A painful flashback is enough to drag Bills fans right back to one of the franchise’s most brutal playoff exits.
It starts with the “13 seconds” game in the Divisional Round of the 2021/2022 playoffs, when Buffalo and Kansas City traded blows late in the fourth quarter. The Bills had surged ahead 36-33 after Josh Allen hit Gabe Davis for his fourth touchdown of the night, but that cushion vanished fast.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs answered with a game-tying field goal, then finished the job in overtime. For Buffalo, it remains one of the biggest what-ifs in team history.
That wound set the stage for even bigger expectations the next year. The Bills made their splash in free agency by bringing in Von Miller, the defender expected to be the closer Buffalo had been missing for years. On paper, everything looked lined up for a run.
Instead, the 2022 season ended in another Divisional Round loss, this time to the Cincinnati Bengals, and it wasn’t close. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz recently included that Bills team on his list of the best squads ever to fall short of reaching the Super Bowl, a reminder of just how complete Buffalo looked before everything unraveled.
Schatz made his case with the numbers: " In the regular season, this was the best of the recent quarterback Josh Allen Bills teams. The 2022 Bills are the only team in the history of DVOA to finish either first or second in all three phases of the game: second on offense, second on defense, first on special teams. They also finished second in both points scored and allowed."
He also pointed to how the postseason played out: " In the wild-card round, the Bills had a surprisingly close call against a Dolphins team forced to start third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson. They escaped with a 34-31 victory.
Their divisional-round game presented a rematch of the game that was canceled in Week 17 because of safety Damar Hamlin 's cardiac arrest. It was never close, as the Bengals stormed to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back."
That final game in Orchard Park never found its footing for Buffalo. The Bills were shaky on both sides of the ball, the offense looked stuck, and Cincinnati controlled the night from the opening quarter. The Bengals rolled to a 27-10 win, and Buffalo never truly threatened.
The bigger picture hasn’t changed much either. The Bills are still one of the league’s elite teams, and Josh Allen keeps producing the kind of plays that stop people in their tracks. But the results keep telling the same story: strong regular season, at least one playoff win, and then a crushing exit.
Now, after another offseason of changes, Buffalo is looking to Joe Brady to be the one who can finally change that pattern and do what Sean McDermott couldn’t as head coach of the Bills.
In Other News...
Bills Fans Already Face A New Stadium Access Problem
The move to the new Highmark Stadium is already changing the way Bills fans will experience game days. Individual home-game tickets are hard to come by, and the ones that do pop up are going for more than what season ticket holders pay, which is a sharp turn from the kind of last-minute planning many fans are used to. For plenty of people who have long treated Orchard Park as a place you could still reach on short notice, the new setup looks far less forgiving.
Most of the available tickets are expected to come through the secondary market, which makes spontaneous attendance much tougher and adds another layer to an already high-demand environment. The Bills are also leaning into the buzz around the new building by offering behind-the-scenes tours, a sign that interest in the stadium itself is becoming part of the experience. What remains to be seen is how many fans will be able to get inside on their own terms once the novelty wears off. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Allen Needs More From Dalton Kincaid Than Ever
Dalton Kincaid enters the 2026 season in a familiar spot for the Bills: full of promise, but still needing to turn flashes into something steadier. Buffalo has already committed to him by picking up his fifth-year contract option, and the timing matters with Joe Brady now taking over as head coach after previously running the offense. Brady knows exactly what Kincaid can bring when he is healthy, and the next step is getting more of it on a weekly basis.
Josh Allens recent praise of their connection during joint practices only adds to the sense that Kincaids role is about to matter even more. The chemistry is there, or at least trending in the right direction, and the Bills have spent enough time waiting for Kincaid to stay on the field and become the kind of mismatch he was drafted to be. What remains is the part Buffalo has been chasing from him since day one, the kind of dependable production that could make this offense look very different if it shows up when the games count. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Just Became Part Of A Browns QB Decision To Watch
A joint practice in Buffalo gave the Browns another look at their quarterback situation, and it did not exactly produce a clean answer. Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson both had mixed throws during the session, leaving the battle for the Browns starting job still very much in view as the preseason gets moving.
Watson has reportedly held the edge in the competition, but Sanders is set to start the upcoming preseason game, which should give Cleveland another data point before the real decision gets made. Browns coach Todd Monken has suggested veteran starters may sit out that game, and the Week 1 quarterback choice could come shortly after, keeping the Bills tied to one of the AFCs more closely watched camp stories. [Read more 🡒]