Josh Allen Says Young Fan Can Keep Game Ball From Historic Performance

Josh Allen (#17) of the Buffalo Bills walks the field before a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Dec. 1, 2024. Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen said he doesn’t want the game ball from his historic performance against the San Francisco 49ers.

Allen became the first player to throw, rush for, and catch a touchdown in the same game. After rushing for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Allen handed the ball to 12-year-old Malachi Weems, who had flown from Oregon to attend the game in New York. Malachi offered to give Allen the ball back, but Allen thinks game balls mean more to the fans.

“I just blacked out,” Malachi said, recalling the event to Buffalo news outlet WKBW.

“It was pretty wild. You can’t predict anything for your kid on a birthday that spectacular,” said Malachi’s father, Jake Weems, a firefighter from Klamath County, Oregon.

The Weems family traveled almost 2,900 miles from their hometown of Merrill, Oregon to Buffalo to attend the Bills’ 35–10 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. The trip was a present for Malachi’s 12th birthday.

WKBW reporter Michael Schwartz interviewed Jake and Malachi Weems as well as Allen. Schwartz asked Allen if he wanted the ball back. During Allen’s media availability on Dec. 4, he said no.

“Probably not,” Allen said. “I gave it away for a reason, so I think that was meant to be. But I’ve got enough game balls and game memorabilia. That stuff, honestly, I put it away; I don’t really ever see it, and it’s not super meaningful to me. So I hope whoever has it enjoys it and they can keep it.”

Allen won an AFC Player of the Week award on Dec. 4 after he led the Bills to victory against the 49ers on a snowy Sunday night. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns; the first was a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Mack Hollins. The second pass came on a first and goal from the 7-yard line; Allen tossed a short pass to wide receiver Amari Cooper, who was caught by a trio of 49ers defenders. Cooper pitched the ball back to Allen, who scampered for a touchdown, crediting him with a receiving score. He also rushed three times for 18 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown.

Conversely, the Bills are dealing with a PR nightmare from another fan. Mia DeCamilla, an 8-year-old 49ers fan and cancer survivor from Irondequoit, New York, was allegedly shoved by a drunk Bills fan and almost injured. Like Malachi, Mia was attending her first NFL game; it was a celebration for her beating cancer.

“Sadly, we left earlier than planned,” DeCamilla’s parents posted on Facebook, tagging both teams. “Yes, the Niners are losing, but unfortunately we had to deal with the police because a drunk Bills fan decides it was cool to pass my husband and I and pushed our 8 year old daughter Warrior Mia DeCamilla (down the stairs, in section 312!)”

“I was walking down the stairs, and then this Bills fan pushed me, and I almost slipped and hit my rib on a 49ers chair,” Mia told local news outlets in an interview this week.

“I would just say, please don’t do that,” Mia said. “I’m a child. I don’t like when people do that. I felt uncomfortable.”

“There was no security,” said Mia’s father, Mike DeCamilla, who told local news outlet WHEC that he believed the incident was intentional. “There were even people behind us that were literally saying, ‘We’re going to hit the Niners fans in the heads all game with snowballs.’”

“I would just like an apology, honestly, not for me, but for my daughter,” he added. “You know, it kind of just ruined her first experience.”

The incident caught the attention of former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, who offered to help Mia.

“Was an honor to help Mia & help spread her heroic story on overcoming cancer,” Brown wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Her gofundme is now over $22,000. Her favorite player is @brockpurdy13. Favorite team the @49ers. Be great if they could help give her a better NFL experience.”