Things did not go according to plan for the Buffalo Bills defense against the Kansas City Chiefs. That alone feels like a bit of an understatement.
The unit allowed KC to roll late. First, the final 13 seconds. Buffalo took the lead only for Kansas City to roll 44 yards to get into field goal range.
Then overtime. The Chiefs scored a touchdown on their opening drive, ending the game, keeping the ball away from the Bills offense.
“I wish I had a better answer for you. We just didn’t get up and contest the throws they were making,” Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer said via video conference. “The offense did everything they had to do. Defense had to just go out there and make a stop. Weren’t able to do it. It’s a tough feeling.”
In the moment, it’s hard to level with the Bills defense. Yes, they allowed 42 points with the last nine of those coming in heartbreaking fashion. But there was some positive play to be found said Buffalo safety Micah Hyde.
“I thought we limited them for most of the game on those big explosive plays. That’s why it hurts even more because we were able to allow them to do that,” Hyde said.
“We had some great calls by Fraz (Leslie Frazier). We were there to almost make the play, obviously almost doesn’t get the job done,” Hyde added. “I thought we limited them most of the game on those big, explosive games. And then they just got out of the game. You take pride in not doing that– that’s why it hurts even more because we allowed them to do that.”
Among some positive play from the Bills defense was forcing some punts. The Chiefs only did that twice in the game, but the first was key as it came in between two Buffalo punts.
Forcing field goals against a high-power machine like the Chiefs offense is a bit of a win, too. The most important of those came around halftime, one before and one after. Had those been flipped to touchdowns, Kansas City adding 14 points instead of six would have completely flipped things.
Unfortunately, the final sequences is what will be remembered above all of that. Here is where we might find some interesting words.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott would not comment on any of what took place. All he would cite is bad “execution.”
Adding some further curiosity into the fire, if that’s possible, was Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. On the final 13-second sequence, he said the opposite. Edmunds said the players did do that.
“Yeah, I mean, you know– I — we executed, it’s just, unfortunate, you know, situation that we were in,” Edmunds said via video conference. “Things didn’t go our way,”
“I don’t think you can just take one play or two plays out,” Edmunds added. “You’ve just got to find ways to get stops in those critical times.”
That’s not to say that Edmunds was disagreeing with his coach directly. He was not doing that and it did not appear like Edmunds was doing what some Bills fans have been eager to do: Blame the play calling.
Rather, what Edmunds might be doing was admitting the truth.
The Bills defense looked to just be gassed on the field in the closing stages. Tired from a long day of battle and in that same moment the Chiefs ran things perfectly to a tee.
There’s no shame is just tipping your cap to your opponent, especially one as talented as Kansas City, like Edmunds did.
That could help heal up some wounds quicker.
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