Josh Allen watches overtime from the sidelines. Gabe Davis made two of the four touchdowns in his NFL playoff record within a two-minute warning and also failed to come off the field after the fourth half. One Controversial coin flip on whether the federation needs to change its rules on overtime after the season. Tireek Hill and Travis Kelce found respective pathways into the endgame to take the captains to their fourth consecutive conference championship game.
All the flashbacks of last January’s classic AFC Divisional confrontation between Buffalo and Kansas City will come to mind as the teams play each other again on Sunday from the same Missouri field, where Harrison Butker scored the 48-yard goal to send the winter classic to overtime. Both teams are drawing 4-1 and while this mid-October matchup seems to last 60 minutes – maybe more – a preview of what could happen after the calendar shifts to 2023, demonstrates the moves each franchise makes is superior since its final clash will be an integral part of gridiron chess.
Hill is now a Dolphin. So does Melvin Ingram. A balanced approach at the receiver with JuJu Smith-Schuster’s arrival in town took place with Patrick Mahomes’ production not slowing down. When you replenish the receptive legion with a guy of Travis Kelce’s caliber, it’s easy to throw the ball around for the rest. Tyrann Mathieu is also gone, with Nick Bolton becoming one of the best sophomore quarterbacks in the NFL, especially with Willie Gay suspended.
For the Bills, not tweaking their list too much is the way to improve the squad. The moves Buffalo has made must matter. And it’s clear that the higher ups in Western New York know that the team on the spot is good enough to win a Super Bowl. The only end-of-season addition for the Bills to sign a contract longer than two years was Von Miller. There are two defensive tackles signed two-year contracts. Any other out-of-season contracts awarded are one-year contracts. It’s really win-now in Buffalo after being stripped last year. The hangover of getting close to glory and being slammed with everything but a toe inside the frame will define the Bills until they can lift the Lombardi Cup.
Part of every NFL player’s DNA is to quickly forget past performances, good or bad. It is true that there is an undefeated Super Bowl champion in history. A 13-4 record at the end of this season is considered dominating, even though you’ve lost almost a quarter of the time this fall. Let’s throw that philosophy out the window for Sunday’s clash. Last year’s divisional playoffs were not a quick forget. Who knows how a different outcome on the NFL kaleidoscope impacts things? If the Bengal team had to get through Buffalo but not KC to get to the Super Bowl, would they make it through? I would say no, but I also think the captains will have their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance after they beat Josh Allen. And that obviously didn’t happen.
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After a classic show, sequels can either top the originals or fail altogether. We can see Alien or dark Knight. It could also be Die hard 2 or Grease 2 (114 minutes of my life, I’ll never get it back. Thanks to Michelle Pfeiffer.) [Editor’s note: The Godfather: Part II is on par, if not better, than The Godfather.] Sunday’s game will be a defensive confrontation where both Allen and Mahomes will be sucked, or everyone will do their part to put up a phenomenal display around the pig’s skin. Having results on one end or the other looks promising because the rematch takes place on the same basis. If Sunday’s game were in Buffalo, it wouldn’t be a true sequel.
I think Buffalo who wants revenge will win here and Allen’s litany of great receiver stand out from a Kansas City high school team that hasn’t proven to be good enough to stop them. Davis, Stefon Diggs, and if they’re healthy Isaiah McKenzie and Dawson Knox will be awesome. Mahomes’ one-man performance won’t be dazzling enough, even if he throws for four hits, to stop it, as he did in January.
