5 takeaways from the Bills’ 38-24 loss to the Chiefs

The magical run that was the 2020 Buffalo Bills season has come to an end. Many saw an improvement coming, but no one saw a close run to the promise land and Buffalo has plenty of reason to be proud about this team.

But we still have an AFC Championship game to breakdown. So let’s rip the Band-Aid off get right into it.

Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ 38-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game:

Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman. Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Bills defense gives up chunks seemingly every play

The Bills got off to a good start. Against the Colts and Ravens in their first two playoffs game that was certainly not the case. It took awhile for the Bills to get rolling, especially on offense, and the Bills did start up 9-0 on Kansas City.

Buffalo’s offense had to keep things closer in this one, no doubt, and while 24 point is pretty good against most, it’s not vs. KC. However, the Bills defense gave up big play, after big play… after big play from that ninth-point on. Not only did that extend drives for the Chiefs’ high-flying offense, it gave themselves less opportunity, too.

First, the Chiefs only punted once. Not an ideal start right there.

It just really felt like an over and over thing, again and again. On the Chiefs’ first touchdown drive alone, Kansas City had six plays of nine-plus yards. The next few scoring drives featured highlight-reel plays like Mercole Hardman’s 50-yard rush and Tyreek Hill’s 71-yard and 33-yard catch and runs. In between those plays there were just too many chunk plays that gave the Bills virtually no chance.

The bleeding was never stopped and while the Bills have great depth in their playmakers, the Chiefs showed what an offense filled with stars really looks like.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87). Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The most overlooked problem of 2020

The first time the Bills and Chiefs faced off in Week 6… there was an overlooked issue on Buffalo’s defense. In fact, it was a problem most did not consider throughout the entire season, perhaps for the same reason it was Week 6.

The Bills defense was gashed on the run Bills-Chiefs Round 1 for 245 total yards on the ground. That happened a lot, specifically early in the regulat season, too. Many forget that tight end Travis Kelce did have two touchdowns in that first outing. In Round 2, Kelce had an even bigger game.

Overall, Kelce had a massive 13 catches for 118 yards. He also scored twice once again. A chunk of Kelce’s work wasn’t very far from the line of scrimmage either as Kelce was just finding space underneath the Bills’ coverage and kept adding yards after the catch. His long grab of the game was only 17 yards, which paled in comparison to other chunks of yards Kansas City was ripping off.

Kelce’s efforts against Buffalo wasn’t exactly a flash in the pan. We all overlooked this. In 2020, no team allowed more tight end catches (92) than the Bills.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17). Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Bills offensive line can’t stop blitz

It was not a great day for the Bills offensive line.

Traditionally we’re used to one type of unit. Buffalo’s O-line can’t run block. We’ve seen that all season. Pass protection is usually a different story. Against KC, both were a problem.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was under duress the entire game. While Allen is a good player under pressure, Pro Football Focus‘ passer rating for him heading into Sunday was 108.6, best among all QBs remaining in the postseason, but this was just too much.

Over and over again, Allen was pressured and forced out of the pocket far too quickly. A great example of this was when Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones rushed him within a second on a third down in the red zone. He cleanly beat Jon Feliciano and Allen tossed a prayer up to Stefon Diggs, but there was little chance that was going to work… and it didn’t.

Later on, Daryl Williams allowed a big sack near midfield as Frank Clark blew by him. This certainly was not an early issue in the slightest.

It happened all game. Remember Allen’s intentional grounding penalty? Under the spotlight, the Bills offensive line showed that perhaps they aren’t as rock-solid as one might have thought.

Bashaud Breeland #21 of the Kansas City Chiefs tackles Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills i. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Stefon Diggs invisible

Stefon Diggs got his praises all season long from both fans and media alike. That first All-Pro selection and Pro Bowl? He earned it.

But if we’re being objective, Diggs did not show out enough with the season on the line against the Chiefs.

Overall, Diggs’ stat line wasn’t anything to shake your head it. He finished the game with six catches for 77 yards. That came on 11 targets. A massive chunk of it came when the game was more than over, though. Diggs had a 34-yard catch which came with less than five minutes left on the clock. At half, Diggs only had two catches for 12 yards. While not fully on the wide receiver in this case, Diggs did also tip a pass that went down as an interception.

The Chiefs secondary deserves their credit, but time and time again we’ve seen Diggs find a way in 2020. That was not the case with the AFC title on the line.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17). Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills are close but not the Chiefs

The unforgettable 2020 season for the Bills is now in the history books. It was a disappointing end.

For a long time, the Bills seemed invincible this season. In fact, they did so for the most part since Week 6 when the Chiefs beat them. But those two games really showed that Kansas City is an elite team. Buffalo is a very good one right now. You don’t beat a team twice on a fluke.

The difference here can be shown in the clutch areas. On third down, the Chiefs were 6-for-9 while the Bills were 5-for-14 on offense. The even bigger one was in the red zone. The Bills were 2-for-5 while the Chiefs were 5-for-5 and scored a touchdown every single time.

That’s what elite teams do.

We also neglected to do one thing to this point: mentioned Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Folks, you can admit that both Mahomes and Allen are great players. The help around him played a part, as did a better game plan, but Mahomes outdueled the Bills on Sunday. Again, this doesn’t mean Buffalo doesn’t have their franchise QB, it’s just how it went down.

What really good teams do is make it to the AFC Championship game. That’s not a slight. There were four teams left this weekend and the other one that lost has a first-ballot Hall of Famer playing quarrerback for them in Aaron Rodgers.

So lets’ end this on a good one.

The Bills are still really great and with such a young roster as well… yes, team overall, not just at quarterback. That, plus the way they Bill-eve in what Sean McDermott is doing here?

They’ll be back.

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