AFC Championship Game- How do you feel now about it?

[4merper4mer]

2 hours ago, Another Fan said:

It’s almost 2 months removed at this point.  I think it’s a fair question 

 

It was the most anxious I ever was involving a sporting event.  That whole weekend I was thinking about it.  So part of me was relieved when it was over. But make no mistake I was disappointed as well.  Couldn’t even watch the Super Bowl.

 

At least for me time made it a little easier to get over from my perspective: The Chiefs got smacked in the Super Bowl, realizing as well the Bills probably wouldn’t have won the game if they got in, and Josh winning the MVP made the loss easier to digest.  
 

Im optimistic going forward.  Go Bills 

Once the Swiftie ratings were bagged for Super Bowl eyeballs, the Chiefs striped friends were neutralized.  

[ALLinALLEN]

Watching the Chiefs OL and offense get abused by the Eagles in the SB left me feeling like we're way further than I thought after the AFCCG loss. Carrying that with me into the season now that UFA is pretty much over. 

[T.E.]

7 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I thought we are the only team in the nfl that can lose because they can’t do a QB sneak. It should have been mind blowing but because of our entire lives, it wasn’t 

We suck at it despite having the biggest QB in football. Typical.

 

I was over the AFC Championship is a couple days, if that long. I've seen the writing on the wall and know the story. Miscues, bad officiating, bizarre coaching decisions, and general choking always rear their heads when the Bills are in an incredibly important game. This is been the case with numerous coaches, rosters, and even over two separate ownership groups.

Edited 16 hours ago by T.E.

[Ned Flanders]

1 hour ago, Stuartjohn said:

Made me Think if Ronnie Harmon” good to the last drop” that’s Kincaid to me forever!!

Had people tell me Kincaid's drop was a harder ball to come up with than Harmon's...to which I say bullstuff.  A high school TE has to make that catch.

[90sBills]

19 minutes ago, chris heff said:

The Eagles gave the Bills the key to beating the Chiefs. It will be interesting to see if they recognize that and adjust.

What happened to the key that TB gave when they crushed KC in that one Superbowl? None of that matters. It’s not like KC will be the same team again.

 

To the OP’s question…it was a wasted opportunity. Who knows if Bills could be in the same spot again next season. 

[Dick_Cheney]

2nd half game plan was so, so bad. 

[Logic]

I think it was the perfect storm of  bad coaching decisions, bad execution, and bad calls.

The Bills' defensive gameplan was head-scratching. We saw all season long and then emphatically in the Super Bowl that if you press the Chiefs receivers and get physical with them and contain rush Mahomes, you can hold them under 25 points. Confoundingly, the Bills decided to do neither of those things. The Chiefs looked like a COMPLETELY different offense against the Bills than they had looked all season (and in the Super Bowl). Sure, the Bills were lacking some pop in their defensive personnel, but still. What in the ACTUAL HELL was that defensive gameplan?

The decision not to lean heavily into the run game from the first snap onward was also frustrating to me. I get what they were trying to do: they figured the Chiefs would be selling out against the run, so they'd capitalize and build an early lead by going play-action and more pass heavy and THEN switch to the run. It didn't work. Cook was on fire from the jump and it should have been a legacy game for him. So the offensive gameplan ALSO confounded me.

On the other hand...

Josh Allen did not have his best game. He just didn't. I was fully confident we'd see unstoppable Terminator Josh Allen in that game, and that's not who we got. He was a little off his game for a good portion of the first half, and even parts of the second. You can often tell what kind of Josh Allen game its gonna be from the first few throws, and this game was no different.

Greg Rousseau, Kaiir Elam, Dalton Kincaid, and others...also did not have their best games. Rousseau, in particular, had one of his WORST games (if not his outright worst) as a pro. Our defensive line was mostly invisible.

So...I wish I could just blame the coaches, but if Josh was on his game (and others, to a lesser extent), the Bills still likely win. I wish I could just blame the players for having an off night, but given a better gameplan on both sides of the ball, the Bills likely win. Even with the failures of both coaching AND execution, the Bills STILL could have won, but for some egregiously bad officiating.

When your coaches, your players, and the refs all have an off night, you're probably not winning an AFCCG. 

The reason the game frustrates me the most is that I'd bet that's the most beatable/vulnerable the Chiefs will ever be under Reid/Mahomes. The Bills were the better team, and didn't get it done. Again. It's never going to get easier against those guys. Frustrating.

Edited 16 hours ago by Logic

[FireChans]

7 minutes ago, Logic said:

I think it was the perfect storm of  bad coaching decisions, bad execution, and bad calls.

The Bills' defensive gameplan was head-scratching. We saw all season long and then emphatically in the Super Bowl that if you press the Chiefs receivers and get physical with them and contain rush Mahomes, you can hold them under 25 points. Confoundingly, the Bills decided to do neither of those things. The Chiefs looked like a COMPLETELY different offense against the Bills than they had looked all season (and in the Super Bowl). Sure, the Bills were lacking some pop in their defensive personnel, but still. What in the ACTUAL HELL was that defensive gameplan?

The decision not to lean heavily into the run game from the first snap onward was also frustrating to me. I get what they were trying to do: they figured the Chiefs would be selling out against the run, so they'd capitalize and build an early lead by going play-action and more pass heavy and THEN switch to the run. It didn't work. Cook was on fire from the jump and it should have been a legacy game for him. So the offensive gameplan ALSO confounded me.

On the other hand...

Josh Allen did not have his best game. He just didn't. I was fully confident we'd see unstoppable Terminator Josh Allen in that game, and that's not who we got. He was a little off his game for a good portion of the first half, and even parts of the second. You can often tell what kind of Josh Allen game its gonna be from the first few throws, and this game was no different.

