Many fans were angry before and after the Chiefs defeated the Bills 32-29 to advance to their third straight Super Bowl on Sunday night.
As is typical during any postseason run in sports, many complain about the officiating during the AFC Championship.
However, the Chiefs didn’t win because of the men in stripes, they won because of their continued excellence, which began in 2018. During that span, the Chiefs have 90 wins, the most by any NFL team. Kansas City also has 17 wins since 2018, including winning three Lombardi Trophies and now five trips to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs defeated the Bills in the AFC Championship simply because they were the better team, which was on full display during Sunday night’s game. Sure, the officials missed some calls as always. One of the more egregious calls was the spot of the football on Josh Allen‘s fourth-down sneak attempt. It appeared Allen had enough for the first down, but the officials ruled he was short of the line to gain.
Sure, the referees made a wrong call, but the Bills certainly had their chances to win the game. They simply didn’t get the job done.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo deserves much credit for his playcalling masterclass against the Bills. On a 4th and 5 play at the two-minute warning up 32-29, Spagnuolo called an all-out blitz on Allen, which led to an incomplete pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid, effectively ending the game.
Kincaid should have made the catch, but Allen couldn’t deliver a better pass because George Karlaftis pressured him into rushing his throw.
“For me, he’s one of the greatest assistant coaches to ever coach the game,” Jones said about Spagnuolo. “When you look at his résumé, he’s got one of the greatest résumés. He finds a way to close.
“That’s what Spags does. Whether it’s dropping deep and covering a tight end or whether it’s sending a quarterback pressure at the end of the game, that’s what he’s known for. He can dial up different schematics and different blitzes to affect the opposing quarterback and he does a really, really good job at it.”
Many people quickly credit only Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid with the Chiefs dynasty, and they deserve praise. However, just like last season, Kansas City’s defense is why they have a chance to do what no other team has done in the Super Bowl era (1966) and that’s three-peat.
The Chiefs defense prevented Allen from making critical plays in big moments, which could have changed the game’s outcome. With 13:01 left in the game, Allen attempted to convert 4th and 1 from the Chiefs 41-yard line with Buffalo up 22-21. One of the officials ruled the Bills had gotten the first down, while the other one said Allen was short. Ultimately, after the replay review, they ruled that Allen was short, and the Chiefs got the ball after a turnover on downs.
“I thought he had it,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said after the game. “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 it. That’s all I can say.”
Kansas City converted that failed fourth-down conversion into a touchdown and a two-point conversion, giving them a 29-22 advantage. Buffalo eventually tied the game at 29-29 after finding Curtis Samuel for a one-yard touchdown with 6:15 remaining.
But there’s a reason the Chiefs have become a dynasty, and that’s because of Mahomes and his clutchness in pressure situations. Kansas City didn’t get the touchdown I’m sure the team was looking for, but he led the Chiefs down the field for what would be a game-winning 35-yard field goal by Harrison Butker.
Mahomes didn’t have a stand-out game after completing 18-of-26 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. But he did enough to defeat a Bills team, who gave the Chiefs their first loss of the regular season.
I know people are suffering from Chiefs fatigue after seeing them win their fifth AFC Championship in the last sixth season. But Kansas City earned this trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX to play Philadelphia for the second time in three years in the big game.
The Chiefs have shown that no matter what style of fight you want to have, they are equipped to win it. The Bills are the closest challenge to the Chiefs in the AFC. But when it comes down to it, McDermott, Allen, and the rest of the NFL have a serious problem to solve: finding a way to dethrone the Chiefs, Reid, and Mahomes.