ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – With five minutes left, the feeling for the Kansas City Chiefs was familiar.
Even as the scoreboard trailed the Buffalo Bills by two points, their most consistent AFC challenger over the past five years, the Chiefs were mounting another comeback in the fourth quarter. Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes sat next to each other on the bench and discussed what plays they wanted the offense to run for a potential game-winning drive. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo stood on the sideline looking at his small play sheet, hoping to find the right blitz or coverage change to thwart quarterback Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills’ leading man.
After a timeout, the Chiefs defensive unit was ready for the make-or-break moment: a fourth-and-2 snap from the 26-yard line.
“We’re kind of thinking, ‘We’re going to make a run here,’” linebacker Leo Chenal said. “We reminded each other that they love the quarterback staying on fourth down. When the game gets tight, they trust him to have the ball.”
With a stop, the Chiefs defense would have handed the ball to Mahomes with two timeouts and two minutes remaining, requiring just 45 yards to set up a game-winning field goal attempt for new kicker Spencer Shrader.
But that’s not what happened.
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Spagnuolo made the right play call — and his players executed it well for three seconds — but Allen broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run, producing a crescendo from 71,000 fans that proved to be the exclamation point on the victory of the Bills 30-21 .
In that moment, Mahomes saw what another superstar quarterback can do to win a game.
CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz called it “the play of the year in the NFL.” Allen’s run sealed it as the Bills handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season.
“He’s a great player,” Chenal said of Allen. “He proved why they want him to have the ball in his hands. We just missed the opportunity to stop them.”
Put the team on his back. @JoshAllenQB
📺: #KCvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/8kbW3A8o5y—NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
Allen went through the Chief’s defense in 28 steps.
Allen initially wanted to pass the ball, but he expected the Chiefs to play man-to-man coverage. The Chiefs responded with zone coverage, covering the Bills’ five pass catchers, all of whom ran short routes.
“The last two years we’ve had a lot of man (coverage) on critical downs,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “That’s why (Allen) was expecting a man.”
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Defensive end George Karlaftis made the Chiefs’ first minor mistake. He used a speed rush to make a move on right tackle Ryan Van Demark, but lost the integrity of his pass-rush lane that was supposed to help keep Allen in the pocket. Once Allen ran forward, he sprinted past defensive tackle Mike Pennel, linebacker Drue Tranquill and cornerback Nazeeh Johnson before reaching the end zone. According to Next Gen Stats, Allen had just a 1.2 percent chance of scoring once he put the ball away. The highlight was Allen’s first scramble touchdown run against the Chiefs in his seven-year career.
“He just saw a lane, man, and took it,” Bolton said of Allen. “We were able to match the game they played well. Then he used his feet. He is a dual threat guy.”
A few minutes later, when the game was over, Mahomes stretched out, hugged and congratulated Allen, the frontrunner for NFL MVP.
“Great game, man,” Mahomes said. He ended the brief conversation with a message to Allen, alluding to a playoff rematch in January: “We’ll do it again, baby.”
“We’ll do it again, honey.” – Patrick Mahomes to Josh Allen pic.twitter.com/6l2B3SP9qQ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 18, 2024
In the visitors’ locker room, the Chiefs players were angry with themselves and the mistakes they made, sparking several impressive streaks.
The Chiefs had won the previous eight games in which they trailed by seven or more points.
The previous nine times the Chiefs had come from behind by seven points or more, the most in NFL history. Since Christmas Day last year, they had won 15 games in a row. Sunday’s loss also marked the first time since Super Bowl LVII that the Chiefs gave up at least 30 points.
“It was super special, man,” Bolton said of the 30-game streak for the Chiefs defense. “When you keep teams under 30, it’s usually chasing (the ball carrier) and guys limiting explosive play. We should have kept them under 30 in this match.”
The result of Sunday’s game means there’s a real race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed – a three-team sprint between the Chiefs (9-1), Bills (9-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) – left with seven weeks left in the regular season. If the Chiefs had won on Sunday, they would have had a big lead in the conference. But there’s no longer much room for error, especially since the Bills are the deciding factor.
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The Chiefs, who are still at the top of the standings, have crucial games coming up against the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Steelers.
Mahomes now has a long shot to win the MVP Award, but he can still lead the Chiefs to a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason.
“That’s a good team,” Mahomes said. ‘Nothing to hang your head on, losing to them. We feel like we can play better. We’re going to get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can ultimately be a better team.
“The undefeated thing was cool, but that’s not our ultimate goal. We will continue to build towards that.”
THE BILLS CHOOSE MAHOMES TO ENSURE PROFIT.#KCvsBUF pic.twitter.com/RfCyRynpQ9
—NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
During the two-minute warning, the raucous crowd of Bills fans sang “MVP! MVP! MVP!” for Allen. The crowd roared again when linebacker Terrel Bernard intercepted Mahomes’ desperate deep pass on fourth down. Mahomes’ pass was intended for Travis Kelce, who made a golf clapping gesture at Bills fans as he left the field.
Before the Chiefs left the locker room, Chenal said he and his teammates plan to use their first loss as motivation with a three-word phrase: Remember the feeling.
“We’ve lived here for a while,” Chenal said, his right hand near his forehead. “We kind of sunk into it a little bit, but we want to remember this, possibly the next time we play them.”
(Photo: Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
