Buffalo Bills Links, 1/25: Recapping the loss to KC

Another heartbreaking way for Buffalo’s season to end

The Buffalo Bills were 13 seconds away from knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs in an instant classic in the divisional round of the playoffs, only for Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce to rip out the collective hearts of Bills fans everywhere, emerging with a 42-36 win in overtime Sunday night.

Today’s edition of the Bills is not for the faint of heart as we recap the good, the bad, and the ugly from another postseason setback to the Chiefs.

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Additional Bills news from around the web

Recapping Buffalo’s loss to the Chiefs

Ugh. That one hurts. Quarterback Josh Allen had the Bills in perfect position to win and advance into the AFC Championship, throwing a dart to wide receiver Gabriel Davis for his FOURTH touchdown with 13 seconds left. But alas, it was just enough time for Patrick Mahomes to lead the Kansas City Chiefs downfield for the game-tying field goal, and the promising Bills season came to an end in agonizing fashion.

• AFC Divisional Playoff: Bills lose a heartbreaker to Chiefs in overtime – newyorkupstate.com
• Plays that shaped the game: Speedsters keyed Chiefs’ 42-36 OT win over Bills | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• “We absolutely know what we lost.” Bills “devastated” after heartbreaking loss – Democrat & Chronicle
• ‘We’re devastated’: Elusive Chiefs once again crush the Bills’ Super Bowl dreams – The Athletic (subscription required)
• Upon Further Review: Patrick Mahomes proves to be a puzzle Bills still can’t solve | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Bills watch victory slip away in 13 seconds as Chiefs end Buffalo’s postseason again – Buffalo Bills Blog- ESPN
• Questions abound why Bills didn’t squib kickoff with 13 seconds left vs. Chiefs | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Sean McDermott doesn’t want to talk about what happened in final 13 seconds vs. Chiefs – newyorkupstate.com
• Josh Allen’s playoff performance delivers hope for Buffalo – BuffaloBills.com

Report cards, observations, instant analysis

We break down this rematch of last year’s AFC title game, handing out positional grades, including for Josh Allen, whose herculean effort was wasted by Buffalo’s defense. We also analyze the decisions made by head coach Sean McDermott, do a deep dive into that last possession of regulation, take a look at the lessons learned from this latest chapter in Buffalo’s painful playoff history, and hear from Allen, Davis, McDermott, Jordan Poyer and the rest of the Bills on this loss.

• Report Card: Coaching decisions, defensive woes doom Bills, leading to predictable grades | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Report card: Josh Allen’s legendary effort wasted by defense in loss to Chiefs – Democrat & Chronicle
• Josh Allen’s heroics fall short as Bills defense gets embarrassed by Chiefs in 42-36 overtime loss (Report card) – newyorkupstate.com
• Capaccio: Arrow Up/Arrow Down: Bills at Chiefs – WGR 550
• Observations: Defensive breakdowns ruin Josh Allen’s heroics, lead to one of most painful losses in Bills history | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• What happened in the final 13 seconds of regulation? 7 observations from the Bills’ crushing playoff exit – The Athletic (subscription required).
• Top 3 things we learned from Bills at Chiefs | Divisional Round – BuffaloBills.com
• 10 takeaways from the Bills at Chiefs postgame press conferences – BuffaloBills.com

The Gabriel Davis game

Everyone expected the Bills to have success passing the ball against Kansas City’s secondary. But no one predicted the kind of breakout game from wideout Gabriel Davis, who hauled in eight passes for 201 yards while becoming the first player in NFL history with four receiving touchdowns in a playoff game.

• Bills receiver Gabriel Davis erupts to keep Bills in game before gutting loss | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Gabriel Davis makes history in loss to Chiefs – Democrat & Chronicle

13 Seconds joins long list of past Bills playoff losses

The Bills have endured their fair share of torturous endings in playoff games during their history, from the Music City Miracle and Wide Right to Ronnie Harmon’s drop in the 1988 AFC Championship. Unfortunately for Bills fans, Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs spawned another nickname from a gut-wrenching loss: 13 Seconds.

• There’s Wide Right. Music City Miracle. Will 13 Seconds be the nickname for this Bills loss? – Democrat & Chronicle
• Bulldog: The sting of this loss will last a long time – WGR 550
• Jason Wolf: Josh Allen’s legendary postseason ends as Bills add ‘13 Seconds’ to list of gut punches | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Erik Brady: The Bills’ luck ran out when the game clock struck 13 | Local News | buffalonews.com
• Sean Kirst: For Bills fans, a reason for hope after ‘spiritual demolition derby’ | Local News | buffalonews.com

Bills, Chiefs address overtime rules

The NFL rules clearly state that if a team takes the ball in overtime, drives downfield and scores a touchdown, the game ends without the other team getting a possession. Hear how the Bills and Chiefs feel about the overtime rule, and whether the rules should be changed.

• Chiefs, Bills shrug off controversy over NFL overtime rules – Democrat & Chronicle
• All-time great games shouldn’t be decided by coin tosses – WGR 550

Odds and ends

The NFL head-coaching carousel marches on, and shortly after the Bills season ended, we learned the New York Giants reached out to have Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for a second interview for the team’s head coaching vacancy. We also see why on Sunday, calling tails betrayed Josh Allen and the Bills, grade the broadcast performances of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, and more.

• Reports: Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll set for second interview with Giants | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com
• Report: Giants to have second interview with Brian Daboll – WGR 550
• Tails sometimes fails: Bills’ Josh Allen had been perfect calling coin toss before Sunday’s game vs. Chiefs – newyorkupstate.com
• Alan Pergament: CBS’ Jim Nantz, Tony Romo excel in ‘quarterback duel and playoff game for the ages’ | Television | buffalonews.com
• Bills’ Josh Allen applauds Patrick Mahomes’ classy postgame gesture after playoff loss | Buffalo Bills News | NFL | buffalonews.com