Bills doomed by missed field goal in final minutes, drop divisional playoff game against Chiefs, 27-24 (game recap)

Orchard Park, N.Y. — Two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks face off today as the Buffalo Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional round AFC playoff game at Highmark Stadium.

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. EST and will be televised nationwide on CBS.

The game is the first playoff road game for KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and his first game at a full Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen, meanwhile, will aim to continue a six-game winning streak for the Bills.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was two seasons ago on Jan. 23, 2022. The Chiefs won 42-36 in an instant-classic shootout that saw 24 points scored after the 2-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

The Bills and Chiefs met once this season at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bills won that game 20-17.

Syracuse.com and NYUP.com will provide live updates here from the matchup in Orchard Park. Refresh this page often for an up-to-date recap of the game’s major events.

4th Quarter (Chiefs 27, Bills 24)

0:23 Patrick Mahomes takes a knee in victory formation, winning the first road playoff game of his career and his third playoff game against the Bills, 27-24.

1:47 Two incompletions after the break for the 2-minute warning forced the Bills to settle for a field goal attempt — but Tyler Bass missed wide right from 44 yards out.

The Chiefs have the ball and a 3-point lead.

2:00 The Bills are second-and-9 at the Chiefs’ 26 yard line with 2 minutes remaining in the game.

Spencer Brown kept the Bills’ drive alive with a fumble recovery after Josh Allen had the ball knocked loose by Chris Jones on a third-down scramble. Khalil Shakir then converted on fourth-and-3.

Josh Allen lofted one deep right to Stefon Diggs to start the drive, but Diggs dropped it. It’s not the first time tonight that’s happened.

Bills tight end Dawson Knox is being evaluated for a head injury.

9:26 Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau stopped Patrick Mahomes on a scramble to end the drive and force a Chiefs punt.

A defensive pass interference call against Bills linebacker Dorian Williams kept the Chiefs’ from going three-and-out on the drive.

Khalil Shakir (shoulder) returned from the locker room.

10:52 The Bills go three-and-out following the touchback. Sam Martin’s punt goes just 39 yards, and the Chiefs start their drive at their own 43.

Josh Allen targeted Trent Sherfield deep on third down, but the pass went incomplete.

Khalil Shakir has a shoulder injury and his return is questionable.

12:13 The Bills won a challenge that the Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman was down by contact before fumbling the ball out of the end zone, resulting in a touchback and the Bills getting the ball back at their 20.

Isiah Pacheco had rushed for 29 yards on the first snap of the Chiefs’ drive to put them at the goal line.

12:53 Bills go four-and-out after a fake punt conversion attempt by Damar Hamlin is stopped shy of the first down marker. Only 10 men were on the field for the Chiefs on the play. Chiefs get the ball at the Bills’ 32.

14:20 TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS. Isiah Pacheco scores on a 4-yard carry, and the Chiefs lead again, 27-24.

Bills charged with encroachment on the point after attempt. The five-yard penalty will be enforced on the kickoff.

3rd Quarter (Bills 24, Chiefs 20)

00:00 Patrick Mahomes hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling for another big gain on the second-to-last play of the quarter. The 32-yard catch, plus 3 yards gained by Isiah Pacheco the next play, have the Chiefs just shy of the red zone.

3:23 TOUCHDOWN BILLS. After taking a delay of game penalty to make it third-and-13, Josh Allen connected with Khail Shakir for the score. Bills lead 24-20.

The Bills kept it on the ground most of the drive, leaning on Ty Johnson and James Cook, the latter of whom had 31 of the drive’s 75 yards.

Of note: The Bills took their first timeout of the half on second-and-8 on the Chiefs’ 8 yard line with 3:37 on the game clock for the third quarter.

11:48 TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS. A 30-yard connection between Patrick Mahomes and Marquez Valdes-Scantling set the second half off with a bang, and Mahomes nearly took it to the house two plays later with a 24-yard rush. Travis Kelce caught the 3-yard scoring pass to make the score 20-17, Chiefs.

Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay was announced out with a neck injury near the start of the half.

2nd Quarter (Bills 17, Chiefs 13)

0:26 TOUCHDOWN BILLS. A spectacular 5-yard catch by Khalil Shakir on a low pass gave the Bills a first-and-goal and set up a two-yard touchdown rush by Josh Allen to give the Bills back their lead, 17-13, with under 30 seconds to halftime.

Allen also had an 18-yard scramble earlier in the drive and is now over 50 yards rushing on eight carries tonight.

3:33 TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS. Patrick Mahomes connects with a wide open Travis Kelce for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 13-10. The Chiefs moved 65 yards on just five plays in that drive, mostly moving the ball through the air.

Bonus: Here’s how Kelce’s brother and (maybe retired?) Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce celebrated the scoring play.

6:18 The first non-scoring drive of the game. Bills moved the chains once but couldn’t progress them further. Punt is 39 yards. Chiefs return for 15 yards, placing the ball at their own 35 for the start of their next drive.

9:15 FIELD GOAL CHIEFS. After two bad passes on first and third to opposite corners of the end zone, the Chiefs are forced to settle for another field goal after moving the ball 64 yards. Harrison Butker’s kick was from 29 yards. Bills still lead, 10-6.

Dorian Williams replaced Tyrel Dodson at linebacker for the Bills mid-drive after Dodson limped to the medical tent with an apparent ankle injury.

13:37 TOUCHDOWN BILLS. Josh Allen caps an 11-play, 75-yard drive for the Bills with a 5-yard touchdown rush to the left side to make the score 10-3, Bills.

1st Quarter (Bills 3, Chiefs 3)

0:00 First quarter ends with an 8-yard scramble by Josh Allen to move the Bills to the Chiefs’ 17 yard line. It will be second-and-2 to start the second quarter.

The Chiefs are without safety Mike Edwards, who was injured on the first drive of the game and taken to the locker room. He’s being evaluated for a head injury.

4:35 FIELD GOAL CHIEFS. A 26-yard chunk play on a pass from Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice put the Chiefs in Bills territory quickly. But the Bills defense stalled Mahomes and company within a few plays, forcing them to settle for a 47-yard field goal.

8:08 FIELD GOAL BILLS. The Bills started the game off on the wrong foot with a fumble by Stefon Diggs and an illegal batting penalty on Dalton Kincaid the first snap of the game. However some quick thinking by Josh Allen on third down set up fourth-and-1, which the Bills earned with an Allen keeper to keep the drive going.

The drive ended with a 27-yard field goal by Tyler Bass to put the Bills up by 3 points.

15:00 The Chiefs win the toss and defers. The Bills will start on offense.

Pregame

Snow = Shoveled: The Highmark Stadium seats are mostly cleared of snow for Sunday night’s game, even after another storm hit the Buffalo area earlier this week.

Last week, fans had to shovel their seats out upon arrival for the Bills’ bout with the Pittsburgh Steelers — even after hoards of fans helped clear the stadium for $20 an hour.

It’s still cold, though. The temperature at kickoff is supposed to be around 24 degrees but shouldn’t drop more than a few degrees throughout the game.

Special visitors: There’s more than one special visitor at Highmark Stadium today.

While worldwide singer-songwriter sensation Taylor Swift is in attendance cheering on her beau Travis Kelce — along with his brother, Jason, and mother, Donna, plus other family members — another celebrity is also present for the playoff game: Peppa Pig.

The mascot-version of the popular children’s cartoon character is on-hand hanging out with Bills mascot Billy Buffalo. Bills quarterback Josh Allen appeared in a viral Paramount+ commercial with Peppa Pig earlier this month.

Inactives: The Bills are again without several players after they added to their already long injury list in their win over the Steelers. The inactive players are:

Gabe Davis (WR)
Christian Benford (CB)
Terrel Bernard (LB)
Baylon Spector (LB)
Taylor Rapp (S)
Alec Anderson (OL)
Poona Ford (DT)

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