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Buffalo Bills 20, Kansas City Chiefs 17: Final score, highlights after Travis Kelce lateral TD called back

sal maiorana and ryan miller, rochester democrat and chronicle
·18 min read

KANSAS CITY - By now, it’s safe to say that the Buffalo Bills have grown pretty comfortable playing at Arrowhead Stadium.

After all, Sunday afternoon will be their fifth game at the home of the nemesis Kansas City Chiefs since January 2021 and while their two appearances in the postseason went poorly, they have won in back-to-back games here in the regular season, doing so in 2021 and 2022.

The only visiting team since 2016 that has won in consecutive years at Arrowhead are Kansas City’s AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, who like the Bills overcame what is widely considered to be the toughest environment to play in the NFL.

If the Bills don’t stretch their streak to three games, their tremendously underachieving season will reach critical mass because they will fall below .500 and their chances of earning an AFC playoff berth will dwindle precipitously.

This story will be updated throughout the day.

Final score: Buffalo Bills 20, Kansas City Chiefs 17

The Bills won in the most Bills way possible to keep their playoff hopes alive. Josh Allen turned into Superman so somehow get a completion off as he was sailing out of bounds which set up the game winning field goal, and Travis Kelce's improvised lateral touchdown to Kadarius Toney was nullified when Toney was flagged for being offsides. Patrick Mahomes threw three straight incompletions after that to end the game.

Josh Allen completed 23 of 42 passes for 233 yards with a touchdown and interception and he added a rushing touchdown. James Cook's five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown all came in the first half. Mahomes finished 25 of 43 for 271 yards with a touchdown and interception. Travis Kelce had six receptions for 83 yards.

Buffalo improves to 7-6 in a crowded AFC. Kansas City is 8-5 after two straight losses.

Penalty brings back incredible Travis Kelce lateral touchdown to Kadarius Toney

The Bills almost lost the lead on an unbelievable lateral touchdown but the play was called back. Patrick Mahomes completed a deep pass to Travis Kelce who turned and threw the ball backward to a wide open Kadarius Toney. Toney ran untouched 24 yards into the end zone for a touchdown but it was nullified. Toney was offside on the play.

Bills 20, Chiefs 17: Tyler Bass field goal gives Buffalo lead after two-minute warning

Deonte Harty made a huge play with a 25-yard catch on a flat-footed rope from Josh Allen on third-and-6 with less than six minutes left. Three plays later, Allen's number was called and he ran for 5 yards and a first down on third-and-2. Allen was sacked for a 4-yard loss on the ensuing third down that would've put the ball at the Chiefs' 31 but cornerback Jaylen Watson was called for illegal contact to give the Bills a first down at the Chiefs' 22 with 2:12 left. Allen threw back-to-back incompletions to Stefon Diggs and Allen escaped pressure and flipped a 1-yard pass to Dalton Kincaid before the two-minute warning. Tyler Bass made a 39-yard field goal with 1:54 remaining to give the Bills the lead.

Chiefs go three-and-out - 6:57 4th quarter

Kansas City had the ball for less than a minute. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 3 yards and Patrick Mahomes threw two straight incompletions. Tommy Townsend punted 43 yards and Deonte Harty returned it 8 yards to the Bills' 31.

Bills punt after wild possession - 7:52 4th quarter

That possession was crazy. The Bills began from their 25-yard line and after Josh Allen tightrope completion to Latavius Murray and a short pass to Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo was at midfield. Then offensive tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown were called for holding penalties, Josh Allen was sacked for 11 yards and Buffalo faced fourth-and-38 from their 19-yard line. Sam Martin punted 50 yards to the Chiefs' 31.

Josh Allen makes the most Josh Allen play for first down

Josh Allen went school-yard football. Allen escaped pressure and somehow flipped the ball into the field of play as he was being pushed out of bounds on the left sideline. Running back Latavius Murray made a catch before the ball popped loose. The ball bounced around with players from both players nearly possessing it before it popped out of bounds. Kansas City challenged the play and it was upheld.

