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Wide. Right. They are “the two most dreaded words in Buffalo,” as Jim Nantz put it Sunday night. And they returned with a vengeance to close the Bills’ divisional round matchup with the Chiefs. As if falling to Patrick Mahomes and Co. yet again weren’t painful enough, Buffalo relived its infamous history in the closing minutes of Sunday’s contest, a 27-24 defeat punctuated by a wayward field goal.
Down three and driving into Chiefs territory, the Bills deployed Tyler Bass for a 44-yard game-tying try with 1:47 in the fourth quarter, only for Bass to send the ensuing kick right of the goalposts. After claiming possession, the Chiefs proceeded to move the chains with two runs, quickly running out the clock to secure their sixth straight trip to the AFC championship.
Bass isn’t the only Bills player at fault for the defeat; star quarterback Josh Allen misfired on some late throws, No. 1 wide receiver Stefon Diggs dropped a deep ball in crunch time, and Sean McDermott’s defense couldn’t contain Mahomes or Isiah Pacheco when it mattered most. But a last-minute field goal whiff hits differently in Buffalo, not only because Bass was just a week removed from two other kicking gaffes — a blocked field goal and shanked 27-yard try against the Steelers — but because of the deeper history.
Thirty-three years before Bass’ miss, which the kicker insists wasn’t the result of a poor snap or hold, Scott Norwood etched his name in Bills and NFL history for a similar slip-up. It was Jan. 27, 1991, with Buffalo up against the Giants in Super Bowl XXV, trailing 20-19 with eight seconds left. Norwood, a former All-Pro, set up for a 47-yard game-winning field goal, only to boot it — you guessed it — wide right.
Norwood’s miss came on a bigger stage, but like this year’s blunder, it also set the stage for — or occurred during — a whole era of devastating Bills scenarios. The current Buffalo team, for…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/wide-right-haunts-bills-again-33-years-later-last-minute-field-goal-miss-dooms-buffalo-vs-chiefs/
Author : Cody Benjamin
Publish date : 2024-01-22 04:09:20
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