Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the first time in four seasons, the Buffalo Bills will have the chance to earn a win in the AFC Championship Game and return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season.
While it wasn't the prettiest of victories on Sunday in Orchard Park, the Bills held off a late push from the Baltimore Ravens, earning a 27-25 win in the AFC Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium.
After going up 27-19 with 3:29 left to go, the Ravens had enough time to stretch the field and score a touchdown with 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. Then on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt to tie the game, a pass from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fell in-and-out of the hands of tight end Mark Andrews and incomplete.
The Bills then recovered an onside kick, and forced the Ravens to burn their final timeout on the next play to seal the victory and punch their ticket to Kansas City next Sunday evening to play the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
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Despite the late push from Baltimore to tie the game and potentially force overtime, several Bills fans felt confident that Buffalo was going to pull it out in the end.
"It's a vision of the whole season and how it's played out. Offensively, we did OK. We got the turnovers defensively, which makes the difference in the game. Win by two points, Tyler Bass hitting the key extra points now, and getting the field goal that we needed. And the defense did the things to make sure we got the victory," said Bills fan Jim Muscoreil from Grand Island.
"Defense was crazy, the O-line and defense, it was just amazing," echoed Bills fan J.P. from Springville after the win. "It wasn't Josh's best game, but the defense showed up, some things fell our way, the turnover battle. I'm just still in shock."
For Bills fan Jeff from Snyder, this win meant a little something extra.
"For me, I've been watching the Bills games with my dad, we've been Season Ticket holders for 20 years. To be here with him and to be able to watch this with him, it means everything. So it's emotional, and I'm very excited," said Jeff with WBEN.
Bills fan Sean Sullivan, making the trek from South Carolina for the game Sunday, knows the end goal come playoff time is always a win.
"I think the Bills are always in it, and we always want to be there," said Sullivan in an interview with WBEN after the win. "I think Josh Allen and the offense didn't do what we wanted them to tonight, but the defense came through. And you know what, it's a great thing. When we can play complimentary ready football, we get to what we want to do."
Sunday's win gives Sullivan some added hope heading into next week's AFC Championship matchup with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
"I think this gives me hope for what we can do the next two weeks. Now we come against the Chiefs next week, we know what we're going against. It's what we've been looking for for the last four years. Let's go get them," Sullivan said.
Muscoreil felt Sunday the Bills did a great job taking the Ravens' best weapons, while not giving up much else to put Buffalo in any sort of predicament.
"They took [Derrick] Henry completely out of the game. Henry was a non-factor. They were using their second and third running backs most of the game. [Lamar] Jackson didn't do much from a running standpoint, they kept everything in front of them. They gave up some points, but not enough for us to get the loss," Muscoreil said.
While the Bills were able to take advantage of the turnover battle, forcing the Ravens into three turnovers in Sunday's win, J.P. knows Buffalo can't have a lapse in any part of their game when they take on the Chiefs next weekend.
"We came out in the third quarter, cold. The third quarter we lost. We just were cold. We had the momentum, we didn't capitalize," J.P. said. "We've got to come out hot, put the pedal to the metal, and we've got to score that touchdown in the third, and then we're up big time. Instead of making it a game like it was."
So what will it take for the Bills to come away with a second win this season over the Chiefs to secure their spot in Super Bowl LIX?
"It's going to come down to game script. If you get ahead of them, and I think if we can play complimentary football and play good offense, good defense, stay ahead of the sticks, we're going to be beat them this year," said Sullivan. "It's a different world this year with Kansas City. So we'll see."
Muscoreil simply feels that the Bills are due this time around to win, and make their return to the Super Bowl.
"Kansas City has been just lucky all season. They've gotten the calls, they've gotten some weird plays that have happened all year long, and I think that time has finally come that Josh is going to get that win, and the Bills are going to end up in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks," Muscoreil said.
J.P. believes if the Bills are able to carry the momentum from Sunday's win over the Ravens into Kansas City, it will go a long ways towards securing a victory over the Chiefs.
"We're going to beat them. I think we just have the same game plan, defense shows up. Josh had a bad game today, his numbers weren't too impressive. We go to Kansas City, Josh is going to be back, we're going to win," he said.
What would a return trip to the Super Bowl mean for Muscoreil, who's been a Season Ticket Holder for nearly 35 years?
"To go through those four years of torture where they were great teams and just couldn't finish at the end, for the whole community, the chance to get all the way back to a Super Bowl again would be unbelievable. The atmosphere in this city, it's second-to-none," he said.
Kickoff next Sunday evening in Kansas City is slated for 6:30 p.m. EST.