4 takeaways from another agonizingly close Bills loss to Chiefs in the playoffs

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Bills came painfully close to the Super Bowl on Sunday night, one or two key plays from dethroning the Chiefs in the AFC championship game. But the end result was the same as it ever was. Kansas City's 32-29 victory was its fourth against Buffalo in five playoff meetings this decade. Here are four takeaways from the Bills' season-ending defeat.

'Didn't get it done'

Josh Allen and the Bills did enough to beat most any other opponent on any given Sunday. But not in this matchup, with these stakes.

Buffalo's MVP contender was 22 for 34 passing for 237 yards, with two touchdowns and no turnovers. Allen ran for another 39 yards, and lead running back James Cook had 134 yards (85 rushing, 49 receiving) scoring two touchdowns. The Bills out-gained the Chiefs 374-368. They possessed the ball for one more minute, and won the turnover battle.

But it wasn't enough. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had an answer for every big play the Bills made on their way to a fourth Super Bowl in six years, and the chance for an unprecedented three-peat.

"You can either get it done or you can’t, Allen said. "And we didn’t get it done."

4th down and out

The Bills ranked second in the NFL converting 22 of 29 fourth downs (76%) in the regular season, and all three in two previous playoff wins. They continued that success with a season-high four conversions against the Chiefs, including two that went for touchdowns. But the two fourth downs Buffalo didn't gain late in the game proved costly.

Allen got stuffed on a fourth-and-1 plunge near the end of the third quarter -- though one could quibble with the official spotting of the ball and question if he did actually gain the first down.

"I thought he had it," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. "Just short of the line was actually the first down, what it looked like to me when it was sitting next to me with the marker. Just inside that white stripe was the first down. And it looked like he got to it, that’s all I can say."

Then back at midfield coming out of the two-minute warning, down by a field goal on fourth-and-5, Allen scrambled out of the pocket and found an opening to connect with Dalton Kincaid downfield. Buffalo's Super Bowl hopes sank along with the ball slipping through the tight end's arms.

"He gave it everything he had," McDermott said. "I love Dalton Kincaid. Sometimes those work out. He makes more of those than he doesn't, and he'll make the next one."

'Came up short'

The Bills had success in short-yardage situations early in the game. But Allen's power runs when needing only a yard to gain, nearly unstoppable for the offense this season, got stuffed on a 2-point try before halftime, and on three more attempts in the second half.

"Came up short, you know, just came up short in a big game," offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said. "And, of course, we all wish that we could have some redos, but in this case, elimination rounds, you know, we lost by what, two points? Three. That's how close these games are. You know, that's how good teams are when it's this close to the Super Bowl."

The Chiefs scouted Allen's preference to sneak behind left guard David Edwards, loading defenders into that alley and deftly anticipating the snap.

"They got big guys in there and they played it well," Allen said. "I think one, jumps. Two, they played it well. Put their big guys inside and their linebackers were coming downhill pretty hard."

McDermott said, "maybe we could have disguised it, maybe not, but at the end of the day, we have confidence in Josh and our offensive line to get those. We'd been getting them all year."

After benefitting from the Ravens failing on a pair of 2-point tries in the divisional round, the Bills went scoreless on two attempts against the Chiefs. Allen got sacked dropping back on the second one after Cook's impressive effort on a fourth-down run put the Bills ahead 22-21.

It might not have mattered in the end. Still, leaving points on the field in a one-score game is tough to swallow. And the Chiefs seized their opportunity when Mahomes connected with Justin Watson on a 2-point pass that put KC up 29-22 early in the fourth quarter.

Un-Worthy

Kansas City's leading playmaker rookie Xavier Worthy, the player drafted when the Chiefs traded up into the receiver-needy Bills spot in the first round of this past year's draft.

Worthy had 101 yards (85 receiving, 16 rushing) and a touchdown on eight touches. Keon Coleman, the WR that Buffalo drafted with the first pick in the second round, caught one of four targets for 14 yards.

Cornerback Kaiir Elam, who had a couple penalties after coming into the game for injured starter Christian Benford, was selected two picks after the Chiefs traded up in the 2022 draft for All-Pro defensive back Trent McDuffie.

And who can forget that Mahomes was drafted with the No. 12 pick the Bills held in 2017 before trading back with the Chiefs.