One of the biggest plays of the AFC Championship game also ended up being one of the most controversial plays of the game, and it happened early in the fourth quarter of Kansas City’s 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills.
With 13:01 left to play, the Bills were facing a fourth-and-1 from Kansas City’s 41-yard line. Bills head coach Sean McDermott decided to keep his offense on the field with the hopes that Josh Allen could pick up the first down by going straight up the middle.
On the play, Allen took the snap and then chaos ensued.
Allen needed to get to the 40-yard line, and at first glance, it looked like he made it, but two different officials couldn’t agree on where to spot the ball, and in the end, they ruled that Allen came up about two inches short.
The play was even officially reviewed, and after taking another look at it, the officiating crew decided that the ruling on the field would stand with Allen coming up just short.
After the game, McDermott was asked if he thought Allen had gotten the first down and he was very clear with his answer.
“I thought he had it,” McDermott told the media. “Just short of the line was actually the first down, what it looked like to me when it was sitting next to me with the marker, just inside that white stripe was the first down and it looked like he got to it. That’s all I can say.”
CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore, a former NFL referee, agreed with McDermott’s take. During the broadcast, Steratore was asked about the fourth-down play.
“I felt like he gained it by about a third of the football,” Steratore said of Allen.
The replay official didn’t find enough evidence to overturn the call and because of that, the Chiefs took over on downs. Five plays after the fourth-down stop, Patrick Mahomes scored on a 10-yard run that put the Chiefs up, 29-22, so the controversial stop definitely ended up being one of the most pivotal plays in the game.
As for Allen, he wasn’t asked specifically if he thought he got the first down, but he was asked why the Chiefs were so successful at stopping him in short-yardage situations on Sunday.
“They got big guys in there,” Allen told the media. “They played it well.”
After only getting stopped once ALL SEASON on third- or fourth-and-1, Allen got stopped three times against the Chiefs. Allen is now 0-4 in his career against the Chiefs in the playoffs.
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