It looks like the road in the AFC playoffs will go through Buffalo as the Bills picked up a big win in Kansas City over the Chiefs, 24-20.
There has been a healthy rivalry between portions of the two fan bases but the excuses were out in full force after this one. The Chiefs were playing rookie corners, the refs made bad calls, and Butker missed a FG. All of that is true but the Bills were playing rookie corners too and wound up playing 3rd stringers when Dane Jackson and Christian Bedford left the game with injuries, the refs made lousy calls/no-calls against them too, and there was a dropped TD. It goes both ways.
I saw the two best teams in the AFC going back and forth in a very competitive game filled with adjustments and close calls. The most significant difference was the Bills’ ability to run the ball successfully and get after the QB more successfully, but it wasn’t like they were handed the game.
The Bills’ opening drive was looking surgical as they marched down the field, getting what they wanted through the air and on the ground. However, on a 2nd & 6 from the KC 13-yard line, Buffalo decided to break pattern and go with something I haven’t seen from them this season. From Shotgun, with Isaiah McKenzie lined up as the running back in the backfield, Josh Allen faked the handoff as McKenzie flashed across the front. Allen took one hard step to draw the defense and went to pitch the ball to McKenzie who was not even looking.
It was an ambitious play call and a design that looks like it can work but it was the wrong personnel package at the wrong time in the game to try it. The ball bounced off McKenzie’s facemask before he skittered it forward into the hand of the Cheifs’ defense. Allen shouldn’t be throwing it to a guy that isn’t looking, but he shouldn’t be in a position where that’s a live football. I have no doubt BUF offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is going to take a close look at that sequence and evaluate what they want to do with it.
As far as omens go, that’s about as bad as it gets but everything else about the drive was solid. Sadly, KC still had the ball and they were driving. It looked like Bills defenders were having issues with pursuit angles early on, maybe conditioned from previous games against KC, but KC went right down the field to a 3rd & Goal from the Bills’ 9-yard line. Fortunately, the revamped D-line made its first impactful play of the game after a bend-don’t-break series. Boogie Basham forced Mahomes to his right and stayed in pursuit forcing a less-than-ideal pass into a tough spot and rookie CB Kaiir Elam went up and snatched the would-be touchdown from Marquez Valdes-Scantling for the interception.
The teams exchanged turnovers on opening possessions, but the bright spot was that the Bills’ error was unforced while they forced a bad decision from Mahomes with good pressure.
Buffalo couldn’t capitalize in the way they wanted but they were able to get fairly deep into KC territory. On 1st & 10 from the KC 22, Gabe Davis was hit with a holding call that negated a 12-yard scamper from Devin Singletary and left them with a 3rd & 9 a few plays later. Allen went to McKenzie again and Lil’ Dirty got absolutely lit up and the pass fell incomplete.
The Bills settled for the FG to go up 3-0, but my concern was McKenzie’s health. He missed last week as he was recovering from a concussion and after seeing the beginning of this game I couldn’t help but wonder if he was okay. I liked what I had seen from Khalil Shakir last week and would have been fine with him out there instead. Those concerns popped up again a bit later but I’ll get to that.
Field goals don’t beat the Chiefs and they responded in typical KC fashion. Mahomes hit Kelce for a big gain across midfield and a few plays later he found JuJu Smith-Schuster on a crossing route. Taron Johnson got a piece of his ankle, but backups Damar Hamlin and Siran Neal came in too hot from a bad angle, collided with one another, and let Smith-Schuster escape and he took it all the way for the 42-yard TD.
The Bills were behind in the possession game and needed something. They strung together some short gains but they got what they were looking for on a big pass interference play up the middle to Stefon Diggs. That set the Bills up with a 1st & Goal at the KC 10 and Singletary continued his strong work with a 7-yard run down to the 3-yard line. I don’t know why Dorsey doesn’t like him, but they abandoned the run on eh doorstep of the end zone to throw it three straight times. All three of those attempts were incomplete, the last of which came on a 4th down conversion try where McKenzie got bitten by the turf monster and tripped over his own feet, dropping what would have been the go-ahead TD.
The Bills turned the ball over on downs but got a big stop from their defense. KC was pinned deep inside their own 10 and Shaq Lawson finally maneuvered for the sack to force a 3rd & 10. Jerrick McKinnon picked up 9, but the Chiefs had to punt from there and the Bills got the ball back. Unfortunately, they started their drive with an incomplete pass and quickly went 3 & out and punted right back to KC. Things could have gotten very bad very fast, but the Bills’ defense stepped up again.
The Chiefs had reached midfield when Von Miller came calling with a big sack to drop them into a 3rd & 19 they couldn’t convert. KC punted and pinned the Bills inside their own 5, but that’s when they went to work. Allen found Gabe Davis for a big gain to convert a 3rd & long, Diggs for another to get to midfield, and Shakir to get to FG range with 22 seconds left in the half. Reading blitz and a 1v1 on the outside, Allen went deep to Davis who beat the defender for the TD.
