The Buffalo Bills had a chance to finally dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. All they had to do was milk the clock, work their way down the field, and put the ball into the end zone. That'd have potentially been enough for them to stamp their ticket to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
As we all know now, that didn't happen. The Chiefs had to settle for a field goal with 3:33 remaining in the game and that is an eternity in the NFL, especially for teams who have Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes as their quarterbacks.
On the Bills' ensuing drive, they got one first down thanks to a Josh Allen scramble but then the game came down to 4th-and-5 at the Bills' 47-yard-line. A first down conversion would mean the Bills continued to retain possession of the football and have a chance to win the game and punch their ticket to the Big Easy. Not converting meant that they'd have a turnover on downs and the Chiefs would be able to bleed the clock.
Steve Spagnuolo dialed up blitzes on the final two plays of the Bills' drive and it worked perfectly. On that final 4th-and-5 play, Allen dropped back and was immediately swarmed by Chiefs defenders. That forced Allen to launch the ball sooner than he'd have liked and, as we know, tight end Dalton Kincaid was unable to come up with the catch to continue the Bills' drive.
The incompletion there was bad enough but Bills fans will be even sicker when they see the All-22 footage of the throw and not-catch. Kincaid was wide open on the play when Allen let the ball rip and still couldn't come up with the catch.
Chiefs fans will breathe a sigh of relief after latest angle of Dalton Kincaid's incompletion
Had Kincaid caught the ball, the Bills would have had possession around the Chiefs' 35-yard line with two minutes to go. They'd likely have run the ball and wound the clock down as much as possible before either scoring a touchdown to take the lead or kicking a field goal to tie it. The field goal would have given K.C. a chance to win it on its ensuing drive while a touchdown would have forced them to go down the field in the final few seconds and score a touchdown of their own.
Fortunately, Kincaid couldn't take advantage of being wide open and the Bills had to give the ball back to Kansas City. From there, Patrick Mahomes and the offense were able to bleed the rest of the clock and kneel down twice to end the game for good. That angle shows how close this trip to Super Bowl LIX was to not happening but luckily, the ball bounced Kansas City's way once again.
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