How cruel. Those words are so painful to longtime Bills fans, stung by the missed field-goal kick that might have won Super Bowl XXV.
Now it has happened again. The Bills had a chance to tie the AFC divisional playoff in crunch time on Sunday night, but Tyler Bass missed on the 44-yard kick with 1:43 on the clock. It pretty much sealed the 27-24 result that sends Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs to Baltimore for a sixth consecutive trip to the AFC Championship game.
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Not only have the Bills missed a chance to chase the elusive dream of winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl, they are destined for another offseason of second-guesses and what-ifs following a setback that could have swung in their favor … but didn’t.
And there was no bigger what-if than the missed kick
“I wish it wouldn’t have been put in that situation,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “You win as a team, you lose as a team. One play doesn’t define a game, it doesn’t define a season. People are going to be out there saying that. We’ve got to be there for him.If we execute a couple plays prior, we’d probably be singing a different tune right now.”
If. Two plays before the field-goal try, Allen missed, badly, on a throw to Khalil Shakir from the Chiefs’ 26-yard line that had go-ahead touchdown written all over it. Allen appeared to be indecisive before launching the pass, but Shakir, who had a step on his defender with a skinny post route, was indeed the first option. Allen, though, was unhinged by the pressure that forced him to slide in the pocket. His movement was off.
