GunnerBill

But it wasn't missing guys in the middle that plays right into the Chiefs strengths. It is about matchups. Their two best offensive players this year - Kelce and Pacheco - operate exactly in the area the Bills were shorn of talent.

Xavier Legette, Wide Receiver, South Carolina But I'd definitely live with this outcome too.

They have made a few, but it isn't necessarily our stock in trade. My concern is less the contested catches..... it is the lack of vertical separation. That is the biggest issue.

If Beane needs Brady to tell him his WR room needs major work then we need a new general manager. Gabe was a great 4th round pick. Shakir is looking like a great 5th round pick. But the true difference makers at WR rarely come from day 3. He needs to spend major assets on drafting receivers.

Yep. The lack of separation downfield has been a big issue. We can get people open on rubs and crossers and the middle of the field stuff but we can't separate vertically. Personnel wise it is the #1 issue on this football team. Over the course of the year some of it has also been on Josh - his accuracy on deep shots has not been good enough. But all three deeper balls last night were thrown right where they needed to be and Sherfield x2 and Diggs couldn't come up with them. I don't think Brady is only running and dinking and dunking because he wants to. I think he is doing it because the second half of the year especially Cook, Kincaid and Shakir have been our three best offensive weapons. And while they are all good young players other than the occasional seam route for Kincaid they are going to be small ball players for the most part. They are not guys who are going to make plays regularly 25 yards down the field.

I feel more sanguine than the last two years. We gave it away two years ago. We never turned up last year. This year we played in a really high quality football game against a really high quality opponent and it came down to one or two plays at the end and we just couldn't execute to make one more play than they did. It sucks. But the sky is not falling. I feel better heading into this offseason than I did heading into the last one. There are numerous young players who have stood up and been counted this year who are going to be part of the Josh Allen era 2.0 core: Bernard, Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Benford. We had our best offensive line arguably of the Allen era and those guys will all be back I would think. Ed Oliver emerged from nearly man to true difference maker. Sure, there are some big questions to answer to - what happens with some of the older guys on good contracts: White, Von Miller, Douglas, Poyer and even Stef. And there are some of the older FAs: Floyd, Hyde, Jones to consider. But overall this team has started on its transition path. Find another player or two in the draft and FA and let's go from there.

I think the reason for our offensive struggles go back to Brandon Beane above anybody else.

I thought Brady called a good game last night. Sure there is always one or two playcalls here and there you want back, newflash, Andy Reid had a couple of those too - like running a gimmick play at the goalline when Pacheco had rumbled his way in mere moments before. I don't think the execution issues on the final drive were on Brady. I mostly liked the calls. What we need is explosiveness outside. That is a desperate need. It was a need last offseason when Gabe was healthy and Stef was coming off a huge year. It is an even bigger need with Gabe hurt and out of contract and Stef nicked up and underperforming down the stretch.

Except for the two AFCCGs they lost there.....

I like Kincaid a lot. But I think an outside guy with speed is more valuable. Hopefully we find one in April and have both as cornerstones of the 2nd era Allen offense with Khalil Shakir.

And Kansas City just attacked the middle of the defense all day. Kelce and outside zone to get the linebackers (including Mr Miami retirement home) running laterally. Other than that they had one play outside to MVS (he made a good play when well covered) and a deep shot on McDermott's 6 man pressure (which I do put on a damn stupid play call). Otherwise everything was aimed at exploiting the linebackers. For all the noise about Rice they barely used him. They din't want to throw outside. They just wanted to keep going at the backups.

Shakir didn't quite get through the coverage quick enough to uncover either. Which gave Jones an extra split second to get there. Didn't quite hold the block long enough. Didn't quite uncover quickly enough. Didn't quite make the throw. We didn't quite execute. The play was there to make. Collectively as an offense they didn't make it. I thought Josh rushed his decision making a bit on the 3rd down. Kurt Warner's point the other week that sometimes he just speeds his own process up to his detriment. If they had even got that to say 4th and 5 I think they'd have gone for it. Had to try and make the kick on 4th and 9. And then the kicker missed a very makeable kick. There was lots that went right and lots that went wrong in the preceeding 58 minutes. But right the game ultimately was right there for us and we couldn't quite make that one play. It wasn't an individual failure and this is not a game where there is one obvious person to blame. Ultimately it was two good teams who played a high quality game and in the end the Chiefs made one more play than we did. The last 4 games between us have come down to 13 second, Taron's interception, Toney's foot and then that today. The games always come down to the end. It becomes who can just make that one extra play. Unfortunately it was not us.

We scored 2 plays after the Cook drop. It had no impact on the outcome. Was a bad drop and those concentration drops in the redzone by him are concerning but it made no impact on the outcome of the game. But the receiver drops did matter. Because we struggled to get the ball deep all night. Got no separation vertically even on play action and the three times Josh put a ball where it needed to be deep Sherfield (twice) and Diggs (once) couldn't come up with it. I think you are right on kicker and punter though. At linebacker we just need our guys back healthy.

I hope so and I still believe so. It will need a bit better luck and a few more pieces around him.

Yea. We gave the game away two years ago and we never turned up last year at all. Tonight we competed like hell in a heavyweight contest and we had the plays right there to win at the end and we couldn't make them.

We can't get receivers deep. Even on play action. No separation downfield.

The Cook drop (while bad) was not crucial. We scored two plays later and ran the clock so KC had less time to respond. While a bad drop it actually helped.

No it didn't.

Poyer will be back I think for one more year. And when a play needed making tonight he made it. I think that is the end of Micah.

No.

Yep, certainly deep. We had some crossers and underneath stuff where we got guys open but we got no spearation down the field. Even the three opportunities we had downfield were all contested balls and unlike times earlier in the year they were not underthrows.

I thought he was perfect until the last drive. Which I thought was his worst drive of the night even before the last two throws. Did the mental pressure get to him? Not sure. But he felt rushed all drive and it wasn't 'cos of tons of pocket pressure. However, he was not the reason we lost. But what I take away from this game more than anything (other than Bass is done) is that they need more explosive players on the outside. They struggled to get chunk plays all night and that wasn't on Josh. Sherfield dropped two and while not easy Diggs should do better on the one that goes through his arms too. Shakir had a nice game, Kincaid had a nice game, and but for the drop in the redzone (which didn't end up hurting) so did Cook. But it's okay dinking, dunking and running with tight ends, slot receivers and backs.... until at the end there where you need a play and KC is gonna defend the endzone. That is where you need more explosive outside guys to win a 1 on 1. They have to get aggressive in chasing that. Man having Jordan Addison on our team woulda made that drive look different.

Unbelievable. Had them at home. Had the ball on offense with a chance to win. Had a 44 yarder to tie the game. Just cannot lose like that.

That is that I think guys.

Wide Right. Missed by a mile.