A fourth-and-17 conversion? Mahomes magic returned, but Chiefs couldn’t finish
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs converted fourth-and-17 via Mahomes to Rashee Rice but couldn’t finish rally.
- Bills held on 28-21, secured fifth straight regular-season win over Chiefs.
- Buffalo defense generated sacks, forced punt and stopped Mahomes late deep attempts.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Bills defensive end Joey Bosa overpowered Chiefs left tackle Jaylon Moore and dropped quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a nine-yard sack.
Buffalo led by 15 and could smell victory in this battle of NFL titans.
The Chiefs needed to show something they hadn’t for most of the game, a moment to spark hope. And Mahomes provided it.
First, an incomplete pass set up the Chiefs with a fourth-and-17 at the Bills’ 40. A field-goal attempt from about 57 yards wouldn’t do the Chiefs much good. Punting down two scores didn’t seem like a solid choice, either.
Instead, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid chose a third option: Go for it.
Zing!
Mahomes found an open Rashee Rice, who had started on the right side, swept across the field and was open at around the 18 when he hauled in the pass. By the time Rice was pushed out of bounds, he had gained 29 yards and a first down.
We pause here to remind that the Bills prevailed 28-21, defeating the Chiefs for the fifth straight time in the regular season — every year since 2021. The Chiefs have had the last laugh in the playoffs, of course, with a 4-0 record vs. Buffalo in meetings since 2020, including two AFC Championship Games.
The previous three of those playoff games were decided by 6 (in overtime), 3 and 3 points.
Most of the games between the Chiefs and Bills wind up like this: tight, with the team that’s trailing seemingly never out of it. And sure enough, the Mahomes-to-Rice hookup infused some late drama into Sunday’s game.
Bills fans melted down, especially after Buffalo had called a timeout just before the play. And Bosa appeared to have had a path to Mahomes, only to stop his charge and drop back into coverage instead.
Here’s Mahomes on the play: “Big play, obviously, getting that. Coach just trusted us. It was too long for a field goal and there was no reason, really, to punt.
“Coach gave us a chance and Rashee did a good job getting open in the last window. But we didn’t capitalize on the momentum.”
Ultimately, no. But the Chiefs scored to cap that drive with a Kareem Hunt 2-yard touchdown run, also on fourth down.
Then, after Mahomes hit Travis Kelce for a two-point conversion to trim a 15-point deficit to seven, the defense did its part. Trent McDuffie and Leo Chenal collected sacks of Josh Allen on successive snaps, forcing a Buffalo punt.
During the Mahomes era, the Chiefs have defied the odds several times to capture improbable victories. That includes three Super Bowl wins in which the Chiefs trailed by double digits. Would it happen again?
The Bills withstood the Chiefs’ rally — and their own missed field goal down the stretch — to pull out the victory. Mahomes had three shots to land a deep pass from the Bills’ 40 but didn’t hit on any.
“You know it’s going to come down to a couple of plays,” Mahomes said. “They made those plays. Josh played great.”
Better than Mahomes for most of the night, except for that brief stretch when it appeared the Chiefs might be able to break the Bills’ hearts once again.