Sean says he has played back the last 13 seconds of the Bills loss a million times. 0:50
The end of the Buffalo Bills playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is not something that will be forgotten.
It will go down as one of the most heartbreaking losses in franchise history, as it was a spot among the four straight Super Bowl losses.
Sean McDermott will have a hard time not thinking about the final 13 seconds and brief overtime of the 42-36 loss.
During his end-of-season news conference, he said that he watched it over and over in his head and in his stomach. I want the best for our football team and this organization. When we get to where we are trying to get to, I believe that will make it that much more enjoyable.
The feelings from the loss will linger as the Bills begin their offseason. Losing to the same opponent at the same venue a year later shouldn't sit well with a team.
The Vikings-Ravens game in the Super Bowl era was the second game in the playoffs with four go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes.
The Bills led 36-33 after a historic fourth touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Allen to wide receiver Gabriel Davis, which left just 13 seconds for the Chiefs to try and kick a tying field goal. They did that.
Kansas City marched down the field to set up a field goal by Harrison Butker.
After taking the lead, Allen said that he thought it was Pat Mahomes on the other side. It was an unbelievable play by him when he scored with 13 seconds left.
Many questioned the decision to kick the ball into the end zone on the kickoff, not taking time off the clock with a kick or a return. The coach pointed to the execution of the situation, even though he wouldn't say if that was the play he called or not.
It comes down to execution. Being great in situational football is what we pride ourselves on. We practiced that here. I mean, nonstop. We prepare and practice those situations a lot here in Buffalo. We are not going to run from it, that's where I come back to you. I believe in that.
In regards to a potential miscommunication on the kick call involving special teams coach Heath Farwell or if kicker Tyler Bass was supposed to kick it shorter than he did to take time off the clock, McDermott declined to share more insight.
The coach acknowledged that drawing a penalty to take time off the clock was considered as well as taking a timeout during overtime as Mahomes went 6-of6 passing and took the Chiefs down the field for the game-winning touchdown. The execution of the defense in the final moments of the fourth quarter or overtime was what McDermott wanted to talk about.
On the final 13 seconds of the game, the linebacker said that they executed.
The league's overtime rules are being brought into question again after Allen and the offense didn't have a chance to respond to the Chiefs touchdown on the first drive of overtime. The team that won the coin toss has scored a touchdown on the opening possession in seven of the 11 games since the current overtime rules were adopted.
The rule is what it is, but left tackle Dion Dawkins advocated for a change.
Dawkins said that a football game should not be decided by a coin. This is not Vegas. We are not at the casino table. That was the outcome. We just need to understand that we need to keep everything in our hands, and not a coin. Our hand wins when it is in our hands. It is a 50% chance that it won't be allowed in this game when it is in a coin's hands.
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