Josh Allen Reacts To Old Photo of Wife Hailee Steinfeld Cheering For the Denver Broncos

As the Buffalo Bills prepare to host the Denver Broncos this weekend in a high-stakes AFC Divisional Round clash, an unexpected off-field subplot has quietly gone viral. And it involves Josh Allen, his wife Hailee Steinfeld, and a decade-old throwback from Super Bowl 50.

Earlier this week, Broncos fans resurfaced an old photo and short video clip showing the Sinners actor celebrating Denver’s 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 back in February 2016. In the image, the California-born actress is seen dancing and posing in a customized Broncos jersey, clearly enjoying the moment.

The clip, as expected, was spread rapidly across social media by Denver fans to troll the Bills Mafia. Hilariously enough, adding fuel to the fire were other unrelated throwbacks that also began circulating, including Steinfeld wearing a Seattle Seahawks merchandise during her 2016 tour stop at what was then CenturyLink Field.

That detail, however, was quickly clarified because the Seahawks gear was a gift she received after opening for Meghan Trainor’s tour. It had nothing to do with her fandom for the team, unlike the Broncos photo, which, on the other hand, was very real… nearly a decade old and tied to a one-off Super Bowl moment.

With all the chatter going around this topic and Bills Mafia desperately looking for an answer (read, a rebuttal), Josh Allen has broken the silence.

Allen, who was informed about it by CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson, first admitted that he was oblivious about the photos going viral. “He told me he had no idea it was floating around,” Wolfson shared on social media.

Allen reportedly laughed it off, joking that Steinfeld was “probably paid to be there,” before making it clear he had no intention of stirring the pot at home and that he “definitely wasn’t going to bring it up.”

It was a stellar response from the Bills talisman because a lighthearted reaction was exactly what was needed to defuse what could have turned into unnecessary drama.

For those out of the loop, even before Steinfeld married Allen in May last year, she had been a regular presence at Highmark Stadium and has openly embraced Bills fandom throughout Buffalo’s recent playoff runs.

So any suggestion that she’s secretly rooting against her husband now or once rooted against the Bills would never have been taken kindly by one of the most passionate fanbases in the league.

But even if she liked Denver, what’s the big deal? At the time of Super Bowl 50, Josh Allen was still in college, hadn’t been drafted, and his NFL future hadn’t even begun to take shape. Steinfeld, meanwhile, was a 19-year-old entertainer attending a marquee sporting event, one that also happened to include sponsored appearances and celebrity activations.

Moreover, considering she is not a Denver native, the chances of her being a Broncos fan seem low. So, based on all evidence, as Josh Allen said, Steinfeld was possibly in a paid partnership with either a brand or the Broncos themselves.

Hence, just like Josh Allen, the ones hurt by the photos should laugh, move on, and keep their focus on Sunday’s game. Because it is really shaping up to be one of the tightly contested matchups of the weekend.