The Buffalo Bills were unable to keep pace with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, and Sean McDermott wonders if one of his decisions to kick a field goal may have contributed to the loss.
The Bills kicked two field goals in the red zone. The first was a 20-yarder in the second quarter that cut Kansas City’s lead to 21-12. Buffalo then kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-15. After the game, McDermott admitted he regretted taking the field goal both times.
“If I had to do it over again, I’d probably go for one of them,” the Bills coach said, via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Buffalo lost the game 38-24. You could easily make the argument that touchdowns are essential against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but the first field goal made more sense than the second. The first one came with just 11 seconds left in the first half, and the Bills received to start the second half. Had they gotten no points there going into halftime, that could have been very deflating.
The second field goal was the real back-breaker. Rather than going for it on 4th-and-3 at the Kansas City 8-yard line, McDermott opted to cut the Chiefs’ lead to nine. Kansas City then scored a touchdown in four plays on its ensuing possession to take a 31-15 lead and never look back.
McDermott definitely should have gone for it in at least one of those situations, and probably both. But did those decisions cost Buffalo the game? Probably not. Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur can’t say the same about his horrible field goal decision.
