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Although Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott made an ‘obvious’ admission after Sunday’s AFC championship loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, there’s more that he wanted to add. There was a controversial 4th-down call during the game that could’ve swung the game either way.
The final ruling was a turnover on downs by the Bills. As a result, the Chiefs got the ball back. If the call went Buffalo’s way, they would’ve had a chance to score. The game was neck-and-neck, and the Bills could’ve pulled away and built on their lead. McDermott felt the same way when talking to reporters after the game.
“The look we had in the stadium … I thought he had it,” McDermott said via NFL.com. “Just short of the line was actually the first down, what it looked like to me when it was sitting next to me with the marker. Just inside that white stripe was the first down. It looked like he got to it. That’s all I can say.”
He was asked a follow-up question about if that particular play truly mattered.
“Yeah. Of course, it does. Darn right, it does,” McDermott said. “That’s a possession. We’re up one point at that time. A chance to go up maybe multiple scores at that point. It’s a big call. It’s absolutely a big call.”
Once again, there was another close call that swung the momentum of the game. After a lackluster first half, the Bills came out ready to play in the second half. The defense was more aggressive yet conservative. Meanwhile, the offense showed its explosiveness and leaned heavily on Josh Allen and James Cook.
Even with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce giving ultimate praise to the Bills after the game, it doesn’t discount the controversial 4th-down play. After thinking about different strategies for that play, there’s nothing that McDermott would truly change about the call.
“It’s been our best play all year at one or inside of one yard (to go),” McDermott said. “We won some of those, but to your point, they were doing a good job.
“I thought overall, maybe we could have disguised it. Maybe not. But at the end of the day, we have confidence in Josh and our offensive line to get those. Been getting them all year.”
Despite another heartbreaking season for the Bills, they went further in the playoffs since the 2021 season. With the Chiefs being the ultimate roadblock, they’ll have to find a legitimate way to stop Kansas City from growing its dynasty.
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