Von Miller and Brandon McManus are godfathers to each other’s children and their fathers are friends… but in London, they are rivals as Bills face Jaguars on Sunday

• Buffalo Bills face Jacksonville Jaguars in Tottenham, London on Sunday morning
• Von Miller of the Bills faces close friend and Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

Von Miller and Brandon McManus will be on opposing sides at Tottenham. They were team-mates in Denver for over seven years and became friends. Firm friends.

The sort of friends who are godfathers to each other’s children. They spend Christmas Eves together. Their fathers are friends.

‘Just over time, you know, seven-eight years in Denver, you just grow really, really close,’ Miller said. ‘Even to this day. Like he’s with the Jags, I’m with the Bills. And we talk, you know, maybe two or three times a week. So that’s one of my guys.’

McManus, 32, has been in England with the Jaguars for the last eight days. Miller, 34, would be up at the crack of dawn in Buffalo to speak to his mate.

‘When he was here, I was waking up at six o’clock in the morning. Whenever I would wake up, I would call him and it would be noon here. So even when he was here, I will still call and talk to him.’

Von Miller pictured sitting on the lap of Brandon McManus during their time at Denver – on Sunday, they line up on opposing teams in London when the Bills play Jaguars 

Miller, speaking to reporters in London, has opened up on their friendship ahead of the game

McManus (left) and MIller went for dinner together in London on Friday after the Bills landed

Miller and the Bills touched down in England on Friday morning. Both sets of players had the evening off. It was only right that they met up.

‘We’re going to dinner tonight!’ Miller beamed.

On the face of it, it is an unusual pairing. Miller arrived in Denver in 2011 as the second overall pick in the draft, a Butkus Award winner out of Texas A&M and a pass rushing prospect for the ages.

Philadelphia-born McManus went undrafted out of Temple in 2013 but joined Miller in Denver the following year after short spells with the Colts and Giants.

Locker rooms can be united by the team but divided by the unit, with offensive, defensive and special teams players having different schedules and spaces.

And while pass rushers are more often than not the dominant alpha-male type, the kicker is the most solitary position in the most brutal of sports. Hero one week, pariah the next.

The gregarious Miller picked up McManus during a rough patch in his rookie year.

Then their friendship flourished through a shared love of tailgating. McManus’s family like to tailgate, gathering for food and beverages at Mile High ahead of and after every Broncos home game.

Miller and McManus pose for a selfie in celebrations when the Broncos won the Super Bowl

Miller (left) and McManus at a Colorado Rockies MLB game from their time at Denver 

McManus, as well as a distinguished kicker, is an excellent golfer and all-round athlete 

‘We were in Denver for so long. And in Denver we had the players’ lot,’ Miller said. ‘And after games, he would have like, you know, like – how do I say it? [Miller is aware that he is speaking to an Englishman, who may not be aware of the intricacies of the tailgate] – we would have a couple of beers after the game in the players’ lot!’

Both men have different personalities, but both are obsessed with mastering their craft. And learning.

Miller is a poultry enthusiast, former Dancing with the Stars contestant and the NFL’s active sack leader (123.5).

McManus is a vice-president of the NFLPA, an excellent golfer and athlete. Not to mention one of the NFL’s most clutch kickers, as he became the Broncos’ second-highest points scorer in franchise history (946 points).

‘B-Mac is one of the smartest people I know,’ Miller says.’ And I think that’s one of the things that really, really drew me to him. It really drew out a friendship together. He’s a really intelligent person.

‘I like to think that I’m intelligent as well. And the conversations that we have not only about football – but finances, business, golf, just anything in general – it was just one of those minds, that I could just talk to and be myself and get positive feedback from.

‘It might not always be always positive – it can be negative as well. He’s a guy that I always trust his opinion, I always trust his word.

‘And I truly believe iron sharpens iron and he’s sharp. He’s a good friend. Our dads are both friends. He knows my family, I know his family.’

McManus scored one of Wembley’s longest ever field goals when Jaguars beat the Falcons 

McManus and the Jaguars are 2-2 ahead of their showdown with the Bills, who are 3-1 

Both Miller and McManus played key roles in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win, the third in franchise history. Miller’s 2.5 sacks, six tackles and two forced fumbles – one recovered in the end zone for a touchdown – reduced Cam Newton a nervous wreck as Miller was named Super Bowl MVP.

McManus was perfect that night, as he had been for the playoff run. He went 10 of 10 in the postseason and his three field goals against Carolina helped cement the 24-10 win.

Denver haven’t reached the playoff since, and Miller and McManus were the last two players left from the Super Bowl 50-winning roster.

Miller was traded to the LA Rams in November 2021. Three months later, Miller again recorded two sacks as he won his second Super Bowl ring.

McManus was released in May by incoming head coach Sean Payton. He was picked up by Jacksonville a few days later.

Which takes us to Tottenham. While this is not the first time the pair have faced each other – Miller was pictured clutching McManus’s shirt after the Bills beat the Broncos in preseason last year – this one really matters.

Miller has dismissed concerns he could miss Sunday’s game because of an injury 

The Jags are 2-2 after McManus’s three field goals – one from 56 yards, the second-longest ever in London – contributed to a 23-7 Wembley win over Atlanta last weekend.

Miller, who last suited up on Thanksgiving, is on the cusp of returning from 10 months out with an ACL tear. 

He was confident of playing a snap or two for the Bills (3-1) – ‘I think it’s like 94 and a half per cent. I think that’s a safe bet’ – as he is eased into Buffalo’s rotation. 

What is 100 per cent is that the great friends will have more to talk about, regardless of the result.

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