The 5 Best Plays From the Chiefs–Bills Instant Classic
Superlatives get thrown around pretty recklessly on the internet. Calling a game or play the “best ever” or “most amazing” is a good way to get readers to click on your post, but it also results in some terribly shortsighted evaluations. And yet, it is not hyperbole to call Sunday’s Chiefs-Bills divisional round matchup the best playoff game in NFL history. A 42–36 overtime thriller that saw 25 points scored in the final two minutes of regulation? That’s an all-timer for sure. The only way it could have been better is if Josh Allen and the Bills were given a chance to answer the Chiefs’ touchdown drive on the first possession of OT, but the comparatively anticlimactic finish has the league’s tie-breaking procedures under the microscope once again.
If you missed it, or just want to relive the ups and downs, here are the five best plays from that incredible game.
5. Patrick Mahomes’s throw to Travis Kelce to set up the game-tying field goal as time expired
You can’t run a better route and throw a better pass than that. Kelce ran a perfect seam pattern and Mahomes hit him in stride, which allowed Kelce to pick up 10 big yards after the catch to make Harrison Butker’s attempt more manageable.
4. Tyreek Hill’s 64-yard touchdown catch with 1:02 left in regulation
If there was any doubt that Hill is the fastest player in the NFL, this play should nip that in the bud. He left four Bills in the dust on his way to the end zone. It looked like Buffalo might have been able to drag him down and potentially hold Kansas City to a game-tying field goal attempt, but he sped across the goal line to take the lead, flashing a peace sign to those poor defenders as he ran by. (And while we’re on the topic of Hill’s speed, he also had a monster punt return earlier in the fourth.)
3. Kelce’s toe-tap on the game-winning touchdown
For a game that was so tight, it was only fitting that it ended on such a close play. Tony Romo wasn’t convinced that Kelce got both feet down with possession of the ball and Andy Reid took a few moments talking with the officials before the touchdown call was confirmed. This video shot from the corner of the end zone provides a perfect look at the grab.
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2. Allen’s 75-yard bomb to Gabriel Davis in the third quarter
This wasn’t part of the game’s frantic finish, but it was still incredible. After the Chiefs scored to extend their lead to 23–14 late in the third quarter, Allen dialed up a perfect response. On the first play of the Bills’ next drive, Davis ran straight down the field on a play-action pass and Allen uncorked a throw that flew 58 yards right into Davis’s hands. He ran untouched into the end zone for a touchdown that cut the deficit to two.
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1. Davis’s vicious juke on the touchdown that made it 29–26
I’ll admit I thought the Bills were dead after they lost seven yards on third-and-6 just before the two-minute warning. (Devin Singletary should have knocked the ball to the ground instead of catching it well behind the line of scrimmage and immediately getting tackled.) But not only did Buffalo pick up the fourth-and-13, it scored a touchdown on the play to take the lead. From the primary broadcast angle, it was difficult to see how Davis ended up all on his own in the end zone. But the replay showed that he faked Mike Hughes so badly that Hughes fell flat on the ground. It was the best play of an incredible game for Davis, who finished with eight catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns.
- Thirteen Seconds: Mahomes and the Chiefs Win an Instant Classic
- A Fitting Final Game for Tom Brady (Yeah, Right)
- Mahomes Vs. Allen Set to Become the New Brady Vs. Manning
- Measuring the Super Bowl Stakes for Each QB Remaining
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