One of the best moments of the 2017 season, and one of the most fascinating relationships between a fan base and a player, carried over to Sunday’s preseason game in Buffalo.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will be remembered forever by Buffalo Bills fans. Dalton’s fourth-down touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd in Week 17 last season knocked the Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs, and the Bills got in. That was perhaps the play of the season. It gave the Bills their first playoff berth since 1999, which broke the longest drought in major professional American sports.

Bills fans showed their appreciation to Dalton and Boyd via charity, and they got a chance to thank Dalton in person on Sunday.

Andy Dalton gets love from Bills fans

Before Sunday’s game, Dalton was announced to the crowd, and they gave him a standing ovation as he waved and gave a thumbs up.

Bills fans might not have loved Dalton so much once the game started and he sliced the defense for two first-quarter touchdowns. But they’ll always fondly remember what he did last New Year’s Eve to get the Bills into the playoffs, and they have shown their appreciation with their wallets.

The Daltons give back to the Buffalo community

The neat part of the Dalton-Bills story is that Dalton’s foundation ended up getting a great donation from Buffalo fans.

According to Fox, about $450,000 has been given to Dalton’s foundation to date from Bills fans. Also, Bills fans gave $150,000 to Western Pennsylvania Youth Athletic Association on behalf of Boyd, according to Fox.

In turn, Dalton and his wife JJ made a donation to the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. Dalton made a surprise appearance at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday morning.

“The Buffalo community has given so much to our Foundation,” JJ Dalton said, according to the Bengals’ site. “As soon as the preseason calendar was released, we circled this date and knew we had to do something special. The Hub is going to be a great distraction for young patients and their families, and we’re happy to be able to make an impact in that way.”

That’s a great synergy between Bills fans and the Daltons, who gave back to the Buffalo community. Hopefully that’s a template for fans showing appreciation for athletes who help out their teams going forward.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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