Why Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub doesn't think Bills' kickoff decision impacted final drive
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills last weekend in the divisional round of the playoffs after tying the game late in regulation to force overtime. The game-tying drive lasted just 13 seconds and consisted of three plays — two passes and a field goal. Kansas City needed all 13 seconds to tie the […]
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills last weekend in the divisional round of the playoffs after tying the game late in regulation to force overtime.
The game-tying drive lasted just 13 seconds and consisted of three plays — two passes and a field goal.
Kansas City needed all 13 seconds to tie the game. If there had been only 9 or 10 seconds left when they got the ball back, it's likely that they would've only been able to get off two plays.
Buffalo's decision to kick the ball into the endzone after taking the lead — thus preserving the 13 seconds on the clock — has been heavily scrutinized this week.
The Bills apparently wanted to squib the kickoff, but the message never made it to kicker Tyler Bass.
Chiefs specials teams coach Dave Toub, however, disagrees with the notion that a squib kick could've won the Bills the game.
Here's his reasoning:
Toub might be right about the squib. But it's impossible to know for sure. Squib kicks are unpredictable. If that ball bounces off a player's hand, the clock starts and at least four seconds or so would burn off without any return.
The smartest thing for Buffalo would've been to try to kick the ball to the five-yard line and force a return that they could've covered inside the 30-yard line. That essentially would've left the Chiefs with two plays instead of three.
Of course, none of this really matters. The Chiefs won the game and we will never know for sure if the Bills' decision to kick the ball through the end zone impacted the final score.
Featured image via Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK
