Bills vs. Chiefs: Don’t Blame the Zebras
We all know that when someone is angry or frustrated, their actions, words and thoughts may pack a bit more of a bite to them.
During and after the AFC Championship game last Sunday, there were a lot of angry and frustrated Bills fans.
Check that football fans.
Regardless of the social media platform of your choice, the narrative was the same: Kansas City once again benefitted from questionable calls by the officials and the NFL wanted Taylor Swift and the three-peat in New Orleans.
I will admit, I had the same thoughts during and after the game. I thought for sure Josh Allen got the first down. I thought for sure that was an incompletion near the goal line. I thought for sure Chris Jones was in the neutral zone on at least one of the 4th down QB sneaks.
That is why I chose to not write about the game until Thursday night. I am at a point where I can not blame the officals, but rather give credit where it is due.
As a Bills fan, that isn’t easy, but, it’s the truth.
I can look back and see where despite all of that, Buffalo had its chance(s), but the all-time greatness of Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo and Patrick Mahomes was too much to overcome.
Listening to the Bills players after the game and in the days following the game, proved to me that coaching is what sets them apart from the NFL and the Bills.
Greg Rousseau said that Kansas City ran plays and looks they hadn’t seen before. That is a big advantage to Reid, who is arguably the best coach in NFL history and inarguably the best offensive mind/playcaller in history. That KC was able to put out new looks/formations in the AFC Championship shows that he is on another level.
It wasn’t just Reid who flexed his football mind and instincs. Kansas City defensive coordinator “Spags” also had his moment in the sun.
I’ve heard it said about Spags countless times, he has an uncanny knack to call the perfect defense, at the perfect time and he did that on the Bills’ final play of the season. Facing a 4th and 5, he sent a blitz that fooled Josh Allen and the offense. Allen slid the offensive line right based on tendencies and game action to that point, but the blitz came off the right, forcing Allen to rush the pass (which still had a very realistic shot of being caught).
If that blitz goes to the left like Buffalo thought, the All-22 shows a wide open Dalton Kincaid and with time, Buffalo is likely looking at a different outcome.
This is a long-winded way of saying this: Kansas City is the best situational team in the NFL. They have the best coach in NFL history. The best offensive playcaller in history (lucky for them it is the same person). One of the best defensive coordinators of this era, if not any era and the likely GOAT Patrick Mahomes.
I’m not saying I don’t think some of the calls were wrong, but outside of one of the calls, I don’t think it altered the game. With the completion to Worthy that looked like the ball was on the ground, there was a defensive holding penalty on Buffalo that would have given them a first down with plenty of time left to score anyway.
The only one I can see a little validity in questioning is the non-first down by Allen, but even that, I am putting on the Bills. The entire game, Kansas City showed that they had the answer to the patented “Josh Allen sneak off the left side.” They stuffed it on numerous occasions and even on one of the conversions, it took a bit push from James Cook to get Allen over the line. Joe Brady should have adjusted based on that and changed it up. Maybe have him go right, which he never does. Maybe run the power sweep with Josh. Maybe use the running back who had a monster season and game.
For Buffalo, it was a bitter loss, being so close to the prize. Looking back on the season as a whole, a few days removed from the loss, I can appreciate the season as a whole. Nobody expected much from Buffalo back in August. The Jets and Dolphins were hot choices to take the AFC East crown.
Instead of a demise, Buffalo rose to the occasion and played with a joy and passion that seemed absent in years past. Maybe the loss of talent (i.e. Diggs) was the classic additon by subtraction.
All I know is that back in August, if you had told me Buffalo was in Kansas City in the AFC Championship game and Josh Allen had the ball with 3:30 left, three timeouts and were down only three, I would have signed up for that in a heartbeat.
The future continues to be bright in Buffalo, but for now, the brightest minds and biggest star reside in Kansas City and they look to cement themselves as the dynasty of the NFL.
As always, GO BILLS!
