The Buffalo Bills took on the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round on January 19, with a trip to the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs on the line. While the game was a showcase of two MVP frontrunners — Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson — fans couldn’t help but focus on a different star: Hailee Steinfeld.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Hailee Steinfeld attends the Netflix Arcane LA Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on October 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Riot / Netflix)
Steinfeld, the Oscar-nominated actress and fiancée of Josh Allen, caught viewers’ attention without even appearing on the broadcast. Fans took to social media to express their disappointment at not seeing her on screen during the game. One viewer wrote, “When the Chiefs are playing, I constantly have to see Taylor Swift, but I can’t get Hailee Steinfeld on my screen tonight?” Another joked, “I personally would like to see Hailee Steinfeld during football games now, please.”
The comparisons to Taylor Swift, who has been a regular feature during Kansas City Chiefs broadcasts, were hard to ignore. One fan even blamed the network, saying, “They show Taylor Swift a hundred times a game, but @CBSSports can’t give us one shot of Hailee Steinfeld?”
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Despite the lack of TV time, Steinfeld has stayed in the spotlight in her own way. The actress, who has been dating Allen since 2023, has kept a low profile during games but received plenty of love from Bills fans off the field. Earlier this month, Buffalo paid tribute to the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” star with a massive billboard congratulating her and Allen on their engagement. Steinfeld shared her reaction in her newsletter, Beau Society, writing, “There’s champagne, there’s beautifully written cards, and then there’s ‘congratulations on your engagement’ billboards. This was a wild and very sweet surprise. Thank you, Delaware North and Buffalo. I’m honored.”
Meanwhile, on the field, Josh Allen showed why he’s one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. Despite the Bills’ Week 4 loss to the Ravens earlier in the season, Allen came out strong, scoring two rushing touchdowns in the first half alone. Speaking about that earlier loss, Allen told reporters, “Learned a lot from those moments. Going back and watching it obviously wasn’t our best effort. Felt like we didn’t play our best football. But they got a really good team too. They’re playing this week for a reason.”
While Allen’s performance electrified the home crowd at Highmark Stadium, the buzz around Steinfeld proved that her star power extends far beyond Hollywood. Fans are already predicting she’ll be featured more prominently in broadcasts as the Bills continue their playoff run.
For now, Hailee Steinfeld seems perfectly happy cheering from the sidelines and letting her fiancé shine on the field. As Bills Mafia hopes for a trip to the Super Bowl, one thing is clear: both Steinfeld and Allen have captured the hearts of Buffalo fans.
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