Buffalo had Kansas City right where they wanted them with two minutes left at home in the main event of the Divisional Round. It looked like Josh Allen and the Bills might finally vanquish their nemesis from the Midwest, and send them home with a loss in Patrick Mahomes’ first road playoff game. However, it just wasn’t meant to be as the Bills squandered a grand opportunity, losing in an all-too-familiar way by missing a field goal with the game on the line.
Wide Right! You heard right. Excuse the pun. Everyone in Buffalo knows the significance of those words, as does anyone old enough to have witnessed Scott Norwood’s missed field goal that would’ve beaten the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV. Almost 33 years later to the day, Tyler Bass missed one that would’ve kept the Bills’ season alive, even if only for another couple of minutes.
Although the stakes weren’t as high as when Norwood missed, and the Chiefs would’ve still had plenty of time for Mahomes to make something happen, it’s ironic that the final play of Buffalo’s campaign will once again be summed up in two words: Wide right.
Once we consider the fact that the Bills have failed each time in the playoffs against Reid and Mahomes, losing by taking a trip down memory lane feels like a cruel joke. Lose any other way, but that is what many fans in Buffalo will agonize over for six months. Not that Bass’ miss was the only reason they lost. The Bills had more than enough opportunities to stick it to KC on that last drive and couldn’t capitalize. But the miss by Bass is what folks will remember.
Kansas City’s defense also did a good job containing Buffalo’s passing game. Allen completed more than 66 percent of his passes, but totaled only 186 yards for one touchdown through the air. He added another two on the ground. There were missed and dropped passes that would have put the Bills in prime position to go ahead late in this one. Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be, and Buffalo was eliminated once again by Mahomes and the Chiefs.
At this point, in that Bills locker room, they’ve got to be wondering how they can overcome these guys when it matters most. Buffalo marched into KC a little over a month ago and pulled out the win, 20-17. Allen and crew had beaten the Chiefs before in the regular season, but when the brightest lights are on in the playoffs, they are 0-3 against Kansas City.
In the end, something needs to change in Buffalo in order for them to shake this curse of falling to KC in the playoffs. It’s great that they’ve beat them in the regular season, but come January it’s been a much different story for Allen. All their games are close for the most part and maybe that’s the problem.
It feels like if the Bills ever get the best of the Chiefs in a postseason contest, they’ll need to blow them out. Mahomes and KC just seem to be too chill and relaxed in these tight, late-game situations. Winters are already long in western New York, and the offseason just got that much longer.
