Allen to Davis, 13 Seconds, Tails Never Fails, and Mahomes Magic: Looking Back on the Greatest NFL Playoff Game of All Time

As the AFC Divisional Playoff game two weeks ago between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs hit the two-minute warning, it looked as though a close and somewhat interesting playoff game was about to come to an expected and unremarkable end. The Bills trailed 26-21 and had just suffered a six-yard loss on a terribly designed screen pass, leaving them with a fourth and 13 with their season on the line.  

As a Bills fan, at this point, I had shifted into what I call the “acceptance” phase of every tough loss. I had accepted the fact that we were about to lose; that Allen’s fourth-down pass would fall incomplete, and the Chiefs would run out the clock, that we had had a good season but were not quite at the level of the top teams in the league. 

The Bills offense, however, proved me wrong, and on fourth down Allen dropped back and found Gabe Davis wide open in the endzone for a touchdown. This, along with a critical two-point conversion, gave the Bills a 29-26 lead with 1:54 left.  

I was watching this game in the student center with a group of friends, and after this touchdown, I went crazy.  However, once I calmed down, I rationalized that overtime was still likely, and was very worried about a Chiefs touchdown. With so much time left and the Chiefs still having all three of their timeouts. 

Sure enough, less than a minute later Mahomes found receiver Tyreek Hill wide open in the middle of the field and he dashed all the way for a 64-yard score. It was a complete defensive breakdown by the number one ranked defense in the entire league, and it left the Bills down by four with 1:02 left. 

At this point, I shifted back from excitement to acceptance. While I wanted to have faith in Allen, I just wasn’t sure if he could pull it off this time. I should’ve known better though, as he marched the Bills offense right back down the field, and with 13 seconds left threw another touchdown pass to Gabe Davis that put the Bills up 36-33. 

At this point I had the same reaction as every other Bills fan in the country, which was to go absolutely insane. I jumped out of my chair and started yelling incoherently about how Josh Allen is the greatest QB ever and how we had the Super Bowl won already (I understand this is very irrational, but don’t blame me, I was just too excited). I was so loud that even those on the third floor of the student center could hear me loud and clear, and I thought for sure the game was won. 

This had to be the game-winner, and the Bills were about to host the AFC Championship game, where they would be heavy favorites over the Bengals. Josh Allen was perfect, and Gabe Davis just played one of the best games you will ever see from a wide receiver. He caught eight receptions for 201 yards and set an NFL playoff record with a whopping four touchdown catches. This is a remarkable stat line for any player, let alone a second-year receiver who had served as the Bills’ third or fourth option for most of the season. 

With only 13 seconds left in the game almost everyone thought the game was over, including the Bills sideline, which was in full on celebration mode. Yet, a few questionable decisions from the Bills coaching staff gave the Chiefs some life, and this was all they needed to tie the game. 

First off, the decision to squib kick the ensuing kickoff was inexcusable. A squib kick would’ve forced the Chiefs to attempt a return and bled valuable seconds off the clock, likely leaving them with time for only one or two plays total. However, Bills kicker, Tyler Bass, booted the ball into the endzone for a touchback, allowing Mahomes to get the ball at his own 25-yard line with the full 13 seconds remaining. 

Next, on this final drive of regulation the Bills opted to play a zone prevent defense that heavily defended the sideline while leaving the middle wide open. This made absolutely no sense, as the Chiefs had all three timeouts and were perfectly fine with throwing the ball into the vast amount of wide-open space in the middle of the field. Also, Mahomes was going to have to make a quick throw anyway, so I don’t understand why the Bills rushed four defensive linemen. The smarter decision would’ve been to rush two or even no defensive lineman, while double covering every receiver to ensure no big gains. 

Alas, the Bills defense and their coaching staff were scared of Mahomes and the Chiefs, and they played not to lose instead of to win. They allowed the Chiefs to move all the way into field goal range in two plays, and Harrison Butker then tied the game with a field goal as time expired.  

Once the game reached overtime it all came down to the coin flip, as both offenses were unstoppable and a touchdown on the first drive felt inevitable. Josh Allen, who was 9-0 throughout the season on coin flips, called tails.  

This was his only mistake of the entire game.  

The coin landed on heads, and at this point I knew the game was over. For Bills fans like myself, the Chiefs drive in overtime felt like watching a disaster occur right before our eyes that we were helpless to stop. They went 75 yards in less than five minutes, and on the eighth and final play of the drive Mahomes found Kelce in the back corner of the endzone for the game winning score. 

With the current NFL overtime rules Allen and the Bills offense never even got to touch the ball, and Kelce’s touchdown ended the game. While these overtime rules are seriously flawed and need to be changed, the Bills can’t be angry, as they never should’ve been in that situation in the first place. I don’t care how good Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense is, with 13 seconds left the game should be over, and they should have no chance to drive down the field to tie it up. While the defensive players weren’t perfect, the responsibility for this 13 second collapse lies on head coach Sean McDermott, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and the rest of the Bills coaching staff, as their defensive play-calls and scheme lost them this game.  

After the loss I was devastated, as I felt as though we had the game won and would’ve easily beaten the Bengals to go to the Super Bowl. All people cope in different ways after tough losses, and while some, like my dad, decided to ignore everything football related for the next few weeks, I decided the best way for me to deal with this loss would be to write about it. Pouring my words about the game onto this page has helped me move on, and seeing the Chiefs lose this week to the Bengals in overtime also helped with that.  

This was an unbelievable game and, in my mind, the greatest NFL game of all time. While it’s unfortunate my team came out on the wrong side of it, games like these are why I fell in love with football, and mark my words, the Bills will be back and even better next year.