ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Bills know what it's like for their season to end with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since the AFC Championship game on January 24, 2021, the Bills have had three of their last four seasons conclude after failing to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.
But they once again have a chance to re-write their franchise history at Arrowhead Stadium, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
"You always remember the feeling of not pulling through," quarterback Josh Allen said. "It sticks with you for a while and it really doesn't leave."
This Bills team says they're approaching things differently this time around. Rather than making the game bigger than it needs to be, they insist they are grateful for the opportunity to play at least one more game. That's easier said than done, but as right tackle Spencer Brown said, the game is coming no matter how they feel.
"It's hard to get past the Divisional Round, this is the first time since I've been here," Brown said. "Sunday is coming regardless, so just going to breathe a little bit and when Sunday gets here we'll figure it out together."
"In order to win, you can't be afraid to lose and I think those two go hand in hand," head coach Sean McDermott said.
"Every year that you go through in this league you learn more things about yourself and about your team and about the game of football," Allen added. "Just grateful and humbled to have another opportunity at it."
But that doesn't mean there aren't still scars from the past. As the Bills' first matchup with the Chiefs came to an end confetti started to fall. Former wide receiver Stefon Diggs put his hands on his head and watched as his opponents celebrated. And while the Diggs photo was the only one that went viral from that moment, the guys who played in that game still remember the feeling.
"For me personally, I remember when we played in the game watching the confetti fall for the opposing team," defensive tackle Ed Oliver added. "Like I said, how did that feel? I don't want to feel that again."
