ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There was no doubt, no hesitation and certainly no sort of fear as Sean McDermott faced a critical fourth-down decision with a little more than two minutes remaining in the much-anticipated showdown at Highmark Stadium on Sunday that lived up to the hype.
Kick a field goal?
McDermott, the savvy Buffalo Bills coach, knew better. Even with a 40-something-yard trey that would have extended the lead to five points against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs – aka the playoff heartbreakers – McDermott would not have felt safe.
So, he went for it. Then Josh Allen, the stud quarterback, proved how perfect McDermott’s decision was for that moment as he dashed to a dramatic 26-yard touchdown run that essentially snapped K.C.’s 15-game winning streak and squashed any thoughts of a perfect season. The Chiefs left town at 9-1.
“I think you have to have a mindset where you can’t be afraid in those situations to do what you believe in,” McDermott told USA TODAY Sports after most of his players had cleared from the locker room after the 30-21 victory.
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“Sometimes, the result doesn’t work out. Early in the game, it didn’t work out. We went for it on fourth-and-2 and it didn’t work out. So, I’ve got to live with it.”
McDermott is undoubtedly thrilled to live with the crunch-time decision that helped seal a sixth consecutive victory and pulled the Bills (9-2) within a half-game of the No. 1 seed for the AFC’s playoff positioning. It was hardly a spur-of-the-moment call. McDermott and this staff discussed how they would handle such a situation during the week of preparation, knowing who was on the other side. They were plenty mindful of Kansas City’s ability – and history with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in crunch time – of pulling out last-minute drives with touchdown drives.
After all, in one of Buffalo’s three playoff setbacks against the Chiefs during the past four seasons, Mahomes needed just 13 seconds to mount a field goal drive that forced overtime. And Kansas City won the coin toss, which led to a TD drive that won the AFC divisional playoff game.
Anyway, that was then. On Sunday, the Bills pestered Mahomes throughout the game (two sacks, two interceptions, seven quarterback hits, 196 passing yards), but saw him engineer an efficient, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter that cut the margin to 23-21. Mahomes capped that drive by rolling right and slinging a laser-like pass across his body for a 1-yard TD throw to Noah Gray.
McDermott was not about to let it come down to Mahomes’ magic. Betting on Allen – one of the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterbacks – was the better option that effectively was a way to play defense against Mahomes.
That’s why you go for it on fourth-and-2 from their 26.
“They are way too good to not go for it right there,” McDermott said. “Every situation is a little different, but I felt confident.”
Then the strapping Allen, the NFL’s most physical quarterback at 6-5, 237 pounds, put it on his legs and made it work. The play included an option to throw, but Allen quickly dismissed that. After a quick pump-fake to his left, he noticed that the Chiefs defense dropped into zone coverage. That left him a running lane up the middle. And his eyes probably lit up.
He was barely touched until he barreled the final few yards into the end zone.
“Just trying to create, keep the play alive,” Allen said. “There was a crease and just trusted the feet.”
Allen, who has now beaten the Chiefs for a fourth consecutive time in a regular-season matchup, sounded a bit nonchalant in describing the game’s defining play. But it was fitting that when it mattered the most he delivered.
That’s how it’s supposed to be in some regards. The leader of the pack, the face of the franchise, rose to the moment.
“Some guys are just made to play ball,” Bills receiver Amari Cooper said. “He’s one of those guys.”
Cooper, who just joined the Bills last month in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, was the first option on the defining play. Given the final outcome, Cooper couldn’t disagree with the sequence.
“It was crazy,” he said. “I’m hoping he throws it. I’m kind of anxious…”
Then Allen bolted from the pocket. He easily gained the yardage for a first down. Cooper wondered whether the quarterback would slide. Allen clearly wanted more.
“I wasn’t sure he was going to go for it,” said Cooper, who caught two passes for 55 yards. “But he knew the situation: ‘We needed to score. We have this great offense on the other side. I can’t slide right here.’ “
No, Allen had no fear. Not with the game on the line. It was same aggressive approach that McDermott had in making the decision to go for it on fourth down – and not just because a game-tying field goal attempt in the final minutes of the January playoff loss sailed wide right.
The no-fear mentality that flowed from McDermott, through Allen and other players, came with the realization that to beat a champion – Kansas City had won nine straight games in which they trailed in the second half – you simply can’t play scared when you’ve got a chance to put them away.
After all, the Chiefs are like the never-say-die monster from the horror movie.
Yet McDermott and his team didn’t flinch. The verdict was officially clinched shortly after Allen’s TD run when Mahomes was intercepted by Terrel Bernard, squashing any hopes for a last-minute miracle.
“It’s a statement win,” Bills edge rusher Von Miller declared. “They were undefeated. It’s not our Super Bowl. The season’s not over. We’re not going to the Super Bowl or anything. But we have to celebrate wins like this. It’s so hard to win in this league. It’s so hard to have success in this league. There’s so much that goes into the 60 minutes that we play, so you have to be able to step back, debrief and look at all the great things you do.”
All week, the company line coming from the Bills downplayed the marquee feature of the NFL’s biggest game of the season. They claimed that even with the Chiefs bringing an undefeated record and the recent history the rivalry, it was little more than a Week 11 encounter that was one of 17 games.
Miller, a 14th-year veteran, was in no mood to downplay the significance. Especially after it was over. And he had, well, no fear in expressing that in describing the mindset the Bills defensive line approached the game with.
“The speech Coach McDermott gave us, ‘It’s just another game…A hundred years from now, nobody’s going to remember it,’ we were like, ‘(Expletive) that! This is a big game. This is why we’re here,’ “ Miller said. “When the bright lights come on, we rise to the occasion. We don’t need to sugarcoat it to take the pressure off us.
“Pressure comes from within,” he added. “And everyone in that D-line room rose to the occasion. It was a special moment. To be optimistic and to be able to speak things into existence is a wonderful feeling, for sure.”
And it’s even sweeter when it comes by showing no fear against a nemesis that happened to be the NFL’s only unbeaten team.