Bills' Problem: Too Reliant on Josh Allen In Playoff Loss To Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes
Death, taxes and the Buffalo Bills needing Josh Allen to do everything for the team to have a chance in the playoffs.
And for the third straight season in the AFC Divisional round, the Bills fell short with a 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Allen completed 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 72 yards and two scores. The Bills quarterback accounted for all three of the team's touchdowns and 258 of the team's 368 total yards.
Allen summed up the night, and the Bills' recent history against K.C. as well, saying, "It sucks. Losing sucks. Losing to them. Losing to anybody. At home. It sucks.''
Josh Allen running for a first down vs. the Chiefs
© Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY
The loss highlighted how Allen needs to do nearly everything for Buffalo, and even then, the rest of the team isn't up to par. The Bills had a chance for two huge plays in the fourth quarter that would have positioned them deep in Chiefs territory with an opportunity to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Instead, receivers Trent Sherfield and Stefon Diggs dropped potentially game-altering passes.
A depleted Bills defense largely struggled against a Chiefs offense that isn't the same juggernaut it has been in years past. Of their 47 plays, including three kneel-downs at the end of the game, Kansas City had 21 first downs. If not for Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman fumbling the ball out of the end zone in the fourth quarter after a failed fake punt by Damar Hamlin that was pulled out of a Disney movie by head coach Sean McDermott, the loss likely would have been even more lopsided.
Patrick Mahomes completed 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs had three receivers with at least 47 receiving yards, and tight end Travis Kelce paced the passing attack with five catches for 75 yards and two touchdown catches. No Bills skills position player had over 45 receiving yards.
The Chiefs had eight plays of at least 20 yards in the win, while Buffalo had zero.
And even for the defense's struggles, Allen had his team within a 44-yard kick from Tyler Bass of tying the game with under two minutes to play. Then, the two worst words in Bills' history came back to life 34 years after they first originated from a Scott Norwood missed kick in a 20-19 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 25.
Bass' potential game-tying kick missed "wide right." And after a Pacheco first down two plays later, the same heartbreak that Bills fans have felt each of the last four seasons came back.
It's the same story that has plagued Buffalo for the last four seasons. Allen has had to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes three times and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Each time, it has been clear who has the better team around them, as Allen has had to make up for coaching blunders and a defense that has allowed an average of 33.5 points per game in their playoff losses the last four years.
The Bills' Super Bowl window won't stay open forever, and they have a quarterback who will give them a chance against whoever they step on the field against. But if they're ever going to get over the hump and not waste Allen's potential, everyone around him needs to be better when it matters most.
