Plays that defined 2020: AFC Championship—Buffalo Bills at Kansas City

What if someone told you they had the audacity to miss a Buffalo Bills game? What if you could show them one play, and one play only, to recap the whole thing? What play would you choose? Welcome to Plays that defined 2020...

AFC Championship: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City

The Buffalo Bills had won two home playoff games. A sentence the likes of which I’ve waited a long time to type. In order to make it three, and earn a trip to the Super Bowl, they had to go through Kansas City. They did not.

Dawson Knox touchdown (Q1, 6:19)

In the first quarter the Bills looked nearly flawless. Hold on to that “nearly” for a second. After a field goal to start things off, the defense forced a three-and-out. The offense took it right back down the field for this touchdown from Dawson Knox. A missed Tyler Bass extra point perhaps was a bit of foreshadowing. Despite that, a nine-point lead felt pretty good. While Kansas City drove with the ball for the rest of the first quarter, Buffalo was making them earn every yard. Things were looking good.

Darrel Williams touchdown (Q2, 9:40)

After that tremendous first quarter from both sides of the ball by the Bills, Kansas City found another gear. This was their second touchdown of three in the second quarter. Darrel Williams gave Kansas City a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Buffalo’s defense had no answers for this version of their opponent’s offense. While their first touchdown was difficult sledding, this one was a mere five plays—but covered 82 yards.

Josh Allen nine-yard run (Q3, 8:19)

This play stands in for the overall offensive woes of the Buffalo Bills in this game. While this is a successful play and overall Allen ran the ball well, it’s not great if your best compliment for an NFL offense is “The QB ran it pretty well.” Allen accounted for 88 of the team’s 129 rushing yards. Kansas City took away the Bills’ strengths, keeping Allen under six yards per attempt. The running success of Josh Allen reads more like desperation to make something happen rather than a true positive.

Tremaine Edmunds onside recovery (Q4, 4:08)

After an Isaiah McKenzie touchdown cut the deficit to 17 points the Bills had just over four minutes and three timeouts to score three times. Essentially that would have to be “Onside kick recovery, score, onside kick recovery, score, onside kick recovery, score.” And, oh yeah, two of those scores needed to be touchdowns. No problem! Thanks to Tremaine Edmunds, the Bills recovered their first onside kick and even went on to score. The second onside attempt failed and that was it.

Josh Allen sacked (Q4, 3:32)

But before that aforementioned score, Josh Allen was sacked for the fourth and final time. Add that to ten quarterback hits and a lot of harassment throughout the day and that helps tell the tale of how Buffalo’s offense failed. There’s no clearer evidence of how high the emotional stakes were either.

It’s time to vote for the play that defined the game. Remember, it’s the play that best tells the overall story of this contest, not necessarily a favorite play or best highlight.

Note: To vote in the poll, you’ll need to go to a web browser if you’re reading this on your mobile device news service.