the Bills against. Chiefs: An in-depth look at the fourth quarter of the divisional round
There are moments when facing reality proves to be considerably more challenging than anticipated. In actuality, to finally get the Kansas City Chiefs postseason monkey off their back—on their own turf, no less.
Buffalo ultimately lost against Kansas City due to a number of factors, including missed passes, an early field goal within the Chiefs’ 10-yard line, and an inability to thwart the Chiefs’ offence. Winning or losing a game depends on the whole game, but in close games, it all boils down to decisions made in the fourth quarter and final drive.
Reviewing the Buffalo Bills’ fourth-quarter performance is necessary, despite the fact that it will hurt to look at.
Summary of the fourth quarter
What if I told you that there were three possessions remaining in the fourth quarter for Josh Allen and the Bills offence to tie the game or seize the lead? This is precisely what occurred, and they were unable to take advantage of any of their opportunities. Three possessions by Buffalo in the fourth quarter ended in a punt (three plays, two yards), a turnover on downs (four plays, seven yards), and a failed field goal (six plays, fifty-four yards). After a drive at the conclusion of the third quarter, the Chiefs scored 40 seconds into the fourth quarter. In the subse
Kansas City executed a brilliant play that resulted in a score on this run. They were able to execute a wind-back counter play for a very simple score despite the numerous moving pieces. Tyrel Dodson, a linebacker, over chased and left the play. Tim Settle, the defensive lineman, made a crease that running back Isiah Pacheco could follow to the end zone by penetrating the line too deeply.
The first drive of the fourth quarter for Buffalo
With a well-planned eight-yard quarterback run, the Bills started the drive. They subsequently gave running back James Cook a three-yard loss on a rushing play. Josh Allen swatted his pass down near the line on third and five. Afterwards, on 4th & 5, Buffalo ran out the punt team and was stuffed on a fake punt run play to safety Damar Hamlin.
Since the Bills recovered the ball via a turnover near the goal line two plays later, this fake punt didn’t really matter. I imagine head coach Sean McDermott would be getting a lot more flak for this choice if the Chiefs had really scored a touchdown to go up 10 points, which they were only inches away from accomplishing. I don’t mind going for it on 4th & 5 there, but a running play to a backup safety on the punt team isn’t ideal. Though there is something to the element of surprise, five yards is a long way for an offensive player to run the ball, much less a punt team member. I’d have much rather saw the offense remain out there and give it a rip.
The second and second play on this drive was my biggest concern. All evening, I begged them to switch things up and call a play-action pass in 2nd & Short situations. They lost three yards by continuing to run the football instead.
quent drives, Kansas City fumbled, punted, and kneeled out the game. Let’s examine each drive in turn.
This is the play that Buffalo lost those three yards on, second and two. Although Kansas City pulled down player 8 too late, Allen and the team were still able to identify him. The fact that they are outnumbered to the weak side and nevertheless choose to perform this performance disturbs me. The middle linebacker was able to sniff it out and had a clear path to the running back as they didn’t have enough blocks to cover defenders.
The Kansas City Chiefs mishandle the ball.
After receiving the ball at Buffalo’s 32-yard line, the Chiefs ran 29 yards on their opening play.
Throughout Sunday’s game, Kansas City employed this look a couple times, and the Bills struggled to stop them.
Buffalo had another opportunity to grab the lead as safety Jordan Poyer executed an incredibly great forced fumble.
Buffalo’s second fourth-quarter drive
Following the touchback fumble, the Bills regained possession of the ball at their 20-yard line. In three plays, their drive gained a total of -2 yards. They ran it on first down for -4 yards and that play very much set them back for the two that followed. Trent Sherfield, a wide receiver, was unable to grab a long throw on third down to continue the drive. After a dreadful series of plays by Buffalo’s offence, Kansas City regained the upper hand in the game.
Chiefs’ pass
During this drive, the Bills defence effectively forced two three-and-outs. The play was ended when the officials chose to call a pass interference very late after the initial third down. In fact, it was so late that nearly every member of Buffalo’s defence was on the sidelines. Fortunately, the Bills were able to drive the ball downfield and force a more three-and-out sequence. But the game clock lost another minute due to the pass interference call. After Buffalo missed the game-winning field goal, they may have benefited from this wasted minute.
The game’s last drive for the Buffalo Bills
Most individuals, understandably enough, have opted to concentrate their energies on this urge. Buffalo’s offence was ready to score; they simply couldn’t get it done. I would have jumped at the chance to play if I had known that the Bills were down by three points, with the ball at the Chiefs’ 26-yard line at the two-minute warning. With 8:23 remaining in regulation, Buffalo gained possession of the ball at their own 20-yard line. They managed to march the length of the field, beat the two-minute warning on the clock, and go close to making a field goal. With just seconds left, they could have tied the game or scored a touchdown to grab the lead. They could have also tried running the clock down to zero. To win, they only needed to secure one more first down. This was the ideal situation for the Bills, but on the last three plays, everything collapsed horribly.
One-yard run on the first down
At first look, Buffalo appeared to have more blocks than opponents, which suggests more investigation. But the Bills did something smart; they ran a read option and left one of the defenders unblocked. They really had everything lined up pretty nicely, but either Allen was reading the incorrect defence or the linemen were blocking the wrong player. Look at what Allen might have gotten if he had pulled the ball and run it. To be honest, I was against the run call on first down, but now that I’ve seen the All-22, I’m not as against the play call. Although I believe they achieved the desired appearance, the play wasn’t performed appropriately. Nevertheless, I would have rather to see Josh Allen make a planned run here.
Secondly, incompleteness
This play is appealing to me; Allen had the desired look and had wide receiver Khalil Shakir racing free for a touchdown, but he failed to complete the ball. Dion Dawkins, the left tackle, stepped right back into Allen’s face, making it impossible for Allen to get enough mustard on the throw to get the ball where it needed to go. I don’t fault Allen for his choice, even if others could have suggested throwing it to Stefon Diggs beneath, which would have been OK.
Third Down: Not finished
The play is annoying since Allen threw it away at the end. It appears to be a lost chance. Allen looked to be dead-set on throwing the ball somewhere that would either result in a first down or a touchdown. Throughout the play, he had open options, but he probably would have been tackled before the first down. If that takes the Bills to 4th & Short, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Furthermore, it’s always unpredictable who will break a tackle and score first. However, hindsight is 20/20. Allen could have been content to toss the ball beneath if he had known he would ultimately toss it away. It would have led to a shorter field goal attempt, at the absolute least.
Field goal missed on fourth down
Yes, Tyler Bass making the field goal would have been good. However, I don’t think the Bills would have won the game even if he had. Given that their defence hadn’t stopped them much all night, giving Mahomes the ball back with 1:40 remaining and two timeouts to attempt a field goal to win the game didn’t seem encouraging. It takes courage to go for it on 4th & 9, but in this case, I would have preferred to do so. Playing Monday morning quarterback makes it simple for us to say things, but making a choice when everything is on the line during a game is more difficult.
To sum up
This was the match that everyone had been hoping to witness, the one with the dramatic conclusion when the Bills pulled off the upset, but it simply didn’t work out that way. It seemed like a fairytale ending when the drive at the conclusion of the game disappeared after four plays. Even though Buffalo seems to lose these games and this one hurts, the Bills are not out of the woods yet. They’re still a strong, if not exceptional, squad, and they’ll be back in the saddle for another fierce season. Every year, the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen are too excellent to lose in the divisional round. It will come to them eventually. In the meanwhile, go Bills!
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