Buffalo Rumblings
Not for all the marbles, but for the right to go for all the marbles
The Buffalo Bills headed to Kansas City for the AFC Championship game for the second time during the Sean McDermott and Josh Allen era. The Bills entered the game looking for a chance at their first Super Bowl victory. Kansas City came in swinging to try for a possible three-peat.
Buffalo was outclassed in the first half but battled back after the break. The game featured several lead changes and highlights from both offenses. It looked like it would be a clash that came down to who had the ball last. It was Buffalo’s to lose at the end, and a drop by Dalton Kincaid will be added to the list of traumatic Buffalo Bills memories.
First with the ball, the Buffalo Bills looked to get off to a hot start. The Harrison Butker kickoff set Buffalo up at the 30 with a touchback. The first play from scrimmage saw Josh Allen take the ball four yards on a quick keeper. Josh Allen narrowly avoided an interception on his first passing attempt, an overthrow to Mack Hollins. Buffalo went a quick three-and-out after pressure led to another near interception. Sam Martin sadly saw immediate action with a punt of 56-yards.
Patrick Mahomes got off to a better start, finding Marquise Brown twice in a row for 11 and nine yards. Mahomes scrambled for four to get a second first down for Kansas City. KC continued to move the ball with ease, including a 31-yarder to Juju Smith-Schuster to reach the Buffalo 22. Three more plays later and Kansas City opened up the scoring with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Kareem Hunt.
Bills 0, KC 7
Buffalo once again started at the 30 after a touchback, looking to respond with points of their own. Buffalo looked to have a modest gain of four on a James Cook run, but the game’s first penalty for an illegal formation moved them the wrong way. Allen completed his first pass of the game to Dalton Kincaid for 11 yards to make up for the flag. Ty Johnson ran the ball for one, setting up third down. Khalil Shakir moved the chains as he was known to do with a catch of 12 yards, most of it RAC. Pressure led to a deep throwaway. Nine yards from Amari Cooper and two yards from Allen kept the sticks moving. On the ensuing series, Cook started off with a gain of five, which was followed by an aborted snap that led to a loss of four. Now 3rd & 9, Buffalo settled for a 53-yard Tyler Bass field goal.
Bills 3, KC 7
Tyler Bass dropped his kickoff right on the end line to try to force KC to return the ball. Which they did, with Nikko Remigio bringing it to the 32-yard line but was injured on the play. Christian Benford forced an incompletion to start things off, but the...
