KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was the first play coming out of the two-minute warning, a legacy moment in the making for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who had ended three of Allen’s previous four seasons in the playoffs, led 32-29, but the game was there for the taking Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Facing fourth-and-5, Allen and the Bills had to get more creative than usual to keep the drive going.
Sean McDermott loves going on fourth down, but it’s easier to convert when Buffalo only needs a yard or two and can lean on Allen — a 6-foot-5, 237-pound perennial MVP candidate.
He’d converted four times on fourth down earlier in the game, three times on his own and once on an option pitch to James Cook for a touchdown.
But Kansas City’s defense had stuffed Allen on a key fourth down earlier in the quarter.
“You’ve got to be a dog,” said linebacker Drue Tranquill, who tied for the team-high with nine tackles. “You’ve got to execute. You can only do so much. We're not in pads throughout the week, so you can't simulate what that's going to be like, all the push that they have. But our big guys, man, they bowed up in critical moments.”
The Bills recognized it too, dialing up a throw on fourth-and-medium with the season on the line — and the Chiefs’ defense wrecked it.
Steve Spagnuolo sent an overload blitz to Allen’s right.
Defensive end George Karlaftis rushed with containment outside, occupying the right tackle, while safety Justin Reid and cornerback Trent McDuffie blitzed inside Karlaftis’ rush.
“Spags called a heck of a play,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “All year, we’re building that. We work throughout the year. We've been practicing late-game situations, two-minute situations. So for us, just another play. We're very comfortable in it and we trust in Spags to put us in the right position to make a play.”
Allen scrambled right — and into the teeth of the pressure — backpedaled and heaved a desperation pass downfield.
Amazingly, Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid wound up being the only player with a real shot to catch the ball, but it — and any realistic chance to claim the Lamar Hunt Trophy as AFC champions — slipped through his arms.
“Obviously, nervous,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said when asked how he felt as the drive unfolded. “I'm always nervous whenever the football is not in my hand, but I have so much trust in that defense. They've done it all year."
They did again to preserve a 32-29 win and clinch a fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last six seasons.
"I know that's a great offense that they're going up against, and Josh has made a lot of great plays all night, all season long, but I trust that Spags will call the right blitz or call the right coverage, the guys are going to execute the assignment, then whatever happens, happens," Mahomes said. "I was very happy that it was incomplete and we were able to run the time out after that.”
Buffalo went 4 of 6 on fourth down, in part, because Kansas City limited them to 5 of 14 on third down.
Allen, who punished the Chiefs for 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a Week 11 win, wasn’t as effective in the rematch. He managed only 39 yards on 11 carries, was sacked twice and absorbed eight other QB hits.
“I love this defense, man — ‘In Spags We Trust’ — and we've always trusted him,” tight end Travis Kelce said. “Everybody that plays under him, they're so sound and they play their tails off. They throw their heart out there on the field every single week all the way until the end.”
Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt agreed, “We've been blessed to have Spags here for a number of years, and we've seen him do that in the past, so, like our players, I trust in Spags.”
Despite helping Kansas City win three Super Bowls — and reach two others now — he’s been unable to get a second crack as an NFL head coach, even though he’s made it clear that he’d welcome the opportunity.
Spangnuolo’s four Super Bowl titles are the most in NFL history for a coordinator, so the rest of the league’s loss is the Chiefs’ ongoing gain.
“I have the utmost respect for him and I know he'd be a great head coach,” Reid said. “I don't want to lose him, selfishly, but I know what kind of coach he is and I know the situation that he was in with the Rams (as head coach) and all that. You give him another opportunity, and he'll do a great job there, but I can't determine that.”
McDuffie said he’s grateful for all the time he can get with Spagnuolo.
“He's one of those coaches that is all about ball — you know what I mean?” McDuffie said. “You’ve got to respect it, because when he comes to you and he tells you things ... everything he does is so detailed and everything has such meaning that you just sit back and just say, 'wow.' Just how much knowledge he has.”
Now, Spagnuolo gets two weeks to game plan for a Philadelphia Eagles team that scored 35 points two years ago in a losing effort against the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
Kansas City and Philly will duke it out for another Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
—