Bills 17, Chiefs 17: Harrison Butker ties game with 27-yard field goal

Von Miller finally made a play. On third-and-8 from the Bills' 10, Miller hit Patrick Mahomes to force an incompletion. Harrison Butker made a 27-yard field goal.

Bills go three-and-out - 14:46 4th quarter

Buffalo didn't turn the Kansas City fumble into points. Josh Allen threw two incompletions and was sacked on third down for an 8-yard loss. Sam Martin's 40-yard punt was returned 25 yards by Richie James to the Chiefs' 41.

Bills recover Rashee Rice fumble - :33 3rd quarter

The Bills defense came up with a huge turnover late in the third quarter. Rashee Rice made a short catch and the ball was ripped away by cornerback Christian Benford. Cornerback Taron Johnson recovered at the Chiefs' 48.

Bills go three-and-out - 1:47 3rd quarter

Buffalo didn't respond to the Kansas City touchdown. Ty Johnson made a catch for 3 yards, James Cook ran for 4 yards and Josh Allen's third-down pass for Stefon Diggs was incomplete. Sam Martin punted 61 yards but Richie James returned it 20 yards to the Bills' 26.

Bills 17, Chiefs 14: Patrick Mahomes throws touchdown to Rashee Rice

The Chiefs have scored touchdowns in two straight possessions spanning the second and third quarters. Kansas City went drove 75 yards in nine plays, including three that went for at least 11 yards. Patrick Mahomes completed to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for 15 yards to start the drive and then hit Travis Kelce for 11 yards. Later in the drive, Kelce made a 22-yard catch to reach the Bills' 11. Mahomes capped it with a 4-yard touchdown to Rashee Rice in the back of the end zone.

Bills 17, Chiefs 7: Tyler Bass makes 31-yard field goal

Buffalo started with two straight first down plays. Josh Allen completed over the middle to Dawson Knox for 12 yards and James Cook followed with an 11-yard run. Two plays later, Cook scampered for 15 yards to the Chiefs' 34. Khalil Shakir's 12-yard catch put the Bills in the red zone. Tight end Dawson Knox was flagged for holding and Stefon Diggs got 8 yards back on a reception. Ty Johnson lost a yard on a catch and defensive tackle Chris Jones was called for a neutral zone infraction. On third-and-8, Allen was pressured and gained a yard. Tyler Bass made a 31-yard field goal.

Halftime score: Buffalo Bills 14, Kansas City Chiefs 7

Buffalo was in control for most of the first half until Josh Allen's interception led to Kansas City's first points. Allen has completed 14 of 25 passes for 149 yards with a touchdown and interception. James Cook leads the Bills with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes is 13 of 21 for 130 yards and an interception.

Bills' Hail Mary falls incomplete to end half

Buffalo got the ball with 1:19 left after a touchback. Buffalo converted two third downs to reach the Chiefs' 44. Josh Allen spiked the ball with five seconds left. He threw incomplete for Khalil Shakir on second down and heaved a Hail Mary that was knocked down to end the quarter.

Bills 14, Chiefs 7: Jerick McKinnon rushing touchdown gets Kansas City on board

The Bills were in complete control of the game as the first half was winding down, leading 14-0 and in possession of the ball. But then Josh Allen threw yet another inexcusable interception and naturally, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs capitalized.

Kansas City had done nothing on offense in four possessions, but then Allen, under pressure on a third-and-4, escaped to the right and tried to throw across his body to Trent Sherfield and Chamarri Conner picked him off at the Chiefs 48.

Mahomes quickly took advantage of the short field and marched the Chiefs 52 yards, the drive capped by a seven-yard TD run on third-and-4 by Jerick McKinnon and so now, the Bills lead is cut to 14-7.

Bills safety Micah Hyde injured

Buffalo safety Micah Hyde was injured twice in a span of three plays. Hyde was in on a tackle with less than two minutes left in the second quarter and was tended to by Bills trainers. Buffalo took a timeout to allow Hyde to stay in the game. Three plays later, Hyde went to the ground before slowly walking of the field with trainers.

