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AROUND THE SHIELD — Another inch or a finger, maybe an extra step or different direction, and it would have been an incredible catch — one that could've made Dalton Kincaid the hero of Buffalo's long Super Bowl drought with a late-game rally by quarterback Josh Allen.
But life doesn't always turn out how you planned, and for the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Bills' postseason was thwarted by the Kansas City Chiefs.
While Kincaid may have experienced heartbreak over ecstasy Sunday night, his Buffalo teammates made sure he knew that Sunday's loss didn't fall on the shoulders of the second-year first-round draft pick out of the University of Utah.
"When you're running full speed one way, Josh has 3 yards, and he's just got to throw it up and Dalton had to turn around — it would've been an absolutely incredible play if it happened," said Bills tight end Dawson Knox, the sixth-year veteran who shares meeting rooms with Kincaid, per News 4 Buffalo broadcaster Carl Jones. "But there's not a single person in here that is going to put the blame on him."
Allen did everything he could to beat the Chiefs this time, willing the offense and putting the Bills in a position to answer every dart Mahomes threw their way. The Wyoming product threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, including a TD toss to Curtis Samuel with 3:59 remaining that tied the game at 29-all.
Most will never understand the heartache that these players and coaches feel in losses like the @BuffaloBills had today. Dalton Kincaid is an incredible person and a talent whose career will not be defined by one play and it's awesome to see his teammates have his back! https://t.co/amBN6F9KB6
— Morgan Scalley (@RSNBUtes) January 27, 2025
After Harrison Butker split the uprights from 35 yards out, Allen nearly did it again, too. The dual-threat signal caller scrambled for 13 yards and found Amari Cooper for a short gain on third down after having a pair of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.
That left the Bills with what turned out to be a winner-take-all play coming out of the two-minute warning, a fourth-and-five at the Buffalo 47. The Chiefs knew it, too, or at least defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo did as he brought heavy pressure with a blitz off the edge that drove Allen backwards.
The 6-foot-5 flung the ball downfield to about the only place he can find an opening, which happened to just behind Kincaid at a spot that would've been around the field-goal range of kicker Tyler Bass.
The wobbly prayer hung in the air as Allen hit the turf, Kincaid spun around and turned back up field, and the one-time all-league talent in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League at the University of San Diego lunged for the ball with a pair of defenders near the area before it caromed off his right arm.
"He gave it everything he had," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said without hesitation. "I love Dalton Kincaid; sometimes those work out. He makes more of those than he doesn't, and he'll make the next one."
Kincaid caught two passes for 13 yards, but he'll remember that target as much as any of the 44 catches for 448 yards and two touchdowns he made in his second season. That's the nature of the game, and he didn't hide from it when a handful of reporters found him teary-eyed in front of his locker stall Sunday night.
The Chiefs make the stop on fourth down!
— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2025
📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/s4rXNURB3z
"Josh got the ball off. He was pressured, and it was hanging up there and I just wasn't able to catch it," an emotional Kincaid told Syracuse.com. "Right now it obviously hurts a lot, and it's going to linger for a while, but eventually you've got to move on. And hopefully you grow from this, and I believe that will be the case; but for the time being, it's going to hurt a lot."
The Bills finished with 68 offensive plays, and any number of them could have led to a different result than the one the franchise has experienced more often than anyone in the AFC Championship against a Kansas City team coached by former BYU offensive lineman and graduate assistant Andy Reid who has the Chiefs one win away from a historic three-peat.
That may not make Kincaid feel better, at least not in the moment. But it's the truth, his teammates continued.
"We wouldn't be in this game if it weren't for Dalton," Knox said. "The work he puts in, what he brings to this offense; it's invaluable. I'm going to try to make sure he doesn't tell himself any lies or believe anything that is not true. He expects himself to make that play, and it would've been incredible if he did. But you just can't let him be down in the dumpster there; we truly wouldn't be here if it weren't for Dalton."
