The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs produced another instant classic in their latest playoff meeting, this time in Buffalo where the two teams traded blows all night leading to a tense fourth quarter. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes were magnificent, and it felt like the kind of game where a mistake (or big play) made by someone other than the two QBs might decide it all.
In the early going of the fourth quarter we got one such mistake from each team to negate each other. The first came from the Bills, which ran a fake punt from inside their own 30 while down 27-24 after the Chiefs sent out just 10 men for the punt return. Damar Hamlin took a direct snap and tried to run to the left but was stuffed, giving Kansas City the ball in scoring territory immediately.
A bold call going with a fake punt inside your own 30
pic.twitter.com/r963pVR8aV
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 22, 2024
Isiah Pacheco would immediately break off a big run to put the Chiefs into a goal-to-go situation and it seemed like the Chiefs would take control with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Instead, Kansas City ran a jet sweep to Mecole Hardman, who tried to roll and stretch out for the goal line as he got brought down and had the ball punched out, fumbling through the end zone for a touchback giving the Bills new life.
TOUCHBACK???
WHAT DO YOU SEE? pic.twitter.com/iDrRMgG0md
— NFL on CBS
(@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2024
Buffalo would go three-and-out from there and actually punted the ball back to Kansas City this time, meaning in the end that insane minute of football meant nothing to the outcome but gave fans of both teams reason to want to break their TVs.
Source: https://uproxx.com/sports/mecole-hardman-fumble-chiefs-touchback-bills-fake-punt-video-highlights/