Bills fans show appreciation to Bengals’ Andy Dalton by donating $17 each toward his foundation

Buffalo Bills fans can’t thank Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton enough for helping their team end a 17-year playoff drought.

The Bengals weren’t going to make the playoffs no matter what happened in their season finale against Baltimore on Sunday, but they still played hard against their division rival. On fourth-and-12 with 45 seconds left, Dalton connected with receiver Tyler Boyd for a 49-yard touchdown that gave the Bengals a 31-27 victory.

That result meant the Ravens were out of the playoff picture, and the Bills were in as the sixth and final seed in the AFC. Buffalo, which plays Jacksonville on Sunday morning in the wild-card round, will be taking part in the postseason for the first time since the 1999 season.

Since the game, donations have been pouring in to Dalton’s foundation, and many have been coming in $17 increments. That’s one dollar for every season the Bills had gone without a playoff appearance.

“I think I’m the hottest guy in Buffalo right now,” Dalton joked to reporters on Monday. “According to my Twitter, I think everybody’s loving us right now. Obviously that’s a crazy fan base, and they’re all pretty excited.”

Dalton tweeted on Monday night that the foundation had received 2,500 donations totaling more than $57,000 in just 24 hours. The next morning, he tweeted that it had received more than 4,500 donations totaling more than $100,000.

Dalton and his wife, Jordan, started the foundation in 2011 “to provide daily support, opportunities, resources and life-changing experiences to seriously ill and physically challenged children and their families in Cincinnati and Fort Worth,” according to its website.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii