ANTHONY GETTINO
Sports Editor
In what was one of the best weekends of playoff football in recent memory, the Buffalo Bills played in arguably the best game of the bunch.
Traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo was narrowly defeated in a score of 36-42 in overtime. This game was to decide who will face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game Sunday for a chance to play in the Superbowl.
Both teams are known for their explosive offenses and great young quarterbacks, with the Bills Josh Allen and the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes. Neither player or offense disappointed.
Allen ended the game with 329 passing yards and four passing touchdowns while Mahomes threw for 378 and three touchdown passes. Mahomes would throw 177 of those yards after the two minute warning of regulation.
The final quarter of the game may go down as one of the best back and forths in league history, with both sides combining to score 28 points in the quarter.
The Chiefs wound up down three with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation from their own 25 yard line. This meant they needed to drive between 35-40 yards down the field in just two plays. Due to some questionable play calling by the Bills defensive coordinator, they were able to get the necessary distance and tie the game with a 49 yard field goal.
Kyle Campbell, a senior Sport Management major, had this to say about the end of regulation. “That was not the same defense that was playing throughout the season because they were playing too safe.”
The Bills were ranked statistically as the best defense in the NFL, but may have had their stats padded by their ability to beat bad teams. In games decided by seven points or less the team was 0-6 between the regular and postseason.
“Covering the sidelines the last two plays of regulation didn’t make any sense since Kansas City still had timeouts,” is what Aaron Mendez, a sophomore applied mathematics major, had to say.
Ultimately, the offense never even had a chance to go win the game during overtime. Buffalo lost the coin toss and Kansas City elected to receive the ball first.
In the NFL, overtime rules are different from most other sports. If the first team with the ball scores a touchdown, then they win without the other team getting a chance to even the score back out. If that team does not score a touchdown, the game goes into sudden death. Whichever team scores any type of points first is the winner.
This meant once Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce on the touchdown in overtime, it was over.
In a game like this where the offenses were the driving force, it was a shame that it came down to a coin flip for who would come out with the win.
Luc Williams, a junior exercise science major, had this to say about the game as a whole. “Overall it was a really good game. It was one of the most impressive postseason games I’ve ever seen. It was able to showcase Josh Allen as a beast. The Chiefs were a fair opponent… the Bills could beat them next year.”
While the outcome wasn’t what Bills fans were hoping for, the future is still bright in Buffalo as long as Josh Allen is the quarterback.
Fredonian Buffalo Bills fans, sent to our Instagram @LeaderFredonia.