Josh Allen intercepted by Chamarri Conner - 3:35 2nd quarter

Josh Allen was picked off. Allen tried to force a third-and-4 pass over the middle for Trent Sherfield but rookie safety Chamarri Conner, who entered the game after an injury to Justin Reid, stepped in front for the interception. Conner returned the interception 4 yards to the Chiefs' 48.

Chiefs choose to punt over long field goal attempt - 8:26 2nd quarter

Kansas City's offense looked like it was getting into gear it was held scoreless again. Patrick Mahomes bought time and found Travis Kelce for 23 yards on third-and-18. Mahomes followed with an 18-yard completion to Justin Watson to the Bills' 37-yard line. That's where the drive stalled. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was dropped for a 2-yard loss and Mahomes threw two straight incompletions. Tommy Townsend punted 32 yards to the Bills' 7.

Bills 14, Chiefs 0: Josh Allen charges in with 6-yard touchdown run

You couldn’t have asked for a much better start for the Bills. The Chiefs have done nothing three possessions, and the Bills have now scored on their last two as they opened a 14-0 early in the second quarter.

This time, Josh Allen scored on a six-yard run, assisted by several players pushing him across the goal line ala the Eagles and their tush push. That play capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive and included a fourth-and-1 conversion when Allen avoided a sack and found Dalton Kincaid for the first down.

And James Cook, who scored the first touchdown, contributed heavily to this most recent scoring drive with a 12-yard run and a 27-yard pass reception.

One thing that has been evident since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator: He wants to get Cook involved in the passing game and so far, the Chiefs have had no answers for that.

Kansas City goes three-and-out - 2:19 1st quarter

The Chiefs offense is struggling. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 3 yards, Patrick Mahomes threw incomplete and after a false start, Mahomes was pressured and dumped a 4-yard pass to Jerick McKinnon for 4 yards on third-and-12. Tommy Townsend punted 46 yards to the Bills' 27.

Bills 7, Chiefs 0: Josh Allen throws 25-yard touchdown to James Cook

The Bills started their first offensive possession near midfield after an A.J. Epenesa interception but went nowhere and punted. However, starting at almost the same spot on their next possession, they drove 53 yards in six plays with Josh Allen hitting James Cook for a 25-yard touchdown.

Cook ran a seam route and somehow found himself all alone in the Kansas City secondary and sprinted to the end zone, finishing with a flourish by performing a body flip when he crossed the goal line.

We’ll assume he didn’t get hurt doing so. Anyway, the Bills have a 7-0 lead.

Bills sack Patrick Mahomes to force punt - 7:07 4th quarter

Patrick Mahomes was sacked by defensive tackle Ed Oliver and defensive end Greg Rousseau on third-and-7. Tommy Townsend punted 39 yards and Deonte Harty returned it 9 yards for Buffalo's second straight starting drive at the Bills' 47.

Bills can't capitalize off turnover

Buffalo didn't come away with any points after the interception. Josh Allen completed to James Cook for a 12-yard catch and run to start the possession. After that, Cook ran for 1 yard and Allen threw two incompletions. Sam Martin punted 32 yards and Richie James returned it 5 yards to the Chiefs' 12.

Patrick Mahomes throws interception to A.J. Epenesa on first drive of game

Buffalo won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Kansas City recorded three first downs and had second-and-5 from the Bills' 30. Patrick Mahomes pass was tipped and intercepted by defensive end A.J. Epenesa, who returned it 7 yards to the Bills' 47.

Taylor Swift in attendance for Chiefs-Bills game

Taylor Swift arrived at the stadium with boyfriend Travis Kelce and will be in attendance for the game. Swift flew from New Jersey to Kansas City on Sunday on her private jet. Read the full story here.

Taylor Swift at the Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs game on Dec. 10, 2023.
Taylor Swift at the Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs game on Dec. 10, 2023.

Bills vs. Chiefs inactives: Dawson Knox, Von Miller are active for Buffalo

As expected, Knox will play against the Chiefs, and now we wait to see how the Bills will utilize him. Also, as Sean McDermott said early in the week, Von Miller’s game status would be determined not by off the field matters, but who he feels gives the Bills the best chance to win. Somehow, he still believes dressing Miller accomplishes that goal.

