Has Bills Josh Allen created a blueprint to beat Chiefs that others can replicate?

Henry McKenna

NFL reporter

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen have seen it far too many times. They saw it on film. And unfortunately, they saw it in person.

When Patrick Mahomes has a chance to win the game, he wins the game.

That makes him special.

So the Bills had that in mind when they made a tough call on a fourth-and-2 late in the fourth quarter with Buffalo leading 23-21 over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Door 1: Score a field goal and keep it a one-score game.

Door 2: Take the bigger risk and go for it in hopes of building a two-possession lead.

They chose door 2.

In other words, they refused to let Mahomes take control.

“Anytime you give the ball back to Pat and give that offense back six points with the game on the line, they’re happy with their chances in that situation,” Allen said after the game. “So we wanted to get six or seven (points) to make it a two-point game.”

“They’re just way too good not to go for it,” McDermott said of the Chiefs.

With 2:27 left, Allen dropped back, but he didn’t like the way the coverage shifted (from a pre-snap zone look to a post-snap man defense), a deception engineered by the most brilliant defensive spirit in football. :Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs had already intercepted Allen on fourth down earlier in the game. And Bills receivers Khalil Shakir and Amari Cooper weren’t open. So Allen took off running.

On the sideline, Buffalo corner Rasul Douglas was benched because he is superstitious and thinks standing will keep his team from converting fourth downs. But when Allen left the field, Douglas was on his feet.

“When the play got going, I looked like an airplane because I was just coming up,” Douglas said.

Meanwhile, Allen was taunting and bulldozing the defenders. About five defenders had a chance to shake Allen’s hand. Nobody got him down. Not until the end zone. He scored a touchdown on a 26-yard run. The final score would be: 30-21. Win bills.

“This is a testament to the power of the gut,” CBS analyst Tony Romo said during the broadcast.

Of course, the bills have done this before. Allen is 4-1 in the regular season against Mahomes & Co. But Allen is 1-3 against Mahomes & Co. in the postseason. So it made sense that in their post-game handshake, Mahomes told Allen, “We’ll do it again, baby.”

It’s part promise and part compliment. But it is also a partial threat.

“We’ll do it again, honey.”

Before we get into that hypothetical but looming postseason matchup, though, let’s give the Bills their flowers.

So far in the regular season, no one had beaten the Chiefs. Allen and McDermott showed everyone how it’s done. So that’s the good news for the NFL. You can beat the 2024 Chiefs. But then there’s the bad news. Allen might be one of the few guys who can do it. Maybe the only man. Lamar Jackson? Joe Burrow? They’ve already tried and failed. So I am not sure that the bills provide a blueprint for everyone to follow.

Many teams have kept the score close to the Chiefs this year. Seven of their nine wins were one-possession games. In short, almost everyone has played closely against the Chiefs. However, the Bills are the first to beat them.

What made the bills different? Aggressive decision making and elite, total execution.

No problem, right?

Their success was really about Allen. He posted a 50% success rate on his 12 carries for 55 yards and the touchdown. And he also remained patient in the passing game, breaking down Spagnuolo’s stingy defense. The Bills QB was 27 of 40 for 262 yards with one passing TD and an interception. Only Burrow and Jackson have thrown for more yards against this defense this year. But also: that was the game plan. Buffalo didn’t necessarily want Allen to throw for 300 or 400 yards.

The Bills fought hard for possession even when their run game was completely inefficient. They seemed willing to get on third-and-long — largely because Allen could convert it regularly (which most QBs can’t do) — to ensure they ran out the clock on long drives and kept the ball away from Mahomes.

When Mahomes had the ball, the Bills managed four QB hits and two sacks, contributing to his interception on the first drive. But most importantly, the Bills signed tight end Travis Kelce, who had two catches for eight yards, and receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who finished with three catches for 29 yards. (No big deal, right?) The Bills seemed intent on seeing if Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy and tight end Noah Gray could win the game for Kansas City. And while they indeed looked capable in the first half, they disappeared in the second half.

The Bills played to win – instead of not to lose.

After the game, McDermott said it was “not a statement.” He said he’s already thinking about the Bills’ farewell and their next game. But in the dressing room it was not so obvious.

“Coach McDermott’s speech was like, ‘It’s just another game,’” said Von Miller, who finished with a sack. “We were like f— that. This is a big game. This is why we’re here. When the bright lights come on, we rise to the occasion. We don’t have to sugar-coat it. We don’t got to take the pressure off. It was a special moment.”

It was. But it’s a thing of the past.

And that comment from Mahomes looms large: “We’ll do it again.”

Mahomes is already looking forward to the next round with Buffalo. He’s ready.

Is it the bills?

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna covered the Patriots for seven years for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

Get more out of the National Football League Follow your favorites for information about games, news and more