Tyler Bass laments missed FG after Buffalo Bills’ loss،
ORCHARD PARK, NY – The kick initially appeared to go through the uprights. Then it abruptly changed direction with the 11 to 13 mph winds at Orchard Park helping it sail up and to the right, away from the stile.
Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass' missed 44-yard field goal gave the Kansas City Chiefs the ball at their own 34-yard line with a three-point lead and 1:43 remaining in the Division 1 playoff game. the AFC on Sunday.
“At the end of the day, it's all my fault. I have to do a better job of achieving my goal,” Bass said after the Bills' 27-24 loss. “I have to do a better job of playing a little more left when you have left-to-right movement. [wind]. I've been here long enough to know you have to do this. You know, I trusted my line that I had during warm-ups. I hit a good ball, but it didn't work. I feel bad, you know? I love this team and it hurts. This one hurts a lot. Yeah, I need to do a better job. Totally on me.”
Bass finished the regular season and playoffs with his lowest field goal percentage in his four-year career (76.5%). Coach Sean McDermott said after the game that they had “full confidence” in Bass. The coach also pointed out that the Bills' defense and special teams weren't playing “like we needed to.”
The field goal attempt will be just another what-if moment for the Bills in a game full of opportunities that ended the same way. For the third year in a row, the Bills' season ended in the divisional round, bringing the team's playoff record against Patrick Mahomes to 0-3. Another playoff series, another loss to Kansas City.
“I wish [Bass] “I wouldn’t have been put in that situation,” 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. I know people are going to say that. We have to be there for him because, again, we have played a few pieces before, probably singing a different tune at the moment.”
Two Allen incompletions at the Kansas City 26-yard line preceded Bass' attempt to cap a 16-play, 54-yard drive that yielded no points. This included a second-and-9 play in which wide receiver Stefon Diggs was open as he crossed the middle of the field, but Allen targeted Khalil Shakir deep as he came under pressure from defensive tackle Chris Jones. As well as a fall by Diggs on a long pass downfield on the first play of the drive.
The what-ifs for Buffalo also extend to how and when it was time to take those chances or shots down the field during the game after the Bills successfully used the short passing game for most of the evening. The Bills did not have an offensive play of more than 18 yards, marking just the second time in Allen's 103 career starts (including the playoffs) that Buffalo had no plays of more than 20 yards in a match (week 5, 2018). Allen averaged 0.7 air yards on 26 completions, including 24 within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Since 2006, only two quarterbacks have completed more than 20 passes in a game and averaged fewer air yards during their completions.
Allen was 26 of 39 for 186 yards and a touchdown, plus ran for 72 yards on 12 carries with two rushing scores. There were no turnovers or sacks. The Bills dominated time of possession (37:03), but produced only seven points in the second half.
“Losing sucks,” Allen said. “Losing to them, losing to anyone at home, it sucks.”
Defensively, the Bills gave up two touchdowns on the Chiefs' first drives of the second half, and the big plays made their mark. The Chiefs had a season-high eight plays that gained more than 20 yards.
Injuries played a role on defense, but the unit failed to force a turnover – something it prides itself on doing; The takeaways were the signing of the Bills' six-game winning streak heading into the game (they've recorded at least one in five). The defense also allowed tight end Travis Kelce to break free, catching five passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense forced a fumble out of bounds at the goal line by Mecole Hardman following a failed Bills fake punt early in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to save the Bills.
“It's just about making the plays that come your way, making tackles and doing your job,” defensive tackle DaQuan Jones said. “Some of these plays, we weren’t doing that and they exposed us.”
An offseason with big decisions and question marks awaits the Bills after another AFC East title — one that had a 4 percent chance of happening, according to ESPN Analytics, when the Bills were 6-6 after the week 13. Another chance for the franchise's first Super. The Bowl title will wait another year.
“I'm extremely disappointed. I mean, you put so much time into this,” McDermott said. “We've put so much time into a season, let alone this game and the preparation for it, and to come out and not play the way I hoped we would have, it's extremely disappointing and frustrating and it's is kind of a situation in our business where you have to spend the whole offseason thinking about it, but it makes it harder for you, if it's even possible to drive someone harder, it makes it harder for you to come back in the season next time and continue working on it.