Miller has been a ghost in the eight games he has played and it would have been very easy for the Bills to make him inactive this week, especially in light of the felony charges that were filed against him last week. Instead, Miller will play.

Before he got hurt, Knox was not having a productive pass catching season as he had only 15 catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. Since he’s been out, rookie Dalton Kincaid has emerged as Josh Allen’s second-most targeted player behind Stefon Diggs and Kincaid now has 56 catches for 474 yards and two TDs.

There were no surprises on the Bills’ inactive list. Offensive linemen Alec Anderson and Germain Ifedi, defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, defensive tackle Poona Ford and safety Damar Hamlin.

Here are the Chiefs' inactive: RB Isiah Pacheco, LB Drue Tranquill, CB Nic Jones, DE BJ Thompson, T Donovan Smith, DT Neil Farrell, DE Malik Herring.

Dawson Knox may be in the lineup

We’ll find out for sure when the Bills announce their inactives just before 3 p.m.., but Knox was activated from the injured reserve list Saturday and it seems unlikely the Bills would do that - and cut linebacker A.J. Klein to open a spot on the 53-man roster - if he wasn’t going to play.

Knox has not played since the Oct. 22 game in New England. He underwent surgery days later and has missed the last five games. In his absence, the Bills leaned into a three-wide receiver offensive look with Khalil Shakir as the third wideout, and Dalton Kincaid as the lone tight end.

They began the season, of course, running a heavy dose of two-tight end, two-receiver formations with Knox and Kincaid both on the field approximately 50% of the time.

It will be interesting to see what new offensive coordinator does if Knox is indeed active. He is know to favor three-wide formations and since he took over for Ken Dorsey, the Bills have used that set primarily and have scored 66 points in the last two games.

What time is the Bills vs. Chiefs game?

  • Date: Sunday, Dec. 10

  • Time: 4:25 p.m.

  • Place: Arrowhead Stadium

Who's announcing the Bills vs. Chiefs game?

  • Play-by-play: Jim Nantz

  • Analyst: Tony Romo

  • Sideline reporter: Tracy Wolfson

∎ Cable/Network TV: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC (Channel 8, Rochester), WIVB (Buffalo area), WTVH (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WENY (Elmira area), WRGB (Albany area), and WBNG (Binghamton area).

How to watch, stream, listen to Bills vs. Chiefs

  • Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.

  • TV streaming: You can also stream games if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, FuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Paramount+.

  • Radio: You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on Sirius channel 160 and XM channel 383 (Bills feed) and Sirius channel 82 and XM channel 228 (Chiefs feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:

  • Radio: You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on Sirius channel 139 and XM channel 383 (Bills feed) and Sirius channel 82 and XM channel 228 (Eagles feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:

    • Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)

    • Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)

    • Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)

    • Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)

    • Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)

    • Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)

    • Newark (WACK 1420 AM)

    • Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)

    • Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)

    • Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)

    • Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)

What are the odds for the Bills vs. Chiefs game?

The betting line is Chiefs -1.5. The over-under is 48.5 points. The money line is Chiefs -120, Bills +100.

Bills vs Chiefs prediction

Sal Maiorana: Bills 27, Chiefs 26

Buffalo is desperate, Kansas City is not. Granted, the Chiefs have not locked up the AFC West and they’re still in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff bracket, but their level of needing to win this game is far less than Buffalo’s and I think that means something.

Although their visits to Arrowhead in the postseason have gone poorly, the Bills have won two years in a row in the regular season. The only other team that has won in back-to-back visits to Kansas City since the start of 2016 are the Chargers (2020-21), and let’s be honest, it should be three straight wins for Buffalo had it played the final 13 seconds of the 2021 playoff game properly.

All that is to say the Bills have not wilted the way many teams do in one of the toughest environments in the NFL to play and I think they will rise up with a strong effort and strengthen their playoff hopes with a critical victory.

Buffalo Bills 2023 schedule

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills 20, Chiefs 17: Final score, highlights after Travis Kelce lateral TD called back