If family plans would have gone through, Buffalo Bills linebacker A.J. Klein would have had his toes in the water in Key West this weekend. Instead, he found himself playing a key role for the Bills in frigid temperatures in a 31-17 Wild Card Round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday at Highmark Stadium.
After being released by the Bills on Dec. 9, Klein was out of football and was planning a vacation to Key West with his family after purchasing an RV. Then, with the Bills decimated by injuries at the linebacker position, head coach Sean McDermott and the franchise turned to a familiar face, putting the Klein family vacation on hold.
Turns out, Klein wasn’t just depth, either. He was needed in a major way. Instead of sipping mai tais on the beach in the sunshine, Klein was busy wrangling Steelers ball carriers to the turf Monday, leading Buffalo with a game-high 11 tackles, coming up in a key spot for the Bills.
“I had bought an RV in the offseason, and we were loading up the truck and doing some work on our RV and we were looking to go down to Key West and get in the sunshine a little bit,” Klein said to reporters after the game, according to the Bills’ YouTube page. “Being home at Christmas time with my family was fantastic to wake up and see my kids on Christmas morning. I haven’t had that in 15 years, 14 years ever since college.
“…I was enjoying my time, but when the opportunity came back and they threw the lure out to me, I took it.”
The Bills are fortunate he took the lure, especially after losing linebacker Terrell Bernard to a potentially serious injury in the win over the Steelers. Klein was signed to the Bills’ practice squad on Tuesday and was elevated to the Active/Inactive roster ahead of the game against the Steelers after having not appeared in a game since Nov. 26. He was released one day prior to the Dec. 10 matchup between the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite being on his couch and preparing for vacation, Klein stated it was like riding a bike getting back into the system with the Bills, one he’s known for a long time, even dating back to his time with McDermott in Carolina to start his career in 2013 through 2016.
That riding a bike came in handy. Klein had to take on the green dot duties for Bernard after his injuries, making sure Buffalo’s depleted defense knew the calls and was lined up right. The fact that the Bills held the Steelers to just 17 points was pretty impressive, considering the injuries they dealt with defensively.
It’s also fitting that a linebacker came off the couch and had a great performance against the Steelers. Pittsburgh has seen that a few times this season for its own defense, with names like Myles Jack and even safety Eric Rowe producing after going off the couch and into the lineup and making some plays, helping the Steelers win games down the stretch.
For McDermott, it was pretty remarkable to see what Klein did going from on his couch and preparing for a vacation to Key West, to being right back in the thick of things defensively and holding things down for the Bills in the middle in a playoff game.
“I mean, it’s like…the Griswolds. He’s going on vacation, right? And we stopped him, I think just short of, Wally World and he came back, and he put the uniform on [to] go out there and play,” McDermott said, according to video via the WKBW TV YouTube page in Buffalo. “I think that’s pretty special right there. So I applaud A.J. for that. Pretty remarkable.”
It was a performance worth applauding, and it’s one the Bills will need moving forward, should Bernard’s injury be as serious as it looked.
