Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Lucy pulled the football away at the last second again as Charlie Brown went to kick it, and Charlie, again, fell flat on his back.
For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a reference to an old cartoon, but it's a perfect way to explain the Buffalo Bills' playoff failures against the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years.
For the fourth time in the last five seasons, and the second time in the AFC Championship Game, a Bills playoff run has been ended by the Chiefs. The last three postseason defeats to Kansas City have all been one-score games.
There were a number of contributing factors in this one, but at the end of the night, it will come back to one thing: The Bills were not good enough to dethrone the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Josh Allen and the offense got off to a shaky start. On the Bills' first drive of the game, Allen threw a pair of passes that should have been picked off.
Allen settled down as the first half played out, and, once again, he and the offense did more than their fair share to put the Bills in position to win.
But when push came to shove, they couldn't come through.
Trailing 32-29 with 3:33 left and the ball at their own 30-yard line, the offense wasn't able to drive the field for a game-tying field goal, let alone a go-ahead touchdown.
Running back James Cook had a terrific game, but the Bills waited too long to get him involved. After having just four carries in the first half, Cook was the driving force behind a touchdown drive on the Bills' first possession of the third quarter.
Cook ended the night with only 16 touches, which is a shame because he averaged over eight yards every time he touched the ball.
As for the passing game, Mack Hollins was the best weapon with three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Keon Coleman, the Bills' top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, had just one catch for 12 yards. Meanwhile, tight end Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo's first selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, had two catches for 13 yards.
The defense, as has been the case in all four playoff matchups against the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs, failed the Bills.
Kansas City had nine drives in the game, and the Bills defense stopped them just twice. That came on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter.
The Mahomes fumble in the first half was a gift from him, and was not forced by the defense.
The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the red zone. The Bills did a terrible job of setting the edge, and gave up some key Mahomes runs.
But the defense still had a chance to come up big at the end.
Holding on to that 32-29 lead, the Chiefs got the ball at the Bills' 47-yard line after a turnover on downs. There was still 1:54 remaining on the clock, and the Bills had all three timeouts left.
However, Mahomes slammed the door shut with passes for a first down on a 2nd-and-9, and a few plays later on a 3rd-and-9.
Game over. Season over.
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The 32 points was a season-high for the Chiefs, who were averaging 22 points a game.
Kansas City also totaled nine explosive plays against the Bills defense. They had five runs of 10-plus yards (three from Mahomes), and four pass plays of 20-plus yards.
Special teams had their once a game screw up, giving up a 41-yard punt return that allowed Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to begin a drive at the Bills' 34-yard line.
Of course, they would capitalize with a touchdown on that possession.
Coaching played its part in this defeat as well.
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady stuck with the Allen keeper/"tush push" play, even when Kansas City showed they could stop it. That play failed to work on one of the Bills' two unsuccessful two-point conversion attempts, and it was stopped cold on two other short-yardage instances in the game.
On that final Bills drive, when they had a chance to take the lead, Brady never gave Cook a look. Cook averaged over eight yards per-touch. He needed to be involved, but never saw the ball on, what turned out to be, just a six-play possession that ended with a turnover on downs.
There can't be a game involving the Chiefs without a discussion about officiating. There were a handful of calls that went Kansas City's way that appeared to be incorrect.
A pass to Xavier Worthy late in the second quarter gave the Chiefs a 1st-and-goal at the Bills' 3-yard line. Bills head coach Sean McDermott challenged the play, because the point of the ball had hit the turf.
The call was upheld, and the Chiefs would go on to score a touchdown three plays later.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Bills leading 22-21, an Allen keeper on 4th-and-inches appeared to be a first down at the Chiefs' 40-yard line. One of the two line judges spotted it as a first down, but the other one had it short. Replay review ruled it short, but it looked certain that Allen had gotten the necessary yardage to get the first down.
Kansas City got the ball, and proceeded to drive 60 yards for a touchdown that put them up 29-22.
I'm sure it will be pointed out over-and-over again that Allen is now 0-4 against Mahomes in the playoffs. However, you need to look at the numbers.
In those four games, the Bills have averaged 28 points. Allen has 1,306 total yards to go with 11 touchdowns and just one turnover.
However, the Bills have given up 38, 42, 27 and now 32 points to the Chiefs. That's an average of 34 points a game for Kansas City in those playoff matchups.
There's nothing Allen can do about that.
Any season in this Bills' Super Bowl window that ends short of that game is both depressing and disappointing. Even more so because they keep losing to the freaking Chiefs.
I really thought there would be a different ending this time around. It finally looked like the Bills' year to win that long sought after first Lombardi Trophy.
Charlie Brown was finally going to be able to kick that ball, but Lucy pulled it away. Again.