In a hard-fought game between two AFC rivals, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 20-17 in Week 14 of the NFL, keeping their playoff hopes alive. The decisive factor was a serious penalty in the final phase against Kansas City.
Bills @ Chiefs: At a glance
- The Bills kept their vague playoff hopes alive with this win. The Chiefs, in turn, will probably have to say goodbye to the AFC’s top seed.
- The Chiefs were on the verge of turning the game around with a spectacular hook-and-ladder touchdown in the final period, but Kadarius Toney was offside, which negated the play and ultimately cost the Chiefs the game.
- Josh Allen reached a special statistical milestone.
Bills @ Chiefs: The game report
The Chiefs were on the verge of staging a classic comeback against one of their biggest rivals in recent years. And after a deep pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, he quickly threw a lateral to Kadarius Toney, who marched straight into the end zone. Touchdown! But that Toney had one foot on the line of scrimmage and therefore offside at the snap. The referees saw it and the play didn’t count. Just a few plays later the game was over.
What in the past usually turned into offensive fireworks, this time started with a turnover. Patrick Mahomes threw a deflected interception to AJ Epenesa in the opponent’s half. However, the Bills didn’t do anything about it. It even took until around four minutes before the end of the first quarter for the first points to be scored at Arrowhead Stadium. Only then did Josh Allen find running back Jams Cook for a 25-yard touchdown pass to give the visitors the lead.
After that, the Bills kept their foot on the gas and scored the next touchdown in their next series of attacks. Allen ran for a six-yard score of his own. However, what is also part of Allen’s game this season are hair-raising mistakes: After another Chiefs punt, the Bills had another promising drive, but it came to an abrupt end after a scramble by Allen.
He threw an interception across the field to Chamarri Conner, which breathed new life into the Chiefs, as with the ball near the halfway line, Kansas City marched inexorably toward the red zone. In the end, Jerick McKinnon ran for a seven-yard touchdown for the Chiefs’ first points. Bufalo went into the break with 14:7.
After the break, the Bills managed a field goal before the Chiefs turned up the heat. Mahomes found Rashee Rice for a touchdown, but Rice also lost a fumble a little later, but the Bills ultimately did nothing with it. At the beginning of the final quarter, KC equalized with a 27-yard field goal from Harrison Butker.
Punts followed on both sides before the Bills managed a final drive just outside the red zone. However, in the end not even an illegal contact penalty on 3rd & Long helped them decide the game here. Rather, they threw one incompletion after the other, so that although Tyler Bass gave Buffalo the lead with under two minutes to play, the Chiefs still had a lot of time and two timeouts. As it turned out, however, this had no negative consequences.
This defeat has reduced the Chiefs’ lead in the AFC West to just one game over the Broncos (7-6), but what may be more serious is that they are now two games behind the top seed in the AFC playoff picture (Ravens ) has. The Bills, in turn, are keeping their playoff hopes alive for now.
Buffalo Bills (7-6) @ Kansas City Chiefs (8-5)
Result: 20:17 (7:0, 7:7, 3:7, 3:3) BOXSCORE
Bills @ Chiefs: Key stats
- It was Allen’s ninth game this season with at least one passing and one rushing touchdown. No other quarterback has ever had more games like that in a single season in the NFL.
- The Chiefs received a total of seven penalties for 45 yards. The Bills, on the other hand, only had four penalties for 35 yards.
The star of the game: Front Seven (Bills)
In the end, the Bills only managed one sack against Mahomes, but the constant pressure, especially in the final phase, still paid off. Mahomes often had to throw prematurely or take hard hits when throwing. In total, he received eight QB hits and that had a decisive influence on the Chiefs’ passing game.
The flop of the game: Kadarius Toney (Wide Receiver, Chiefs)
Toney’s offside penalty in the final stages was incredible and ultimately sunk the game for the Chiefs. It seamlessly follows on from his previous lowlights this season.
The highlight of the game
In the end the play didn’t count because of Toney’s offside, but it’s still the scene of the game.