For the fourth year in a row, the Buffalo Bills defeated their top rival, the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, in the regular season. The game was officially called when Josh Allen converted an incredible 26-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-short play late in the fourth quarter.
Besides thinking about another potential classic playoff matchup between Allen and Patrick Mahomes in January, it was pretty weird to hear CBS announcer Jim Nantz call Allen’s touchdown run “the play of the year” at the time .
While it was indeed the final turning point between two of the NFL’s very best teams, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would have called it the best game of this entire NFL season. And Nantz’s explanation about the stakes doesn’t really make sense to me either.
I think Nantz got a little caught up in the emotion of the moment:
“OOOH THE GAME OF THE YEAR IN THE NFL!” – Jim Nantz on the CBS call for Josh Allen’s TD vs. the Chiefs.
After the XP, Nantz explained why he named it the game of the year. 🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/lsFunBoLAR
— Terrible announcement (@awfulannouncing) November 18, 2024
Look, in a year that features a remarkable Hail Mary victory for the Washington Commanders, it’s going to take a lot to top that individual moment. For me, a play of the year has to be incredible And have a lot of commitment. The Commanders Hail Mary defeated a then-good Chicago Bears team on the most unlikely scoring play in football.
Allen’s run was a big moment for the Bills and the league, but otherwise it was a pretty standard run from a great athlete when you take away the situational context. He found open space and made a good defense pay to win the game in largely standard fashion. I can usually imagine Allen making this run in a clutch situation. It’s not the play of the year.
It’s that simple.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jim Nantz got caught calling Josh Allen’s TD the play of the year