Greg Rousseau, Kaiir Elam, Dalton Kincaid, and others...also did not have their best games. Rousseau, in particular, had one of his WORST games (if not his outright worst) as a pro. Our defensive line was mostly invisible.

So...I wish I could just blame the coaches, but if Josh was on his game (and others, to a lesser extent), the Bills still likely win. I wish I could just blame the players for having an off night, but given a better gameplan on both sides of the ball, the Bills likely win. Even with the failures of both coaching AND execution, the Bills STILL could have won, but for some egregiously bad officiating.

When your coaches, your players, and the refs all have an off night, you're probably not winning an AFCCG. 

The reason the game frustrates me the most is that I'd bet that's the most beatable/vulnerable the Chiefs will ever be under Reid/Mahomes. The Bills were the better team, and didn't get it done. Again. It's never going to get easier against those guys. Frustrating.

Groundhog Day.

[Mikie2times]

3 hours ago, ProcessTruster said:

did not get the breaks that the winner of the tournament typically gets.   

 

another tremendous, successful season full of so many amazing plays, victories and memorable moments

At some point you also have to take advantage of opportunities. You can't argue we haven't "caught the breaks" since 2019. Well, you probably can and will given your history. 

[uticaclub]

20 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

What happened to the key that TB gave when they crushed KC in that one Superbowl? None of that matters. It’s not like KC will be the same team again.

 

To the OP’s question…it was a wasted opportunity. Who knows if Bills could be in the same spot again next season. 

Whats the key? Have a good defense and dominate WRs?

[US Egg]

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da!

[Beast]

In think we matched up better against the Eagles than the Chiefs did. We have a far superior o-line and that sunk the Chiefs.

[Gregg]

22 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

What happened to the key that TB gave when they crushed KC in that one Superbowl? None of that matters. It’s not like KC will be the same team again.

 

To the OP’s question…it was a wasted opportunity. Who knows if Bills could be in the same spot again next season. 

 

On the plus side the AFCE is currently the Bills, Moe, Larry, Curly. Unless something drastic happens like injuries the Bills should be a lock for the division. Can they get to the AFCCG and beyond starting on WC weekend assuming no #1 seed is the question.

[Andrew Son]

1 minute ago, Beast said:

In think we matched up better against the Eagles than the Chiefs did. We have a far superior o-line and that sunk the Chiefs.

100%

 

But our D would have matched up much worse with the eagles O than did the Chiefs.  

[notpolian]

Totally over it emotionally.  KC getting whacked in the SB and the Allen MVP is nice.  

 

I still feel the defense needs major work, but the offense has not come through in the clutch two years in a row now.  The offense generally plays well in the playoffs and against KC early in the games.

 

Overall it's the same theme for me: we struggle against tight man coverage and we don't have the talent to play tight man coverage, and we don't have enough pass rush.

[Gregg]

Just now, notpolian said:

Totally over it emotionally.  KC getting whacked in the SB and the Allen MVP is nice.  

 

I still feel the defense needs major work, but the offense has not come through in the clutch two years in a row now.  The offense generally plays well in the playoffs and against KC early in the games.

 

Overall it's the same theme for me: we struggle against tight man coverage and we don't have the talent to play tight man coverage, and we don't have enough pass rush.

 

They did score 24 and 29 points in those games against a good Chiefs defense. The Bills defense is still mostly to blame for the losses. Two years it was the missed FG to tie. The offense did at least set up Bass for a potential tying FG. Last year they didn't get it done when Kincaid dropped what was a catchable ball. 

[H2o]

Still frustrated by it a bit because I see it as another wasted opportunity, and another hose job in a few ways. Even with the refs jobbing us on some spots, we still had a chance at the end and people didn't make the plays needed to win. On to the 2025 season and hoping for the only result that will suffice. Lombardi or bust. 

[Captain Hindsight]

I won’t be over it until they start playing again

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

16 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

At some point you also have to take advantage of opportunities. You can't argue we haven't "caught the breaks" since 2019. Well, you probably can and will given your history. 

 

I'll also point out that we absolutely caught some breaks in this game.

 

Allen should've been intercepted on either of his first 2 throws, but KC dropped them. He also had 3 fumbles, but we recovered all of them. 

 

Mahomes inexplicably fumbled a good snap on their 2nd drive that we recovered. 

 

This was the weakest Chiefs team in the Mahomes era. They had a horse-shoe shoved up their behinds the entire regular season to win 15 games. They were more like an 11 win team. They got out-played by an injury decimated Texans team in the divisional round and got bailed out with some garbage calls. 

 

If we couldn't beat them this year will we ever be able to? I just don't see it with McD as head coach. His defense is atrocious in the playoffs

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

I'll also point out that we absolutely caught some breaks in this game.

 

Allen should've been intercepted on either of his first 2 throws, but KC dropped them. He also had 3 fumbles, but we recovered all of them. 

 

Mahomes inexplicably fumbled a good snap on their 2nd drive that we recovered. 

 

This was the weakest Chiefs team in the Mahomes era. They had a horse-shoe shoved up their behinds the entire regular season to win 15 games. They were more like an 11 win team. They got out-played by an injury decimated Texans team in the divisional round and got bailed out with some garbage calls. 

 

If we couldn't beat them this year will we ever be able to? I just don't see it with McD as head coach. His defense is atrocious in the playoffs

 

I am hoping they will start to be challenged in the AFCW. Harbaugh is going to build a winner. His first year in LA and they already went to the playoffs. The Broncos are another team that is heading in the right direction. I am tired of KC winning the division every year and usually getting the #1 seed. Maybe the Chargers or Broncos can take the division and have the Chiefs go into the playoffs as a WC.