The Buffalo Bills versus the Kansas City Chiefs was so incredible two years ago that the NFL was forced to change its rules.
Josh Allen was better than Patrick Mahomes in an AFC Divisional Round playoff game.
Mecole Hardman stretched for a score in a playoff thriller that was just getting startedCredit: Getty
Buffalo led 36-33 with 13 seconds left in regulation inside a cold and stunned Arrowhead Stadium.
Yet in a chaotic series of events that still defy belief, Mahomes and the Chiefs emerged with a 42-36 victory in overtime, thanks to a lucky coin flip and Travis Kelce scoring the final deciding points.
“When it’s grim, be the grim reaper,” Kansas City head coach Andy Reid told Mahomes, perfectly capturing an unbelievable back-and-forth ending that was debated for months and still affects the NFL today.
The Bills and Chiefs combined to score 25 points in the final 2 minutes of regulation, highlighted by Kansas City’s Harrison Butker drilling a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
Then Mahomes drove the Chiefs 75 yards in eight plays before connecting with Kelce and ending the Bills’ season in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round instant classic.
“We got tremendous leaders on both sides of the ball, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams,” said Tyreek Hill, who caught 11 passes for 150 yards and a TD. “Nobody panicked. Nobody was like, ‘Oh, the game is over, there’s 13 seconds left.’ We just made plays.”
Two months after the Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship and the Bills were forced to stomach a painfully cruel finish, league owners approved a rule change that guaranteed each team a possession during OT in the postseason.
“We thought about it before when it came up when Kansas City lost to New England (in the 2018 AFC Championship),” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in March 2022. “I was watching that game going, man, you got a young Mahomes versus a veteran in (Tom) Brady and you never got to see Mahomes get his chance. Brady just took them right down the field.”
Allen was brilliant for the Bills in the Divisional Round defeat, completing 27-of-37 passes for 329 yards, four touchdowns and a 136 rating.
Performing like a modern franchise quarterback, Allen twice gave Buffalo a fourth-quarter lead and the Bills converted a successful-two point conversion in the same period.
The only thing that Allen didn’t get right was the coin toss, which favoured Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“It’s just tough, you know? To be in that moment again,” Allen said. “It sucks the way it happened, you know? We wanted to win that game. We had opportunities. Just, yeah, taking it all in, holding onto that feeling, and making sure we don’t feel like this again — back-to-back years in the same spot. It’s tough to take in.”
Buffalo had lost in the AFC Championship the year before.
In the 2021 AFC Divisional playoff thriller, Mahomes and Allen became the first QBs to throw for at least 300 yards with three TDs and no interceptions, and have 50 rushing yards during the same game in NFL history.
The Bills were 13 seconds away from ending the Chiefs’ season.
But Mahomes played the Grim Reaper and saved Kansas City.
Harrison Butker drilled a 49-yard field goal that sent the Chiefs into overtimeCredit: Getty
“Those guys are hurt, we’re disappointed — we’re all disappointed,” Buffalo coach Sean McDermott said. “We’re all sick to our stomach. You move on and you try and get yourself to learn from it, but it stings. It stings. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It stings.”
The Bills went 13-3 the following season but again fell short in the AFC Divisional Round.
Buffalo is a disappointing 6-6 this year while McDermott is dealing with fallout from his controversial comments about 9/11.
The Chiefs fell 27-24 to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 AFC Championship.
But Kansas City broke through again last season, with Mahomes, Kelce and Reid winning their second Super Bowl together.
Beating the Bills in OT during the 2021 playoffs was one of the most exciting wins of Mahomes’ career.
It took an unbelievable finish — and a lucky coin toss — for Reid’s team to finally put Buffalo away.
“The guys didn’t flinch,” Reid said “You talk about an epic game, well, that’s the way the players took it. They had tremendous respect for Buffalo and they knew it was going to be a battle and they kept going.”
