Buffalo Bills :13 Of Pain Magnified By One Simple Photo

They often say that football is a game of inches.  And in the case of the Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs 2022 AFC Divisional Playoff game, it turned out to be both a game of inches, and seconds.

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The game will go down in sports history with "Wide Right" and "No Goal" as one of the top heartbreaking moments in Western New York.

By now, we all know the story.  The wild shootout that was the 2022 AFC Divisional game had come down to 13 seconds.  The Bills and the Chiefs had just gone through a whirlwind roller coaster of two minutes of football that included 25 combined points scored, 290 combined team passing yards, and 4 TD passes by the two Quarterbacks Josh Allen and Pat Mahomes.

The last two minutes went like this:

- 1:54 remaining in the game: Bills take a 29-26 lead

- 1:02 remaining in the game: Chiefs take a 33-29 lead

- 0:13 remaining in the game: Bills take a 36-33 lead

After that, the Bills unexplainably kicked the ball into the endzone for a touchback, saving the Chiefs precious seconds on the clock.  But somehow, the unthinkable happened, and they got in field goal range and tied the game with no time left on the clock. Eventually, The Chiefs won the game in Overtime d 42-36, to advance to their fourth straight AFC championship game.

But how close were the Bills to winning the game?  :13 seconds is all that anyone remembers.  But a new photo that has surfaced, has shown that it was also a game of inches.

As time was getting set to expire, Kansas City Place Kicker Harrison Butker trotted out on the field to attempt a game-tying 49-yard field goal that would send the game into overtime.  The Bills' defense was on the field for one last chance to slam the door shut on Kansas City.  Enter Rookie Defensive End, Greg Rousseau.

The 6'6" rookie 1st round pick was lined up in the middle of the Bills' defense.  As Butker leaned into the kick that eventually sent the game into Overtime, Rousseau lept as high as he could and extended his 34 3/8" inch right arm and his 11 1/8" inch right hand high into the Kansas City night.  The kick sailed to the left of his hand, through the uprights, and into Buffalo sports folklore.

He was just that close to sending the Bills to the AFC Championship Game.

A game of inches...