Bills Mailbag: Trying to explain the inexplicable – what happened in those '13 seconds'

The hangover from the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the postseason hasn’t subsided even a little bit, from what I can tell. That’s understandable. That was, in a word, painful. As such, this week’s mailbag is dominated by questions surrounding the game. Let’s get to it …

George asks: Heartbreaker Sunday night. I think Josh Allen played the game of his life and the defense should be ashamed of itself. So, does "13 Seconds" enter Buffalo sports lore with "Wide Right,” "No Goal," and "Homerun Throwback?”

Jay: Absolutely. Given the way the game played out, this loss ranks just behind Wide Right for me. The Music City Miracle was rough, but it was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Just like that, it was over. This game was like being forced to watch your own execution. The 13 seconds were bad enough, but after the Bills lost the coin flip in overtime, you just knew Patrick Mahomes was going to score. It feels like the entire community hasn’t come to grips with the loss, and might not for a long time. I totally get why.

Bill from Wheatfield asks: Do you think that with 13 seconds left in regulation and a three-point lead that the Bills should have tried to kick off the ball into the field of play to take some time off the clock instead of kicking for a touchback? Also, is it time to revisit the overtime rules? Why are both teams allowed a possession if the initial overtime possession results in a field goal, but not if the initial overtime possession results in a touchdown? Too bad the Bills lost to Jacksonville. A win would there have brought the divisional round game to Buffalo. I feel real bad for Josh Allen. When he walked off the field in regulation he had engineered a three-point lead for his team.

Jay: Yes, the Bills absolutely should have kicked off high and just short of the goal line, necessitating a return that would have burned precious seconds off the clock. There is some danger in doing that, of course, but the Bills ranked third in the NFL in average kickoff return allowed in the regular season (18.0 yards). In short, they were really good at covering that exact kick all season. As for the overtime rules, I’m in favor of both teams getting a possession. If the game is still tied after that, continue the game in the same fashion. It’s not a perfect solution, because it’s true the team that gets the ball second would be able to utilize all four downs anywhere on the field, whereas the team that starts with the ball might not be willing to do so, especially on its side of the field. Still, it’s a better system than what we currently have. Although, there are other ideas, including …

Bart D’Angelo asks: My biggest problem with NFL overtime rules is time is not a factor. It is so important in regular playing of games. It’s very exciting at the end of a half or especially at the end of a game. To essentially have it eliminated in overtime is a big change in game strategy. As far as I am concerned, forget who scores first or how they score. Just add another ending time to game, whatever amount is for the NFL to decide. Give each team timeouts – whatever amount is again for the NFL to decide. The most important thing is to keep overtime as normal as possible – like regulation time. Time management is needed to accomplish that.

Jim Maher asks: Your thoughts on a rule change that ensures both teams in overtime get at least one possession? The rules today are inherently unfair with the winner of the coin toss seemingly receiving a huge advantage.

Jay: Bart raises a good point. A 15-minute overtime period would be fair in that both teams would get at least one possession, and clock management would factor in. If the game was still tied at the end of 15 minutes, it would end in the regular season. Obviously, that’s not an option in the playoffs, which is where we run into a bit of a problem. Asking players to play another half of a game might be too much. Perhaps the overtime could be shortened to 10 minutes, although in that scenario it’s possible the team that gets the ball could kill almost all of the clock on its opening drive. Still, I like either of those potential changes better than the current system.

Gary from New York City asks: As you noted earlier in the week, Sean McDermott has chosen to “walk the tightrope” in refusing to address specific complaints of his management of the final 13 seconds of regulation. While it’s maddening for fans, I understand why he might not want to throw a player or assistant coach under the bus. Still, at least with the decision not to squib the final kickoff, it leads to only three possible options: 1. No one thought to do a squib kick, including McDermott; 2. the decision was made to squib kick it, but it was never properly communicated to Tyler Bass; or 3. Bass himself forgot the plan in the moment and booted it in the end zone. Otherwise wouldn’t McDermott have defended the decision to kick for a touchback? Am I missing something here? Will we ever know what really went wrong? And which of the three scenarios above do you think is the most likely explanation?

Jim Banko asks: Can you honestly say that kicking into the end zone was the mistake of the day? Everyone I talk to says that was it. You should not lose a game with 13 seconds left.

Jay: Of the above scenarios, I think we can safely rule out No. 1. It doesn’t take a master’s degree in football coaching to know that was an option. It’s a tough call between No. 2 and No. 3, but I’m leaning toward No. 2. If the plan was to kick off through the end zone, the coach would have said that. By blaming “execution,” he’s protecting someone. The choices are either Bass or special-teams coordinator Heath Farwell for not properly communicating the plan to Bass. The possibility exists that Bass simply hit a bad ball, but seeing the way players on the kickoff unit responded, it appeared like they weren’t expecting a kick through the end zone. Again, that means Bass could have either screwed up the play call or mishit the ball.

As for the “mistake of the day,” take your pick. The two plays after the kickoff get my vote. For the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL to give up that much ground that easily is simply inexcusable.

Jeff Rochwarger asks: I understand Sean McDermott will protect the people in his building versus the fans’ right to know. But doesn’t the organization need closure? How can it be anyone other than Tyler Bass? Can anyone envision an assistant coach not communicating a direct instruction from the head coach? Bass may need to do a mea culpa so he can have a chance of closure.

