KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Buffalo Bills are 1-0 in unofficial postseason games this year. How else to look at Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs?
“This is the playoffs for us,” quarterback Josh Allen said.
Lose and the Bills were done-zo, under .500 this late in the season for the first time since Allen’s rookie season of 2018.
Lose and the Bills were kaput, further ratcheting up the temperature on the entire organization after a tumultuous week that included more emergency press conferences (three) than offensive touchdowns (two).
This time, the Buffalo Bills’ defense got it done.
Lose and the Bills’ streak of four consecutive postseasons was over, forcing them to play out the string over the final four games, a massive fail for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
The hill remains steep because the Bills lose the head-to-head tiebreakers against Cincinnati and Denver, two of the six teams who are 7-6 and vying for what might be only two spots.
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But at least the wheels didn’t come completely off after they dealt with – and still dealing with – the pile of debris created by defensive end Von Miller (arrested during the bye) and the controversy surrounding coach Sean McDermott (the clumsy 9/11 anecdote and multiple sources criticizing his leadership style and level of accountable in a series on the “Go Long” website that clearly rattled the big whistle … and should have).
The Bills remain a far-from-finely-tuned machine – they leaked oil throughout the second half in squandering a 17-7 lead – and all they did was make sure next week’s game against Dallas has importance. But it beats the alternative, right?
“It wasn’t the prettiest of wins,” Allen said. “Lots to clean up.”
That makes the Bills like every other NFL team save for maybe San Francisco. They are 3-6 in one-possession games so every week has become a close shave.
So why believe the Bills can make mid-to-late December and early January interesting? Allen, of course.
Here’s a closer look at some of the key plays in the Bills’ triumph, starting with an incredible final Chiefs plays from scrimmage
No matter what happens moving forward this season, savor the chance to watch No. 17 play football four more times. Enjoy watching him bulldoze his way to a touchdown run like he did from six yards out in the first half (with pushes from center Mitch Morse and left guard Connor McGovern). Revel in the way he can extend plays and make something out of nothing like his third-and-long completion to running back Latavius Murray. And appreciate how he carries this team. Your team.
Allen at the peak of his powers is the only hope the Bills have of heading to play the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 7 with something on the line.
Allen played as if it was the postseason against his chief contemporary, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Rushes of four and eight yards to set up his 25-yard touchdown pass to running back James Cook in the first quarter.
A five-yard scramble on third-and-6 to allow McDermott to go for it on fourth-and-1 … and Allen escaping trouble on that play to throw four yards to tight end Dalton Kincaid. And capping that drive with his 10th rushing touchdown.
And on the game-winning drive, a five-yard keeper to convert a third-and-2.
“When things look a little bad, he can spin out of the pocket and find somebody or use his feet,” running back Ty Johnson said. “Helluva quarterback.”
A helluva quarterback who makes hellacious plays and hellacious mistakes. His careless interception – out of the pocket, throwing across his body and back into the middle of the field with a 14-0 lead gave Kansas City a collective B12 shot (the Chiefs scored a touchdown).
“You can’t make that throw there,” Allen said of his 14th interception (he does have 35 total touchdowns – 25 passing and 10 rushing).
But that’s life with Allen as the quarterback. Some games, he is so on point, the opponent has no hope of stopping him. Other games, he lets the opponent back in the fray. But there is much more great stuff than bad stuff going on with No. 17.
Sunday was a big win for Allen, but was it really a big win for McDermott? Sure, because it keeps his team’s playoff hopes alive. But to call the win validation after his character and approach were slammed? No.
To quote a line from the Olivia Rodrigo song “Bad idea right?”: “blah, blah, blah.” I wasn’t interested. These players are professionals and they get to this point because they can focus on the opponent and don’t need to manufacture rallying cries. They wanted to beat the Chiefs to save their season. Making their coach feel good after he was raked across the coals by some former players and assistant coaches? A bonus.
Had the Chiefs won, I wouldn’t have pinned the loss on McDermott and the players being distracted. That’s not giving them enough credit for their mental approach. And in particular, that’s not giving a player like Allen enough credit.
Expect Allen to remain in whatever-it-takes mode. Beat the Cowboys and the schedule softens up against the 5-8 Los Angeles Chargers and 3-10 New England. But they must beat Dallas and hope other 7-6 teams such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Denver hit the skids. The Bills remain in win-and-get-help mode. But, again, it beats the alternative of counting down the days until they clean out their lockers.
“We checked the first one off,” McGovern said. “Now, we have four more to go.”