Dawson Knox Locker-Room 'Love': TD After Tragedy Inspires Bills, Seals Win at Chiefs

A tight end created the right end to the Buffalo Bills' latest high-profile visit to Arrowhead Stadium, a 24-20 triumph that gave Western New York control of the AFC for the time being.

The Kansas City Chiefs' abode is familiar territory for Knox, one of the most prominent architects of the Bills' recent success that has taken them to Missouri for big contests on a seemingly annual basis. One of those showdowns saw Knox score the game-winning touchdown in a rare visitors' victory, albeit one that came in the second quarter of a 38-20 final last October.

Knox is also used to the more jovial side of Arrowhead, one that's yielded Kansas City playoff victories that have ended the Bills' season in each of the past two playoff tournaments.

Clutch @JoshAllenQB | @Dawson_Knox

📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/lvvR5uS0Ex pic.twitter.com/1cR3I6ccUv
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022

Those Buffalo visits playoff visits were made possible by Knox's touchdowns, as he entered the end zone 16 times over the last two years. Those scores, including a Buffalo tight end record nine last regular season, were enough to convince the Bills to bestow him a $53.6 million extension, one that made him the seventh-highest-paid at his position in the NFL.

Things have been a struggle for Knox since then: a foot injury handicapped the start of his 2022 season, limiting him to 111 yards on 12 receptions in four games, none of which were worth six points. The on-field woes have been nowhere near comparable to what has happened beyond it: tragedy struck during training camp, when his brother Luke, set to be a linebacker at Florida International University, suddenly passed away after a brief hospitalization.

But when Josh Allen needed a clutch touchdown, one to at least partly exorcise the Bills' red demons, he knew exactly where to turn.

Allen's 14-yard scoring toss, lofted over the outstretched arm of Deon Bush, in the penultimate minute of the triumph landed in the hands of Knox in the left corner of the end zone despite stingy coverage from Justin Reid. With 64 seconds still left on the clock ... an eternity compared to the 13 the Bills let slip by the end of regulation in last season's AFC Divisional showdown at Arrowhead ... Buffalo (5-1) clinched its victory with a Taron Jackson interception on Kansas City's response.

Did somebody say

BIG DUBS??
— Dawson Knox (@dawson_knox) October 16, 2022

The professional merits of the score spoke for themselves. But Allen knew just how much the touchdown meant on a personal level.

"He's been battling through some stuff this year and I'm so proud of how resilient he is," Allen told CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson after the game. "He's one of the most loved guys in our locker room, he's got a smile on his face 24/7. He deserves that and we need to keep getting him involved in this game plan moving forward because he's a special player."

Following the touchdown that will likely go down in Buffalo lore, Knox pointed skyward, apparently meant as a tribute to Luke.

"It's huge," receiver Stefon Diggs said of the impact Knox's score could have on the team as a whole. "Mental health is real. He's balancing things, he had some things happen earlier in the year and he has leaned on his brothers. He could've taken some time away from football, but he spent it with his family. He decided to continue to play, continue to be around the people that love him.

To see him just triumph, a moment of rejoicing, a guy like that battling hard each and every day regardless of what's going on in his life ... he has the encouragement, he has the will to just be like 'I can do it' ... to see him have a game-winning touchdown, it's OK, Knox, that's good!"

Buffalo gets an extra week to revel in a big victory, enjoying their bye before they face the Green Bay Packers in prime time on Oct. 30 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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