For the second season in a row, the Buffalo Bills outplayed the Kansas City Chiefs for most of the day, then proceeded to hand them a win with what now has to be considered “Buffalo Bills football – 2014 edition” – that is, combining costly mistakes, questionable coaching decisions and breakdowns at the worst possible crucial times to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Bills blew a 13-3 lead in the second half and lost 17-13. Buffalo’s offensive effort was average, as they struggled to run the ball at times, but had success running at others. Kyle Orton completed some impressive throws at times, and missed the mark on some others. It could be argued that the Bills played well enough on offense, defense and special teams to win the game, but were done in by the two things that have hampered them in the 1 1/2 year Doug Marrone regime – turnovers and penalties. The two turnovers were game-changers, and underscored why the Bills are still the same old Bills, despite what their players say. Bryce Brown took off on what looked like a sure touchdown run only to have the ball knocked loose at the four yard line. The ball bounced directly into the hands of tight end Scott Chandler, but he lost the handle on it and allowed it to bounce out of the end zone for a touchback. After the Bills’ defense made a stand, Leodis McKelvin wiped out whatever momentum that stand might have given his team by fumbling the Chiefs’ punt. Did the Bills’ supposedly dominant defense stiffen up and bail out McKelvin? No, two plays later, the Chiefs were in the end zone on an eight yard Alex Smith run for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. It’s tough to assign any blame for the defeat on the defense, since they pressured Smith most of the day, sacking him six times, and contained K.C. back Jamaal Charles for the most part. However, at the most crucial points of the game in the second half, they allowed Charles to run 39 yards for a score on fourth down and one, and allowed an 18 yard scamper by Charles right after McKelvin’s fumble. Again, the Bills played what has become their “signature” game – they played well enough to win but gave the game away. It’s that maddening habit that keeps them from getting any respect from the national media, why they aren’t considered real contenders and why, against the New York Jets in their last game, they became the first team with a winning record in NFL history to be an underdog against a team with one win. Most of the pro football experts know what to expect from this team – that they’ll collapse at critical times during games and at some point every season, and the Bills feed that lack of respect by continually delivering those collapses.
Other than letting a sure win get away, did the Bills accomplish anything positive on Sunday? Absolutely they did. After a slow start, their running game started to click, with Brown and Anthony Dixon grinding out good chunks of yardage. The offensive line had a decent game, blocking well enough for the backs to total 111 yards and allowing only a single sack on Orton. McKelvin, before his disastrous fumble, set up the offense in good field position with some nice punt returns. The defense, other than the pair of breakdowns involving Charles, had another good day, sacking Smith six times, with three coming from Marcell Dareus, who is now establishing himself as a solid Pro Bowl-caliber player.