The Buffalo Bills fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs (again) on Sunday, failing to advance past the reigning champions in the AFC title game for the second time in five years. The latest defeat could sting a bit more, however, because of a particular player’s Sunday night stardom at Arrowhead Stadium.
Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the game’s leading receiver with 85 yards, provided the Chiefs with their best big-play pop, also contributing as a chain-mover on the ground. And he made it a point after claiming the AFC crown to remind everyone which team “skipped on me” in the 2024 NFL Draft, alluding to the Bills’ decision in April to trade the No. 28 overall pick to the Chiefs, who proceeded to select the Texas product.
The Bills, of course, didn’t ignore wide receiver — a pressing need last offseason following the trade of Stefon Diggs and exit of free agent Gabe Davis — after dealing the Worthy pick to Kansas City. They selected Keon Coleman just five picks later. And yet, here we are, at the close of 2024, and the Bills are essentially right back where they started: One of their top needs appears to be speed out wide, and a youngster who could’ve satisfied that need just helped eliminate them as a member of the Chiefs.
This isn’t a knock on Coleman, who flashed big-play ability by averaging more than 19 yards per catch as a rookie. Yet Coleman was also quite invisible in the games that mattered most, totaling just three catches for 22 yards in Buffalo’s three playoff matchups. So, too, was in-season trade acquisition Amari Cooper, who cost the Bills a third-round pick, only to finish the playoffs with 41 receiving yards on eight targets.
Chiefs beat Bills by inches but prove they are miles apart as quest for historic three-peat continues
Dennis Dodd
With Josh Allen at quarterback and James Cook in the backfield, Buffalo can contend with just about anyone out wide. The Chiefs, however, aren’t “anyone.” And they also boast the kind of promising young juice that Buffalo figures to pursue at wide receiver (again) this coming offseason. Maybe this time, if an Xavier Worthy is on the board, available for their taking, they won’t pass up the opportunity.
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