AFC Championship: Bills at Chiefs Recap
The Buffalo Bills’ season ends in a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, 32-29. This was a tough one because, just like the last two playoff losses to the Chiefs, Bills fans are left with many “what ifs” and a feeling of will this team ever beat Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in the playoffs. I’ve rewatched highlights and read through stats that have me asking myself these questions, and it’s in part why I waited to write my recap. I’ve been trying to let some of the emotion subside from the game and be more rational with my thoughts on the outcome and the future outlook. I am changing the format since there isn’t a game to be played again, and the five things I liked and didn’t like seemed somewhat pointless. The things that would have been in that will be in a lengthier breakdown of how the game unfolded.
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday January 26th, 2025
In regards to the game, Buffalo put themselves in a hole early. They continued a brutal trend that has haunted them all season—the inability to do anything on the game’s opening drive. The Bills ran three plays for four yards, taking 59 seconds after receiving the kickoff in their endzone for a touchback. They received the opening kick-off 9 times out of the 20 games they played during the season. They scored touchdowns on two of them (weeks 3 and 17). They went three and out on five of them and punted on the other two drives after gaining 20 yards. For whatever reason, they are not ready on offense when they have the ball first. When they deferred the opening kickoff in the other 11 games, they had eight scoring drives (7 TD, 1 FG), a fumble and turnover on downs, and one punt.
The Chiefs were the opposite. Touchdowns on three of their first four drives, going 3-4 on third down and 1-1 on fourth down. A fumble at the Bills’ 23-yard line prevented a fourth scoring drive opportunity, and they ended the half with a kneeldown on their fifth and final drive to enter halftime up 21-16. This felt like a win for the Bills with how both teams looked and played. Buffalo’s inability to generate pressure or force a punt were two season-long themes that hurt them in the first half.
To start the second half, Buffalo forced a punt, followed by a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that chewed up seven minutes of game clock. I was feeling good at this point. My confidence was at its highest when they forced a three-and-out on the Chiefs’ next drive. In my opinion, the following drive was the backbreaker. Dalton Kincaid’s failure to get the first down on third and three was two-fold. He made a bad decision not to cut outside after the catch and a poor spot of the football. The next play, Josh Allen tried to sneak to the left side and was stopped for the third time on the night. You can argue that he got it, which he did, but it should have never come to this. The Bills’ failure to execute took the game out of their hands and put it in the referee’s too many times. Buffalo missed their opportunity to make it a two-score game or even a field goal attempt to make it a four-point lead. You can’t do that when you’re playing Kansas City.
The Chiefs took advantage of the short field and scored the go-ahead touchdown five plays later on Mahomes’ second rushing touchdown of the game, making it 29-22. Buffalo answered with their own 9-play, 70-yard touchdown drive capped off with a Curtis Samuel toe-tapping catch in the back of the end zone on fourth down to bring it within a Tyler Bass extra point for a tie game. I want to give a lot of props to Bass for how he performed in the postseason. 7-7 on extra points, 6-6 on field goals, including two from 50+ yards out. He overcame his early season yips to finish the season strong and be a reliable kicker again.
The Bills were able to hold the Chiefs’ offense to a field goal and got the ball back with 3:33 remaining on the clock, and the stage was set for a comeback to win the game and go to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The offense’s inconsistency that was evident most of the night bit them again. Allen couldn’t hit his receivers and looked rattled like earlier in the game. The 17-yard drive ended on a heave under duress that Dalton Kincaid couldn’t haul in, and the Chiefs took over possession. Allen finished the drive 1-4 for five yards with a 13-yard scramble. The Chiefs secured two first downs, the final one on third and nine, with a 17-yard pass to Samaje Perine, his only target and touch in the game. For the fourth time in Josh Allen’s career, Buffalo’s postseason ended at the hands of Kansas City.
Preview Hits and Misses
Hits
James Cook had a fantastic game; unfortunately, he wasn’t given the ball more. Cook had four carries for 23 yards and a touchdown, with one catch for 17 yards before halftime. He had nine carries for 62 yards and another touchdown, with two catches for 32 yards in the second half. He was their best weapon on offense and only touched the ball 16 times in the game. Finishing the game with 134 yards at 8.4 yards per touch.
Chris Jones and Xavier Worthy were two players I mentioned in my preview as Chiefs’ players to watch. They showed up. Worthy finished with a game-high 85 receiving yards on six catches with a touchdown to go with two carries for 16 yards on the ground. His speed was evident, with most of his catches coming with a defender trailing. They took advantage of a man-to-man heavy scheme the Bills’ defense ran. Jones was the highest-graded defender in the game and had eight total pressures. The Bills tried to cover him 1-on-1 in the first half, and he created pressure on 64% of those snaps.
Misses
Aside from Curtis Samuel’s touchdown catch, he wasn’t much of a factor in the game. Allen missed him on a play I broke down later in the blog, but he was only targeted three times. It was a disappointing game for a player I thought would be an x-factor for the offense in this matchup.
The Bills held Travis Kelce to two receptions for 19 yards on four targets. This ended Kelce’s consecutive playoff games streak with 70+ receiving yards, but it seems like the Chiefs were anticipating the defense to focus on him. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquise Brown were the benefactors, with a combined 95 yards on five receptions.
Critical Plays From the Game
The “catch” that Xavier Worthy was credited with was a big play in the game. There was a defensive holding penalty on the Bills that would have been accepted if the play was ruled incomplete, placing the ball at the Buffalo 24. Instead, the call on the field was upheld, the penalty was declined, and Kansas City had first and goal from the three-yard line. They scored three plays later. I’m not saying the Bills would have stopped the Chiefs if this play was ruled incomplete. They still would have had first down just outside the Red Zone.
Josh Allen’s missed throw to Curtis Samuel on their fourth drive of the first half with the score 14-10 Kansas City. The Chiefs have scored on two of their first three drives, with the one they failed to score on being the fumble at the Bills’ 23-yard line. I’ve seen people say Samuel needs to catch this. Allen needs to put a ball out there for Samuel to grab while running and turning up the field. If it's an accurate throw here, it has the potential for a 70-yard touchdown with Samuel’s speed.
Stat(s) of the Game
BillsBanter Group Chat Quote of the Game
“That’s the most painful loss of all these Chiefs games IMO...this was their year”
Postgame Quotes of the Game
Final Thoughts and Off-Season Outlook
Writing this wasn’t fun because it refreshed everything that most fans are thinking after a postseason loss. If they could have done this or made a play here, it would have been different. I feel it and still think about the last three losses to the Chiefs in the playoffs. Kansas City is a team that waits for you to make a mistake or miss your opportunity, and they punish you for it. The Bills won the turnover battle, but they lost the mistakes battle. An opening drive three and out was the start, paired with another three and out later in the half. Allen did not look like he had most of the season. The team didn’t either. They had early procedural penalties, four fumbles (all recovered), and twelve missed tackles. All of this, and they lost by three points in their “rebuilding year.” I’m not saying they overachieved, and we should be happy. Every year that Josh Allen is healthy, the expectation is to compete for a Super Bowl. I am saying that it makes me confident about the team's future.
