The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated no more after dropping one on the road at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Bills led by two points and faced a fourth-and-2 in field goal range. Kansas City called a timeout after the third-down stop in hopes of saving some time for the offense, but this turned out to be a critical error. A field goal would’ve extended their lead to five, but Sean McDermott left his offense on the field. Had the Chiefs stopped Buffalo here, it would have allowed an opportunity for a comeback. Instead, the timeout gave the Bills time to collect themselves for the knockout punch.
The unfortunate thing about it is that Kansas City should have been all too familiar with what was coming. They’d seen it from their own quarterback many times before in the big moments. Even CBS Sports color analyst Tony Romo knew what was coming when they lined up to snap the ball.
“I’m going with Josh Allen,” he said. “I’m going for this. Like I keep saying, Jim, Kansas City is not just going to backdoor into beating them. You’ve got to go win the game. These decisions matter.”
And just as they snapped the ball, Romo said it: “The quarterback’s legs.”
That’s exactly what got them, too.
Allen didn’t have to rely on his legs too much in Week 11, with just 11 carries for 29 yards before the improbable 26-yard carry. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Allen had just a 1.2% chance of scoring a touchdown once he tucked the ball the ball to run. It’d give them a two-score lead at 30-21, leaving Kansas City with 2:17 and two timeouts remaining.
“Listen, our guys, they were hustling their tail off to get to him,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said following the game. “So, he did a nice job. I give him credit for it, that’s a tough one.”
When they needed it most, Allen gave the Bills a touchdown scramble to be remembered in Buffalo. Conversely, Patrick Mahomes felt he didn’t step up to the plate when the Chiefs needed it most in this close Week 11 game.
“The throw to Xavier Worthy, I keep that in bounds, you get a touchdown that on that drive,” Mahomes said. “Maybe the I call protection wrong, get a free rusher and kind of stalls out a drive. A play here or there, that’s kind of the difference of these games that we’re playing. It’s two good football teams, and today, Josh (Allen) makes the play, and we didn’t, and so all credit to them. And like I said, great football team, and it’s all about a couple plays here and there that change the outcome of the game.”
The Chiefs can either treat this game as the wake-up call they needed, or they could look back on it as a game where their flaws finally caught up with them. How they respond to the loss will be entirely up to them. They’ll look to bounce back strongly against a 3-7 Carolina Panthers team who are coming off of two consecutive wins.
