With a heavy heart, Josh Allen exited the gridiron. It was a mix of emotions on his face—anger, dejection, regret, and, most importantly, blankness. As the Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs (32-29) on Sunday, it marked their fourth playoff loss against Mahomes’ team in five years. While the Chiefs’ dream of a three-peat are alive and kicking, the Bills fell shy of reaching the Super Bowl for the 31st year—their last Super Bowl appearance was in 1994 vs the Dallas Cowboys (a 30-13 loss). So, of course, the locker room was close to tears, as evident by the QB’s post-game reactions…

But before we dive into that, do you know what’s more alarming? The fact that the Bills have yet to win a Super Bowl in franchise history. Despite standing on a 13-3 season till the AFC Championship game on January 26, and the Bills Mafia holding out hope for history being created, all they were met with were unrealized dreams, and an eye-popping controversy.

The community, including CBS’ analyst were left dumfounded when the refs declined to give Allen a first down. The controversial moment came on fourth-and-1 at the 41-yard line when the losing team attempted a ‘Tush Push’ strategy. While it looked like the QB had reached the marker (which was also confirmed by one official) despite intense resistance from the Chiefs’ player, the final review deemed that Allen had fallen short. “I felt like he gained it by about a third of the football, Jim. That was just my take on the play. Tough, tough play,” CBS’ Rules analyst Gene Steratore had said immediately after.

As for the rest of the game, Sean McDermott’s team didn’t go out without a fight. Despite a slow start with a three-and-out, and the Chiefs’ 7-0 lead, the Bills soon took a 10-7 lead thanks to a field goal, and a fumble by Patrick Mahomes. However, the Chiefs’ QB, as we all know, wouldn’t go out without a fight as the team extended their lead with 14 points unanswered, settling the score at 21-16. In the second half, Allen found his momentum again, with a a one-yard run touchdown by James Cook, outscoring their opponents 22-21.

However, at the 6:15 mark in the 4th quarter, Josh Allen made a quick pass to Curtis Samuel, tying the scores, 29 each. But Harrison Butker’s field goal ensured the Chiefs locked into the Super Bowl 59. Allen completed 22-of 34 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns while adding 39 yards on the ground. And he wasn’t impressed…

It was visible on his face as he started the post-game press conference with a heavy sigh, and a longing look. The pressure on 4th down was evident throughout the game—in particular, two consecutive series in the fourth quarter that went to 4th and 1, and a dropped catch on a 4th and 5 attempt just after the 2-minute warning.

Asked about it, a distraught Josh Allen mustered a response, “Yeah, they gave a good look, didn’t see anything in my first cadence. They were sliding left, corner came.” It was clear that he was lost for words.

The Chiefs amped up their defense at just the right time. At the 2-minute warning in the 4th quarter, Josh Allen & co. were on a 4th & 5. The scores read 29-32. As the defense reached him, he made a desperate yet accurate throw to the TE Dalton Kincaid at around the Chiefs’ 35-yard line. He had the ball in his hands but failed to reel it in with his diving effort. A completion would have put them in FG range.

As they went to the sidelines and watched Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs‘ O-line celebrate, the pain was visible on their faces. They knew they had lost a splendid chance. Chiefs RB Samaje Perine ran 17 yards to gain a fresh set of downs and completed the demolition. The Chiefs were jumping in excitement while Josh Allen and the Bills tried to control their visible despair.

However, the 28-year-old QB didn’t fail to call a spade a spade, which we’ll get to, later.

His team’s coach, Sean McDermott, on the other hand, also seemed to agree, but with a hint of a fighting spirit unlike Allen:“[The Chiefs are] a good football team. They’ve won two Super Bowls, been to seven straight AFC Championship Games. That’s no excuse. This is a good football team. We’ve got to keep working to get over that hump, there is no doubt about it. We’ve won a lot of tough games this year against really good opponents, really good coaches. I’m proud of this football team. This is obviously a challenge for us. We’ll figure it out.”

Although it was a great game, it ended with a loss for Mr. January. It was heartbreaking for him and millions of fans. But…

Josh Allen has a powerful message to his team after the loss

Basically, the Bills lost 4 of 7 games when they failed to score a touchdown in the first quarter. This was one of them. They won the wildcard game against the Broncos despite going 3-7 in the 1st quarter. But it was the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. And the Bills went 3-7 in the first quarter.

His replies were blunt, showing how he felt after the loss. When a reporter asked, “Josh coming up short again…What are your emotions right now?”, Josh Allen even gave a message to his locker room, saying, “You can either get it done or you can’t and we didn’t get it done.” He also added, “To be the champs, you gotta beat the champs.” It’s certainly disappointing. But he made wonderful plays today. The fault is not only his. The entire locker room had to work as a collective unit.

While he is out of the Super Bowl race, he might get a pleasant surprise on February 6 when the NFL world votes for the MVP of 2024. That would be a silver lining to his incredible performances this year, including being the first NFL player with 3 passing and 3 rushing TDs in a single game.

He hasn’t won MVP even once. Maybe that will help him get over the loss.