Bills-Chiefs instant classic takes spot alongside Chargers-Dolphins among NFL's greatest games

When Dolphins broadcaster and radio personality Joe Rose began his show Monday morning, he reflected on the adrenaline flowing in all football fans Sunday night as the Bills and Chiefs slugged it out.

Rose knows what it’s like to play in a game so draining it's as much theater as it is sporting event. He was a tight end on the Dolphins when their 1981 season ended with “The Miracle That Died,” according to a banner headline in The Miami Herald, after Miami suffered a 41-38 overtime divisional playoff loss to the visiting San Diego Chargers.

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Rose caught two touchdown passes that day but still walked off the field dejected, just as Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills did after the Chiefs came away with a 42-36 OT victory Sunday night.

No two games are exactly alike, but Sunday night, just as on Jan. 2, 1982, the drama was so tense, it left even spectators drained.

Comparing these two playoff classics:

The unexpected hero

Then: Don Strock was a career backup quarterback on the Dolphins, starting only 20 games in 14 seasons.

After the Chargers bolted to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter, Don Shula yanked David Woodley in the hopes Strock could give the Dolphins a spark. In his first three snaps Strock had completed passes of 16 yards to Duriel Harris and 27 to Tony Nathan. The Dolphins were off and running.

Strock put on the best performance of his career, throwing for 403 yards and four touchdowns.

Now: Receiver Gabriel Davis was drafted by Buffalo in the fourth round in 2020 out of Central Florida and had a solid season (549 yards, six TDs). But until Sunday, he’d never caught more than five passes or had more than 107 yards in a game.

Against Kansas City, he was unstoppable, catching eight passes for 201 yards and a playoff-record four TDs.

Still, it was bittersweet because Buffalo’s season ended.

"It's hard to celebrate that when something like that happens," he said.

The redemption

Then: Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke was an inspiration well before facing Miami. In 1979, he survived a life-threatening case of ulcerative colitis that required surgery. He also collapsed on a team flight home from a game.

Today, there are fans complaining that overtime rules tilt too heavily in favor of the team winning the coin flip, but this game doesn’t support that argument. Yes, the Chargers won the overtime toss and eventually the game, but they nearly lost in OT.

The Chargers drove to the Miami 8-yard line to open OT. San Diego coach Dan Coryell sent in Benirschke on second down to end it with a 27-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide right.

Years later, Dolphins end Doug Betters recalled feeling relieved that Miami’s season didn’t end right there, but added, “At the same time, you wondered, ‘How long is this thing going to last?’ ”

A bit longer, because the Dolphins later missed from 34 yards out.

Finally, given another chance after 13:52 of overtime, Benirschke hit from 29.

Now: Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hit the right upright from 50 yards and missed an extra point after a third-quarter touchdown that left Kansas City ahead 23-14.

Coach Andy Reid had confidence in a kicker who was 25 of 28 in the regular season and missed only three of 14 tries from beyond 40 yards this season. Butker came through as time expired in regulation, nailing a 49-yarder to force overtime and atoning for the 50-yard miss.

“After that missed kick, I kind of hit myself on the butt,” Butker said.

Lunacy in the final seconds of regulation

Then: The Dolphins were up 38-31 when Dan Fouts led a 10-play, 82-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to James Brooks.

Except 58 seconds remained. Just as the Chiefs and Bills took fans on a dizzying roller coaster ride in the final two minutes, Strock threw an interception on this possession, but cornerback Willie Buchanon fumbled while returning it and Tommy Vigorito recovered for Miami. Uwe Von Schamann could be the hero with a 43-yard try.

Tight end Kellen Winslow blocked the kick.

“There's no way to practice it," Winslow told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for the 20th anniversary. "But the guys got some penetration for me on the line and I thought I was soaring like Michael Jordan. Turns out, you couldn't get a credit card turned sideways under my feet, but I guess it was high enough."

Now: The final two minutes of regulation saw the Chiefs and Bills combine for 25 points. The lead changed hands three times. Davis scored on a 27-yard pass from Allen, the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill had a 64-yard catch and run from Patrick Mahomes, Davis caught a 19-yard TD pass and finally, Butker kicked a 49-yard field goal.

The 25 points were the second-most in the final two minutes of regulation in any game in the Super Bowl era, according to The Elias Sports Bureau. From the two-minute warning until the game’s conclusion, Mahomes passed for 188 yards and Allen for 102. Both threw two TD passes in that span.

The reward

Then: After surviving heat that hovered around 80 degrees with 80 percent humidity, the Chargers were on to Cincinnati for a game that set a record as the coldest in NFL history. It felt like minus-59 degrees with the wind chill for the “Freezer Bowl.”

The Bengals won 27-7.

Now: The Chiefs will host the Bengals for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

The forecast calls for beach weather (around 40 degrees).

The legacy

Then: The Chargers-Dolphins was voted Game of the Decade by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Now: Some are already calling Bills-Chiefs as the greatest game ever, a label we hesitate to bestow so quickly. Will it be the Game of the Decade? It’s certainly the leader in the clubhouse.

Amazing performance, regardless of score

Then: Winslow’s historic evening came in a victory. He caught 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, blocked a field-goal try and was so drained, teammates had to help him walk off the field.

"It was a classic battle,” Winslow said. “Put in every sports cliche, every sports metaphor — this game had it. And the great thing about the game, to me, is that a lot of people have no idea who won."

Now: Allen finished 27 of 37 for 329 yards and four TDs. He led the Bills with 11 carries for 68 yards, rushing for first downs six times.

"We're gonna play this team a lot," Mahomes said.

Please do.

Sunday's games

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bills-Chiefs takes spot alongside Chargers-Dolphins NFL playoffs lore