Jay: See above for how it can be someone other than Bass. If the play call didn’t get to the kicker, that’s not on him. Organizationally, the Bills likely already have closure. McDermott has reviewed the film and exit interviews with players have already taken place. Inside One Bills Drive, they know what happened. It’s the fans who lack any kind of closure. That’s a deliberate choice by McDermott. He could have provided it Tuesday, but chose instead to protect those inside the building. That’s his choice. I’ve had quite a few fans tell me it’s right of the head coach to keep that kind of business in-house, and that fans aren’t entitled to answers. So be it. McDermott is free to share as much, or as little, as he chooses to in press conferences. It’s important for him to realize, though, that by not providing any sort of explanation, he’s allowing fans to make up their own theories about what happened. He’s also losing the support of some fans. That may not be as important as losing support inside the locker room, but it does matter.

Ken Radens asks: The Bills’ pass rush and pass coverage is still too slow to keep up with the Chiefs. In the coming draft or free-agent market, do you see any players who could possibly make a difference considering our draft position and low cap space? Should Buffalo be a desirable destination place for free agents? Looking back to last year, which general manager did the best job improving their team – Bills or Chiefs?

Jay: We’ll have a ton of coverage on free agency and the draft coming up in the weeks and months ahead, so it’s premature to start looking at specific players. As for Buffalo being a destination, though, it will be as long as Josh Allen is the quarterback. Yes, the weather and the small market are not exactly selling points, but a chance to win big every year should attract free agents. As of the comparison between GMs, it’s fairly easy to pick the one of the team that advanced deeper into the postseason, so that’s the Chiefs’ Brett Veach.

Gary Vickers asks: I have a question concerning the defensive alignment at the end of the divisional game. There were only 13 seconds left, so it wouldn't matter whether Kansas City used the sidelines or their timeouts to stop the clock. Instead of guarding against the sideline pass, have defenders on every receiver and just tackle them immediately after they catch a pass or force them out of bounds. This would prevent the yards after catch which proved so costly. Also, Patrick Mahomes wouldn't have enough time to run for any meaningful yardage (like the Dallas fiasco). People say we shouldn't blame the coaches, but couldn't they think that through?

Jay: It’s a legitimate second-guess, Gary. The defensive alignment was confusing – especially the decision to rush four. Why not rush three, or even two, and try to limit Mahomes’ throwing lanes? There are a lot of legitimate questions to be asked about those 13 seconds – questions we’ll be asking for a very long time – especially if McDermott fails to answer any of them.

Ed B. asks: As I’m sitting on my couch watching the Bills score their final touchdown against the Chiefs, I said to my family “go for two!” Obviously, the Bills would go up by four points. The Chiefs would then need a touchdown in 13 seconds. Conversely, the game is at risk with a field goal. What do the analytics say about the percentages?

Jay: According to a chart from the website fivethirtyeight.com, the Bills made the right call in going for the extra point. Their expected win percentage by kicking the extra point increased by 6.5%, as opposed to going for two, which would have made it increase by 5.0%. Of course, those numbers don’t take into account flow of the game and how scorching-hot the Bills’ offense was at the moment. Hindsight is 20/20, so it’s easy to say going for two would have been the play, but if I’m being honest, in the moment I wasn’t thinking that. Almost every team in that scenario kicks the extra point to go up three, so that a field goal doesn’t beat you. I don’t blame McDermott for that call. As for what happened after it, though … that’s on him.

John Jarzynski asks: The scene: Leslie Frazier is at his head coach interview and is asked "So what happened in those 13 seconds?" How should he respond? Also, Herm is insistent that Cookie Gilchrist be in the Hall of Fame. "Get Skurski on it. They'll listen to him," he said.

Jay: The same way I tell my 7-year-old to respond when I ask him about something – honesty is the best policy. It’s not like the interviewing team wouldn’t be able to make other calls to figure out what happened. My brain says those 13 seconds shouldn’t disqualify Frazier from being a head coach, but my heart says that meltdown would make him a tough sell to another team’s fanbase. That’s how memorably damaging that sequence was for the Bills.

As for Gilchrist, I don’t have a Pro Football Hall of Fame vote, so I’m not, as they say in Hamilton, “in the room where it happens.”

Rich asks: Boomer Esiason on the postgame show mentioned that the Bills did not even have to kick off if they had killed more clock prior to kicking the extra point after their last touchdown. Could they have taken a delay-of-game penalty prior to kicking the extra point, and let the clock run down to 3 seconds before kicking? No one has addressed this issue with the coach. Everyone is focused on the 13 seconds after the kickoff.

Jay: If Boomer really did make that point, it’s a bad one. The clock does not run on an extra point or two-point conversion play, so if the Bills did take a delay-of-game penalty there, it would have backed them up 5 yards, but done nothing to run time off the clock.

The Dude E.A. asks: Knowing the league will not make any changes to the current overtime rules, I thought you and your readers would like to hear my out-of-the-box suggestion. Eliminate the second coin flip. If a game goes into overtime, the team that lost the opening toss gets the ball at the start of overtime. On Sunday, the Chiefs won both coin tosses. No team should be given the opportunity to have an advantage like that two times in an overtime game!

Jay: The mailbag will always be home to out-of-the-box ideas. Thanks for sharing, Dude.

You can submit questions via email to jskurski@buffnews.com or via Twitter, @JaySkurski. Enjoy the games – if you can stomach watching.