It was already a great day for the Western New York native before the coin toss even took place.

Buffalo Bills’ rookie linebacker Joe Andreessen served as a gameday captain representing his hometown team for the opening toss in Week 17 against the New York Jets. Andreessen, a Lancaster High School alumnus, has been on an incredible journey that began with a minicamp tryout and continued with the local product’s selection to the 53-man roster to start the regular season.

“Definitely a cool experience. They announced it in the team meeting yesterday, and a lot of guys were happy for me, so it was a cool experience overall,” said Andreessen in a postgame interview with WGR 550 reporter Sal Capaccio.

In addition to holding the December 29 pregame honor, Andreessen had the opportunity to participate on defense during the team’s final regular season home game. With the Bills in complete control against the Jets, the rookie linebacker was deployed for the fourth quarter of the 40-14 runaway victory.

On the field for 26 of 63 defensive snaps, Andreessen finished the game as Buffalo’s leading tackler. He made eight stops in limited action.

“You can’t simulate game reps,” said Andreessen. “Feels like we haven’t took some defensive reps in awhile, like a lot of defensive reps, so feels good just going out there making tackles and trying to fly around.”

The 24-year-old Andreessen has been active for 12 games this season, participating primarily on special teams.