The Buffalo Bills magical season came to an end Sunday night after being blown out 38-24 in Kansas City.
After going up 9-0 after a fumbled punt return by Kansas City Chiefs return man, Mecole Hardman, the Bills capitalized on a Dawson Knox touchdown.
After that, It seemed all downhill for the Buffalo Bills on both offense and defense.
When they had the ball, getting any play downfield seemed a tall order as the Chiefs’ secondary stuck to the Bills receivers like glue. Running the ball was no easy task either as Devin Singletary couldn’t find any daylight between the guards or tackles to pick up positive yardage.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Chiefs’ ability to snap off big plays was Buffalo’s Achilles heel. Plays from Hardman and Hill backed the Buffalo Bills into their own territory far too often.
That saw their nine-point lead become a 21-12 deficit. That quickly snowballed into a 31-15 lead for the Chiefs, which would be too much to come back from.
Though the Bills were able to scoop up an onside kick to give Bills fans the feeling that this might not be over, the Kansas City Chiefs thought differently after shut down any offense following an Isaiah McKenzie touchdown.
The Kansas City Chiefs now back-to-back AFC Champions will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who will be hosting the game for the first time in the NFL’s history.
The Buffalo Bills will now evaluate their roster in the offseason with some very important decisions coming in terms of free agents. Expiring contracts for Matt Milano, Jon Feliciano, and Daryl Williams highlight and underline themselves as some of the notable names that may have played their last snap as a Buffalo Bills.
For one last time, these are the top three takeaways for the Buffalo Bills from the AFC Championship game.
McDermott’s decisions
It is easy to get wrapped up as a fan and an ‘armchair quarterback’ and judge a well-qualified coaching staff for making decisions in the heat of the moment that one may not agree with.
That being said, the Buffalo Bills’ decision to opt for field goals when touchdowns are an absolute necessity to beat Kansas City is on Sean McDermott and his staff would like a time machine to go back and undo.
Sean McDermott on the two fields goals in the redzone: "If I had to do it over again, I'd probably go for one of them."
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) January 25, 2021
Kicking two field goals instead of touchdowns when the Bills were deep inside Kansas City territory. If the Bills went for it on fourth down and were able to convert instead of the latter, they would have found themselves more ‘in’ the game than the combined six points would have allowed them to be. That would have tilted the score to 21-16 at the end of the first half and 23-24 and in the third quarter.
Now when playing the Chiefs, you have to take points where you can get them but when facing a deficit as insurmountable as the one the Bills faced against the Cheifs, field goals were not adequate when touchdowns were necessary.
The polarizing details of the Bills opting for field goals is exactly that since Buffalo did show some aggressiveness in going for it on fourth down in their opening drive. Additionally, McDermott coached some very aggressive games throughout the season and these playoffs. Whether it be the moment or the opponent, that aggressiveness was nowhere and it costed the Bills.
Offensive and defensive line
Buffalo and ‘great offensive lines’ were not spoken in the same breath this season. The reason being is because they were good, not great. With a plug-and-play system, the Buffalo Bills endured all season due to injuries, the offensive unit was never truly at 100%. Though they put together some phenomenal games down the stretch when everyone but Cody Ford was healthy, the biggest game highlighted their biggest flaw; blocking.
Everyone saw it. Fans, experts, and even players, as Ravens defensive back Marlon Humphrey noticed, that the Bills offensive line was struggling against the Kansas City front. The lack of time in the pocket propelled Josh Allen into ‘Hero Mode’ which we saw against the Houston Texans last year.
Flashbacks of fumbles, horrible sacks, and forced balls slowly crept back into Allen’s game and made it tough for Buffalo to get momentum on offense. Due to the constant pressure Allen was feeling, he seemed to never feel comfortable. Now that could have been from the immense pressure he was feeling from Frank Clark and the Chiefs, but it also could have been the noise Buffalo had to deal with. With this being the first game Buffalo had played on the road with fans of the opposition, communication along the line looked challenging.
On the defensive line, Buffalo was unable to get any pressure on Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
With Mahomes not being 100% after it was known that he was dealing with turf toe, allowing him to slip tackles and extend plays was truly the dagger that the Bills self-inflicted at multiple points in the game. Though, that would not have happened if Buffalo jammed Travis Kelce at the line. Since they did not, Kelce was able to launch off the line, get set at the top of his route allowed Kansas City to effortlessly march down the field and score at will.
Run game and T.J. Yeldon
It is no secret that the Buffalo Bills were a one-dimensional offense; and a very good one at that. The old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was a statement that seemed to cling to the Bills’ offense this season as knowing they had no real run game, they chose to double-down on the pass.
That inability to get anything going on the ground was harmful as they were unable to rely on the run during a time where they weren’t able to get open in the secondary.
The blame for that can fall on the shoulders of Brian Daboll for not making the run a priority. Though, ultimately, it comes down to the players to execute. Failing to be a reason during the game, Devin Singletary was pulled for T.J. Yeldon who has not had many meaningful snaps all season. While the decision to change was not one that differed in the end, Yeldon was an addition to the passing game.
Entering the offseason now, the Bills will have plenty of time to check their plan of attack to fix the run game. Perhaps the team leans more on Zack Moss once he returns from injury. Perhaps the Bills address the offensive line and acquire pieces that will make room for the swiftness of Devin Singletary. Perhaps they select a new back in the draft.
Whatever Buffalo chooses to address, the same formula of running the ball in the playoffs remains and Buffalo needed that Sunday.