The Buffalo Bills saw their season come to a chilling end on the frozen tundra of Orchard Park on a windy Sunday night.
The team lost 27-24 to none other than their postseason nemesis and AFC rival Kansas City Chiefs.
In what’s become a series of postseason matches between NFL heavyweight contenders turned rivals, the Bills have beaten the Chiefs three consecutive times in the regular season while Kansas City ended Buffalo’s playoff campaign and season three times now.
The Bills and their fans remember those losses all too well and with the latest one still fresh, so is the feeling for Buffalo QB Josh Allen.
“It sucks,” He said to the media. “Losing sucks. Losing to them, losing to anybody at home sucks.”
The first two playoff losses to the Chiefs took place in Kansas City as, aside from the three Super Bowls they’ve appeared in, the Chiefs had not played any other road games on the way there.
The Bills beat their AFC East rival Dolphins to claim their fourth division crown and the first No. 2 AFC playoff seed in HC Sean McDermott’s tenure and entered Sunday’s contest with momentum, riding a six-game winning streak that began with a 20-17 NFL Week 14 win over that very Chiefs team.
As a result, Andy Reid’s squad played their first non-Super Bowl road playoff game in none other than Buffalo, with the Bills entering the game as the favorite to leave Highmark Stadium with a victory.
While losing in front of the teams’ home crowd surely carries its own emotions, losing in general resonates with Buffalo’s quarterback regardless of location.
“Here, there, it doesn’t matter,” Allen added. “Losing sucks. I don’t know what else to say.”
Just as in past matchups between the teams, the Bills’ defense and special teams failed in needed moments, including a missed 44-yard field goal on the Bills’ last drive that would have tied the game with 1:47 left to play Sunday night.
“We were within a whisker of tying that game and maybe even taking the lead there against the defending world champs,” HC Sean McDermott said to the press postgame. “Again, we just didn’t do enough — starting with me — to win this game.”
When questioned during his postgame press conference about any changes or adjustments needed, Allen
“I don’t think it’s a big change,” the quarterback continued. “I think it’s just, again, we’ve got to find a way to score one more point than they do. And every season, if you don’t win, it’s a failed season. That’s the nature of the business. There’s one happy team at the end of the season, really. And when it’s not you and you’re so close, it sucks.”
Allen taking responsibility and the high road as a leader with a focus on the offense is consistent with his character and as a professional.
The franchise and GM Brandon Beane now will face an offseason opportunity to shore up and strengthen their defense, who struggled to get stops including on the Chiefs final drive that ended Buffalo’s season.
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