Super Bowl favorite is reeling
One shot prevents the worst NFL game of all time
By David Needy
December 11, 2023, 7:38 a.m
There is a huge crisis at the Kansas City Chiefs: the Super Bowl favorite stumbles again against the Buffalo Bills, and in the end an embarrassing mistake prevents them from winning. The 49ers dominate, Los Angeles is crying for a finger. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, two minutes prevent a historically bad game.
Late penalty robs Chiefs of victory
What’s wrong with the NFL champion? Kansas City goes into the heavyweight duel against Buffalo with three defeats in its last five games. First place in the conference was a thing of the past after the defeat at the Packers last Sunday. But no one had expected the Bills’ fluctuating performance before the season. Buffalo has its back against the wall, has lost three of its last four games and has to worry about the playoffs. A delicate win against the Chiefs comes at just the right time: With 20:17, the Bills survive dramatically against the increasingly stumbling champions.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is also responsible for the Chiefs’ weak form. The superstar threw his eleventh interception of the season right at the start at Arrowhead Stadium. Numbers that are completely unknown to the magician. Josh Allen, who has always excelled against the Chiefs but lost three of the previous five meetings, dominated the first half with a touchdown pass and a run touchdown. But two minutes before halftime, the Bills quarterback made a serious mistake: He threw an interception in his ninth game in a row, Mahomes took over – and shortly afterwards the Chiefs ran for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, the Bills only manage a field goal and the Chiefs sneak up, especially because a rookie is getting stronger. Rashee Rice goes 14-17 with his sixth receiving touchdown of the season. The young wide receiver has continued to develop in recent weeks, which could play an important role for Kansas City and its sputtering offense in the playoffs.
A few minutes later it seemed as if the Chiefs were turning the game around, but then Rice, of all people, had a caught ball knocked out of his hand on the halfway line. However, the Bills cannot convert this into points at the beginning of the last period. Instead, the Chiefs equalize with a field goal. 120 seconds before the end of the game, the Bills can also score with a kick and magician Mahomes gets the ball again: the touchdown he initiated from Kadarius Toney, which tight end Travis Kelce brilliantly served with a back pass after a caught ball, was canceled due to a penalty . Embarrassing: Toney, of all people, was a few centimeters too far forward at the snap and therefore in the penalty zone. And so the struggling champions (now with 8-5 wins) lose again, the Bills continue to fight for the knockout round.
A historically bad NFL game
There are still two minutes left before history will be written in Las Vegas. That’s because the Minnesota Vikings and the Raiders don’t get anything done. An NFL game has never gone into overtime 0-0. There was already a pointless draw in 1943, but back then it was over. But it shouldn’t be in the history books, because 120 seconds before the final whistle the Vikings kick their way to a dismal 3-0 victory. If Minnesota (now 7-6) manages to get into the playoffs at the end of the regular season, no one will ask about this game anymore.
The road there will still be rocky, as Justin Jefferson, playing in his first game since Week 5, has to go straight back to the locker room early in the game. The Vikings’ star pass receiver plucks a ball, is hit hard and is out for the rest of the game with a chest injury. Very bitter.
A little history is then written because the duel between the Jets and the Texans went into halftime 0-0. The last time there were two such measly first 30 minutes on an NFL game day was in October 1988.
McCaffrey runs twice as far as Seahawks
What a start! Running back sensation Christian McCaffrey races 72 yards to just before the end zone on the very first play of the game. By the second, the 49ers were already leading 7-0. A statement right at the beginning that proves: No other team is currently in as good a mood as San Francisco. Brock Purdy and Co. have won four games in a row – and the fifth follows with a 28:16 win against the Seattle Seahawks, their rivals from the NFC West.
Although the Seahawks can never really be shaken off until the last quarter, the 49ers’ offensive options are simply too great. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle provide outstanding plays and touchdowns and Purdy is dominant as usual with an incredible 368 yards thrown (Samuel catches 149 of them). McCaffrey ran for a phenomenal 145 yards, 75 more than the entire Seattle team.
Towards the end, DK Metcalf (Seahawks) and Deommodore Lenoir (49ers) were sent off the field after a pack formation. But that doesn’t change the 49ers’ eleventh win in a row in their own division.
Herbert’s index finger destroys playoff hopes
The Los Angeles Chargers’ last hope for the NFL playoffs is destroyed by Justin Herbert’s index finger. The quarterback was injured in the second quarter when the score was 0:7. Maybe his team could have turned the game around with the top playmaker, but Herbert never returns to the field – and the Chargers go down 7:24 against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos.
Easton Stick comes into play for Herbert. Only his second time ever for the Chargers, where he has been under contract since 2019, and it shows. The ball is immediately knocked out of the 28-year-old’s hand, the Broncos grab the egg and run for a touchdown. However, because a player had already moved his arm forward slightly, the touchdown is reversed and the play is counted as an incomplete pass. Lucky again, but in the end it makes little difference.
Wilson doesn’t throw without errors, but it’s easily enough for the Chargers’ vulnerable defense. In addition, Los Angeles unsuccessfully tried several fourth attempts. While Herbert and Co. can almost book their winter vacation, the Broncos are even creeping up on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West at 7-6 (after a 1-5 start).