Andy Reid admitted the Kansas City Chiefs got “lucky” with a crucial call that paved the way for his team to return to the Super Bowl following a 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs now have the chance to go for an historic three-peat after becoming the first back-to-back NFL champions to advance to a third successive Super Bowl.
Chiefs Kingdom, we’re going BACK TO THE SUPER BOWL ONCE AGAIN.
Goodnight, sleep tight 😴 pic.twitter.com/AmNgy6qPGX
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 27, 2025
They outlasted the Bills in an absorbing game that came down to a few crucial plays, one of which saw the on-field officiating crew – backed up by a review – decide Bills quarterback Josh Allen had fallen just short of a first down on a fourth-and-1 in midfield.
The Chiefs got the ball back and Patrick Mahomes engineered a touchdown to give the home side the lead.
“Literally a game of inches today. We were lucky to be on that side of it. We had the most inches,” said Reid, whose side have won an NFL-record 17 straight games decided by one score.
Clear first down by Josh Allen. No doubt about it but somehow the refs give him a terrible spot lol pic.twitter.com/lBXspdXZtX
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) January 27, 2025
Allen’s inability to find a team-mate on fourth down with two minutes remaining ended the contest.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said: “I’m always nervous whenever the football’s not in my hand, but I have so much trust in that defense.
“They’ve done it all year, and I know that’s a great offense that they’re going up against and Josh has made a lot of great plays all night, all season long, but I trust that Spag [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] is going to call the right blitz or call the right coverage and the guys are going to execute the assignment and then whatever happens, happens.
“I was very happy that it was incomplete and we were able to run the time out after that.’’
The Chiefs’ mentality was again key and their ability to get it done irrespective of the situation marks them out as favorites when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on February 9.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones said: “All year we work through situations throughout the year, practice late-game situations, two-minute situations.
“So for us, it’s just another play. We’re very confident and…we’re used to being in these types of situations, so we feel very calm, we feel very at peace with what we’re running, the speed of it, the pace of it and the play quality.”
