Geroge Karlaftis played by the rules and it won the Chiefs the AFC Championship

It was the game that sent the Kansas City Chiefs to a third-straight Super Bowl.

The Chiefs outlasted the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday, but it was a game that could have ended so, so differently.

Thanks to the actions—or rather, inactions—of one Chiefs defender, the game will forever be remembered by Chiefs Kingdom as one that finished with the team hoisting the Lamar Hunt trophy, not one that ended with a soul-crushing penalty.

The most dramatic moment came on a fourth-down stop on Buffalo's final offensive possession, a heave-and-hope ball that fell incomplete.

But it was what one Kansas City defender didn’t do on that very play that needs to be highlighted as one of the biggest reasons the Chiefs will have a chance to play for a three-peat at all. And given all the ridiculous discourse around the Chiefs and refereeing decisions lately, it is something that should not go unnoticed.

The specific moment I’m talking about came on the play that iced the game. With two minutes to go and the Chiefs up by three points, it was do-or-die time for the Bills as they faced a fourth-and-five.

With everything on the line, Steve Spagnuolo dialled up the perfect blitz at the perfect moment. Justin Reid, Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis all came through basically untouched, with Josh Allen under pressure almost instantly.

As Allen rolled to his right, Karlaftis came charging in. He reached Allen just as the Bills QB launched a heave-and-hope ball deep, a floating pass that fell through the diving arms of Kincaid.

Incomplete pass, Kansas City ball.  The pressure from Karlaftis had helped the Chiefs come up with the most important stop of the game. But crucially, it’s what Karlaftis didn’t do that was key.

He did not rough the passer.

Karlaftis didn’t hit Allen high, and he didn’t hit him late. He didn’t lead with the crown of his helmet, and he didn’t drive him into the ground or land on him afterwards.

Karlaftis didn’t go charging into a quarterback like countless defenders have done to quarterbacks, like what Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. did to Patrick Mahomes a week before.

Instead, he hit Allen in a way that was precisely within the rules and—guess what?— it didn’t draw a flag. The Chiefs won.

A penalty there would have been gut wrenching for Kansas City. The extra 15 yards would have given Buffalo a new set of downs past midfield with almost two minutes left, and it would have brought the Bills to the cusp of field goal range as well.

Karlaftis would have been the new Dee Ford.

Karlaftis's actions highlight something that gets overlooked by foolish stats about penalty differential and calls that go Kansas City's way, like this tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter.

These stats can't account for the level of self-control the Chiefs show to play within the rules when it matters most.

The Chiefs hit Allen eight times over the course of the game and didn’t draw a single unnecessary roughness penalty. There were no late hits, no needless shoves out-of-bound when Allen launched his trademark deep throws along the sideline.

The Chiefs essentially took the penalty flag out of the officials' hands, not because of any bias, but because they never even gave them a hint of a reason to throw it. It’s disciplined football, it’s as simple as that.

Thank you, Geroge Karlaftis, for playing by the rules.