With only 16 seconds left in the half, the Chiefs gave Bills fans an unfriendly reminder of what happened at the end of last year’s playoff game. Mahomes quickly connected with McKinnon and Kelce for 28 yards to get to midfield and Harrison Butker, who had missed about a month with an ankle injury, came out for the 62-yard FG try. He kicked the absolute shit out of that ball and nailed it. You could tell he has been chomping at the bit to get a kick in. With all the back and forth, the game was tied heading into the half.
Kansas City would get the ball first and work their way into long FG range, but Butker missed the 51-yard try and the Bills took over with great field position. They didn’t waste much time either as Allen found Dawson Knowx for 20, Diggs for 12, and then got Diggs in another 1v1 with a blitz coming. Just like the previous TD, Allen put the ball up for his guy and Diggs rewarded him by beating the defender for the TD.
Down 17-10, the Chiefs responded with a scoring drive of their own. Mahomes hit Kelce for 23 and then Smith-Schuster continued to look like the best version we’ve seen of him in a while with a 41-yard gain. On 2nd & Goal from the 5, Mahomes was able to avoid pressure and scramble for a short gain, but it was a missed holding call in the middle of the line. Mahomes found Mecole Hardman for the TD on the next play to tie the game.
The 3rd quarter was winding down but the Bills were in a good position. They connected a bunch of short gains and crossed midfield to end the quarter. Now, James Cooks was in the game for some reason then, and when Singletary came back in to start the 4th, he was out of rhythm and got hit for a 2-yard loss. Buffalo would go for it on 4th & 3 but fail to convert, handing the ball back to the Chiefs with a lot of time left.
The bend-but-don’t-break philosophy of the Buffalo defense was put to the test. The Bills were very fortunate to have a 31-yard gain by Kelce negated by an offensive pass interference call that went against him. It was technically the right call, but still fairly soft. Anyway, the ball would have been at the Bills’ 10 but, instead, KC was back on their side of the 50. Mahomes found Kelce again for a 1st down on a big gain into the Bills’ territory.
I had talked to some other Bills fans during the game and someone had mentioned Mahomes not throwing toward Poyer, so I said I wanted to see Po come down and play coverage against Kelce. Well, on 2nd & 10 following the big gain, that’s exactly what happened. Mahomes once again didn’t test him and instead threw to Isaiah Pachecho in the flat where Matt Milano was able to make a great play for a 3-yard loss. On 3rd & 13, it was Miller time again and Mahomes was only able to avoid the pressure and pick up a few. Butker came in for the 44-yard FG and put the Chiefs on top, but it was a critical sequence.
(Photo Credit: Ed Zurga)
Trailing by a FG, Buffalo had just less than 10-minutes to make it happen and their chances were almost derailed by one of the most blatant tripping plays I have ever seen. BUF was operating from their own territory and facing a 3rd & 10 when Chiefs DT Chris Jones stuck his leg out and tripped Josh Allen. Jones was doing what he had to, but that’s a penalty that has to be called. The refs let the play stand as a sack and the Bills were forced to punt.
Obviously, I am pissed off at that point but all I wanted was for the Bills to have the ball and a chance to win the game at the end. I had faith and the Bills’ defense rose to the occasion once again and came up with a massive 3 & out thanks to a Von Miller sack on a 3rd & 6 play. With less than 6 minutes remaining in the game, Allen led what may be described later in the year as his MVP drive.
He converted a 4th & 1 from their own 33-yard line to keep the drive and the game alive and then found Diggs on key conversions for gains of 11 and 18 to get into FG range at the 2-minute warning. However, they wanted it all and I love that! On a 1st & 10 from the KC 28, Allen had his MVP play as he kept a designed QB run to the right, juked L’Jarius Sneed out of his shoes, and followed C Mitch Morse to the sideline where he, once again, hit the jump button and went airborne over Justin Reid to cap off a 16-yard run.
With a minute left in the game, Allen found Knox in the end zone for the 14-yard TD and the go-ahead score to make it 24-20. That’s a lot of time for Mahomes and the Chiefs and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. However, Frazier and the Bills’ defense were ready for the opportunity.
Siran Neal got busted on another defensive holding call (the third on him at least) and the Chiefs took a free 5 yards, but the next play was the play of the game. Buffalo showed a half-zone/half-man look in order to make Mahomes throw right into the zone. Von Miller did what he was brought to Buffalo to do and beat a double team inside, forcing Mahomes to his right and Milano was spying from behind and gave pursuit to continue that motion. Mahomes, reading man from the snap assumed he would have his crosser coming open, but the zone look allowed Taron Johnson to jump the route and come away with the game-winning pick.
Allen came out for the kneel, and that was that. It was a hard-fought game and I take nothing away from the Chiefs, unlike some of what I have seen going the opposite direction. It is an important regular season win for seeding purposes but Buffalo also won in KC last year and it didn’t translate to the playoffs, so I am not putting the cart before the horse. These are the two best teams in the AFC and it looked that way.
The Bills head into their bye in Week 7 looking to get healthy and could theoretically be the healthiest they have been on the other side of it when they head home to take on the rapidly declining Packers in Week 8.
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