and not allow the opposing defense to stop it.

"I didn't think people gave him enough credit for being as fast as he was, or is," Talley said of Cook. "He's a changer. He's a guy that can actually change the game … I think that we're going to have to rely a little bit more on him."

Being one of the last Legends of the Game at the current Highmark Stadium, it doesn't go over Talley's head that he's one of the last to step foot on the field.

"A great honor," Talley said. "[It's the] place where I made my bones, and I have a tremendous amount of love for this place where I grew up and became a man."