The Greatest Playoff Game of All Time?
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills QB: Image by Getty Images via New York Post
Going into this weekend, I was planning on putting together a little write-up on all of the NFL Divisional Round games in one article. That plan went out the door as I was watching possibly the most outstanding game of football I had ever seen. I knew I would have to write on this game and this game only.
So there I was, sitting on my couch at about 9:45 p.m. as Harrison Butker nailed a 49-yard kick with no time in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 36-36. Both quarterbacks are over 300 passing yards and have at least 3 touchdowns (Mahomes 2 passing and 1 rushing, Allen 4 passing). Mahomes and Allen were leading their team in rushing yards with 69 and 68 yards respectively. Bills receiver Gabriel Davis had set a playoff record with 4 touchdown receptions. I was in awe of what was happening in this game. How did this all happen? Let’s rewind to when there was 2:14 left in the 3rd quarter.
As each team had been trading scores for most of the game so far, Mecole Hardman ran for an impressive 25 yard touchdown on an end-around to give the Chiefs the first two-score lead of the game. However, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed the extra point which turns out to be crucial later on. Coming off 3 punts on their last 4 drives, the Bills are looking vulnerable on offense and the Chiefs seem to have the game in good hands.
Chiefs 23, Bills 14… 2:14 remaining in 3rd quarter
Butker kicks off… touchback. On the very first play of the drive, McDermott sends receiver Gabriel Davis (currently with one touchdown) on a fly route between Chiefs safeties Daniel Sorenson and Juan Thornhill. It should be noted that superstar safety Tyrann Mathieu had been ruled out of this game early on with a concussion. With Sorenson struggling as of late and Thornhill having to take Mathieu’s role, McDermott’s play call worked out perfectly. Allen dropped back to his own 16 yard-line and threw a bomb to Davis, caught at the Chiefs 26 yard-line (58 yards in-air). Davis took it into the endzone and the only two-score lead of the game was gone after one offensive play.
Chiefs 23, Bills 21… 1:56 remaining in 3rd quarter
Kansas City gets the ball back and is able to pick up a couple first downs but is ultimately forced to punt in Buffalo territory. The Bills get one first down on a 17-yard pass to Gabriel Davis then return the favor with a punt of their own. This is where things start to get fun. After not playing a down on special teams over the entire regular season, Andy Reid lets Tyreek Hill return this Matt Haack punt. With one move, Hill juked out THREE Bills players and used his electric speed to return the ball all the way to Buffalo’s sixteen yard-line. However, Andy Reid uncharacteristically called three straight runs (gaining only six yards) leaving the Chiefs to settle for a field goal.
Chiefs 26, Bills 21… 8:58 remaining in 4th quarter
After getting the ball on their own 25 after a touchback, the Bills put together a 17 play drive as they marched down the field in hopes of getting a lead of their own. Here’s a quick look at every 3rd and 4th down play other than the final one.
3rd and 3 from BUF 32: 5-yard completion to Cole Beasley
3rd and 4 from BUF 43: 9-yard run by Josh Allen
3rd and 1 from KC 39: 3-yard run by Josh Allen
3rd and 6 from KC 32: 2-yard run by Josh Allen
4th and 4 from KC 30: 6-yard run by Josh Allen
3rd and 6 from KC 20: -7 yard screen pass to Devin Singletary
Throughout the drive, Josh Allen used his legs to pick up first downs time and time again. However, with just 2 minutes left in the game, the Bills were left with a 4th and 13. Remember how I said the game was tied 36-36 going into OT? Do you see how the score is only 26-21 with two minutes left? Yeah… this is where things get crazy. Gabriel Davis runs one of the greatest post-routes I’ve ever seen, leaving Chiefs CB Mike Hughes on the turf at around the 8 yard-line. Allen finds the wide-open Davis for the touchdown giving the Bills a 27-26 lead. Unsurprisingly, Sean McDermott elects to go for two. After scrambling around for approximately 8 seconds, Allen hits Stefon Diggs with a high-point pass in the back of the endzone to give the Bills a three-point lead.
Bills 29, Chiefs 26… 1:54 remaining in 4th quarter
Obviously, 2 minutes plus three timeouts is more than enough time for Patrick Mahomes to work his magic. Unfortunately for KC, it may have actually been a little too much time. After two incompletions, an 11-yard hookup to Kelce and another incompletion, the Chiefs did what the Chiefs usually do and nailed a big play. After catching a 10-yard in-route, Tyreek Hill used his speed once again to maneuver through blocks, weave through defenders and find himself in the endzone. A 64 yard-touchdown with 1:02 left on the clock.
Chiefs 33, Bills 29… 1:02 remaining in 4th quarter
On the second play of the drive, Josh Allen finds Gabriel Davis on another post-route to get into KC territory. After two more completions on sideline passes, Allen led Buffalo to the Kansas City 19 with 17 seconds left. You’ll never guess what happens next (sarcasm intended). I’m starting to feel a little repetitive here, but yet again Gabriel Davis splits the two safeties and is wide open for his 4th touchdown of the game! As Davis sits with 8 receptions, 201 yards and 4 TDs, it looks like he will be the hero in Buffalo for years to come as they will get ready to face the Bengals in the AFC Championship. Or so we think.
Bills 36, Chiefs 33… 0:13 remaining in 4th quarter
13 seconds isn’t enough time for Mahomes, right? Right?? Bills Special Teams Coach Heath Farwell decides against kicking a squib-kick and Tyler Bass kicks it out the back of the endzone. Still 13 seconds left, KC Ball on their own 25.
Play 1: With the Bills playing Prevent Defense, Mahomes completes a quick curl route to Tyreek Hill who runs to the KC 44 and gets tackled with 8 seconds left. Timeout KC.
Play 2: Kelce runs a streak between the Matt Milano (hook zone) and Levi Wallace (flat zone) and Mahomes finds him about 15 yards downfield and Kelce takes the ball all the way down to the Buffalo 31 with 3 seconds left. Timeout KC.
After missing a 50 yard-field goal and an extra-point earlier in the game, Harrison Butker is tasked with hitting a 49-yard field goal to send this already insane game to overtime, which he does.
Bills 36, Chiefs 36… OVERTIME
What was Josh Allen’s biggest mistake all night? Calling tails. With both defenses exhausted, it was evident that whichever team won the coin toss would drive down the field and win the game without giving the other team a chance. With the coin showing heads, Josh Allen and Gabriel Davis saw what looked like a guaranteed win slip away. In the lone overtime drive, Mahomes went 6/6 for 69 yards and the game winning 8-yard pass to Travis Kelce. Just like that, one of the greatest games I had ever seen was finally over.
Chiefs 42, Bills 36… FINAL
Will the Bills fire Heath Farewell for giving Mahomes too much time? We will see. Will the NFL change the overtime rules after this game? We well also have to wait in see. In my opinion, it is unfair that Josh Allen put up the game of his life and lost due to the flip of a coin. To end this, I am going show a tweet I saw as I was writing this; it’s something interesting to think about.
