ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With every Ravens turnover, every forced field goal as an alternative of a touchdown and each failed two-point conversion that kept opponents just out of reach, the Bills moved closer and closer to what they wanted that I’ll come back to for years to return.
The Bills have finally returned to the AFC Championship Game. Their 27-25 victory over the Ravens exorcised several demons each this season and in previous seasons.
For the last three years, it's been like a record stuck in a loop, repeating the identical a part of the song, unnerving anyone who listens. In the divisional round, a highly talented and promising Bills team ultimately gave strategy to the Final Four to a different AFC superpower. First it was the Chiefs. Then it was the Bengals. Then the Chiefs again. But this yr…this yr was different.
“You learn from all the scars,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “You never want that feeling again.”
“I think there’s something intangible about this team that feels different,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “It’s kind of hard to put your finger on it.”
Knox isn’t alone. It's a sense shared throughout the locker room and permeates the complete fan base. Some think it's as much as the players. Others may point to the event of head coach Sean McDermott. However, this unquantifiable feeling about how different the 2024-2025 bills are literally produced a special final result than previously.
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Since all of the talk was in regards to the Ravens and the way the Bills would must adapt to them, they forced the Ravens to adapt. The Bills held Derrick Henry under the century mark after allowing him to post nearly 200 rushing yards in Week 4. They took the fight to the Ravens' defensive position, who received rave reviews for his or her run defense, and for good reason. The Bills' running backs averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 26 attempts. They forced Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson into two game-changing turnovers.
And at the top of the night, the Bills stood there because the snow fell and the brilliant red, white and royal blue lights of the scoreboard made an enormous banner shine even brighter.
“Next stop: AFC Championship.”
And the subsequent stop is Kansas City – because in fact it’s.
The Chiefs team that taught the Bills a cruel lesson 4 years ago about what matters within the AFC Championship Game, that punished them for in-game errors and poor decisions en path to a catastrophic loss – well, there they’re again – the AFC goalies of the Super Bowl.
Only 13 players from the AFC Championship Game Bills team are still on the roster. Allen, Dawkins and Knox were there, together with Micah Hyde, Matt Milano, Taron Johnson, Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa, Cam Lewis, Reggie Gilliam, Quinton Jefferson, Tyler Bass and Reid Ferguson.
The original 13 are fully aware of the poetry of the upcoming showdown.
“Yes, 100 percent,” Lewis said. “I feel like we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I watched the (Chiefs-Texans) game with my girlfriend the other night,” Epenesa began. “She said, 'What if the Texans win?' I thought to myself, “Yeah, you recognize, on paper they're the weaker team, whatever, but how much nicer it might be to have the ability to beat the team that beat us just a few times previously and so forth.” ” The?' So I’m definitely on this side now that we’ve got the chance to do something and I’m looking forward to it.”
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Lots has modified for the Bills between the primary AFC championship game and now.
At this point, the Bills were simply rookies. This was all latest for them, having only reached the wildcard around the yr before. They didn't know what they didn't find out about deep playoff runs. The expectation was that they might be back – and shortly. It was only a matter of time.
“Soon” wasn’t quite what everyone expected. The Bills have learned difficult lessons yr after yr, most of which were imposed on them by the franchise they’ll face next weekend.
Come Sunday, the Bills may have played Kansas City more times than any of their division rivals within the last five years. They've been there yearly for the reason that first AFC title game, and Sunday marked their sixth soirée at Arrowhead. It might be the eighth meeting between these two AFC giants within the last five years, 4 of which have are available the postseason.
But you don't must be reminded of how the last three turned out. Most of the team's fans have borne the burden like an elephant sitting on their collective chest.
AFC Championship Game in 2021 – a one-sided defeat. AFC Divisional Round in 2022 – a tricky loss because the victory was so close you may taste it. AFC divisional round in 2024 – one other loss so close that many wondered if the Bills would even return after an offseason roster refresh.
It all led to this yr – a return to the AFC Championship Game in a yr where nobody would have thought it was possible before the season. On Sunday, the Bills will face the Chiefs, an in-form Super Bowl contender who has been toughened by one agonizing playoff exit after one other.
“For the guys who were there [in 2021]“I think it will definitely be a little extra stone on the shoulder,” Knox began. “In some ways it can help. You can get a little carried away with it, but if you do it too intensely or for too long, I think it becomes distracting at some point. But if you just let it lie beneath the surface, if it helps you bring a little more motivation, a little more work into your week, then that's great. But we won’t dwell on it too much.”
That's considered one of many things that has modified about this Bills team.
Gone is the crafty Allen, who, for all his brilliance, had a penchant for game-changing turnovers. Gone are the one-dimensional, pass-happy Bills, who only let the ball run well through the air after loads of success. Gone is the weak offensive line of the past that led to uneven results. And gone is a head coach who typically opted for conservative in-game decisions.
In their place is a franchise quarterback who’s playing the most effective football of his life, a running game that may take all of the pressure off him at any point in the sport, an offensive line that’s considered one of the team's best strengths, and a coach with complete confidence in his players and the maths, not afraid of fourth defeats.
But against them might be a Chiefs team that has turned around several times during its incredible run of success while maintaining its class within the NFL. And definitely a team seeking to atone for its only lack of the 2024 regular season against the team that spoiled its perfect season.
The Bills and Chiefs are perfectly intertwined, each of their personal connections and their playoff history. But as at all times, neither can survive while the opposite survives.
“History has a way of repeating itself,” Dawkins said. “But sometimes it has a different result. We’ll see how it goes.”
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