November in Western New York can often be jarring and depressing. Once Halloween and Daylight Savings Time come and go the reality of several months of frequent snow, frigid temperatures and a frozen Lake Erie loom. By the middle of this week alone there will be non-stop rain and no projected temperature above 42 degrees for at least 72 hours.
But thanks to what transpired late yesterday afternoon and into early evening at Orchard Park’s Highmark Stadium, you’d be hard pressed to find any warmer environment in the state–and certainly no hotter NFL team.
As CNN’s Jacob Lev chronicled:
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 30-21 in a showdown between two of the best teams in the AFC .
Things did not start too pretty for the 29-year-old star quarterback (Patrick) Mahomes and the Chiefs, who came into the game as the NFL’s only undefeated team with a 9-0 record. Bills running back James Cook got into the endzone on a three-yard rushing touchdown. Buffalo went up 6-0 after a missed PAT.
However, no deficit is too much for the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions after Mahomes found rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy on a 10-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-6 lead in the second quarter.
The Bills responded on the ensuing possession after Cook scored his second rushing touchdown on the game.
With just over seven minutes left in the first half, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw an interception into the hands of Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner which eventually led to a Mahomes touchdown throw to tight end Noah Gray. Kansas City would take a 14-13 lead.
That lead would not last very long after Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass made up for the missed extra point earlier with a 33-yard field goal as the Bills went into halftime with a 16-14 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Bills extended their lead to 23-14 after Allen threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Curtis Samuel.
And then, as CBS SPORTS’ Jeff Kerr detailed this morning, things got REALLY good:
Josh Allen certainly made his case to be the MVP of the league, orchestrating the play that pushed the Buffalo Bills past the Kansas City Chiefs from the ranks of the unbeaten.
On a fourth-and-2 with 2:17 left, the Bills held a 23-21 lead and decided to go for it from the Chiefs’ 26-yard line. Instead of having a 44-yard field goal attempt by Tyler Bass to go up 26-21, coach Sean McDermott but the ball in Allen’s hands and allowed him to win the game.
Allen didn’t have his first nor second read open, so he took off himself. Not only did Allen get the first down, but scored to put the Bills up 30-21 to seal the game. Allen finished with 260 yards passing and a touchdown while rushing for 55 yards and a score.
No, the Bills aren’t quite yet the NFL’s best team record-wise. That distinction still belongs to the Chiefs, now 9-1, as well as the Lions, who reinforced their lock on the NFC with a resounding 52-6 shellacking of hapless Jacksonville. The Bills are 9-2 and still have a bye week to look forward to.
There is still also that little matter of finding a way to beat Mahomes and company in the post-season. Ask any Bills Nation backer what can happen in just 13 second, and be prepared to get out of that person’s way immediately if you do.
And for as titillating as the possibility of a Detroit-Buffalo Super Bowl between two of the few franchises to have never won one, the harsh reminder of kicks going wide right immediately come to mind. I would certainly not support you bringing that up to a Bills fan, either.
Especially when Bills fans are as likely to be as giddy as newbie Bill Amari Cooper was yesterday, per SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Kyle Silagyi:
Sunday’s clash with the conference-leading Chiefs presented an opportunity for Allen to again cement himself as one of the league’s top players, and Cooper was simply taken aback as he watched his quarterback do so. He spoke about the ‘Josh Allen experience’ after the victory, sounding genuinely happy to have not only witnessed his play, but to help the team win.
“When you’re a kid, man, and you’re dreaming of football, this is the stage that you dream about,” Cooper said. “You don’t really dream about the ends that aren’t meaningful, you’re dreaming about the meaningful games against the best teams. So we were in it. You know, it doesn’t come around that often, especially if you aren’t on a very good team. Any player who has been in this league a long time, most of the guys haven’t always been on good teams, that’s how it swings in this league.
“To answer your question, the ‘Josh Allen experience,’ with this magnitude, has been phenomenal. Like I said before, he’s a great player. You know the old adage, ‘Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations.’ That’s exactly what he did.
There’s plenty of winter ahead for snowblowers and road salts and the negative Nelly attitude to reemerge. For now, Buffalo, New York is the hotbed of positivity and success.
Courage…