The Chiefs and Bills capped off an incredible weekend of playoff football with one of the greatest games in recent memory, as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen delivered on every possible level in an amazing shootout.
It looked for all the world like the Bills had shaken off playoff demons of the past when Allen found Gabriel Davis for a go-ahead touchdown with 13 seconds remaining — Davis’ fourth TD catch of the evening. Twice, already, the two teams had scored and the words “too much time” were uttered by fans, but this time, it felt like the end. That was until Patrick Mahomes orchestrated one of the greatest set-up drives of all-time.
In 10 seconds, Mahomes moved the Chiefs from their 25 to the Buffalo 31 over the course of two plays. A dart to Tyreek Hill got them out near midfield, followed by a timeout, and finally a strike to Travis Kelce up the seam who got them into field goal range for Harrison Butker with three seconds to play.
MAHOMES HAD 13 SECONDS! #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/68g4cJ0sqW
— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2022
BUTKER. GOOD FROM 49. TIE GAME. #NFLPlayoffs
: #BUFvsKC on CBS
: https://t.co/bCIjXIlFWh pic.twitter.com/BHVNy9Rkek— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2022
Now, having all three timeouts was massively important here, but the way Mahomes and the Chiefs executed down the stretch stood in stark contrast to what we saw a week ago from the Cowboys (who, again, had no timeouts, increasing the degree of difficulty substantially). As many pointed out, the Chiefs got their game-tying field goal in one fewer second, starting at their own 25, than the Cowboys blew on a quarterback draw and the botched spike attempt, after they failed to spot the ball properly and let the umpire get in to touch the ball down and give the ready to play.
Now it’s even funnier that the Cowboys lost because they couldn’t get a final play off in 14 seconds lmao
— Joel D. Anderson (@byjoelanderson) January 24, 2022
It feels impossible for that to be the case, but that’s how absurd that final sequence was from Mahomes and the Chiefs. As for Cowboys fans, it was a painful reminder one week later of what flawless execution looks like in that type of situation.