On Sunday Night, Tyler Bass had a chance from 44 yards out to tie the game with under 2 minutes left and possibly give the Bills a chance to win in overtime. In classic Buffalo Bills fashion, he missed the kick wide right.
The Buffalo Bills of 1990s
It just seems as if the Bills franchise is cursed in the playoffs. If we go back to the early 90s, the Bills were a very good team. They had a lot of success in the 90s, making the playoffs 8 out of 10 years with their star-studded squad, but they just always came up short. They had QB in Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, WR in Andre Reed, and edge rusher Bruce Smith. The Bills made the Super Bowl 4 years in a row and lost every single year. That’s got to be hard if you’re a fan. Just imagine seeing your team be great all year and make it to the Super Bowl, but they just can’t get it done.
2000-2016
It seemed after the ‘90s that the Bills’ curse had strengthened. They went 16 years without a playoff appearance from 2000-2016. They struggled to find a consistent option at quarterback. The Bills went through 10 different starting QBs over those 16 years and eight different head coaches.
2018-2022
But in 2018, they drafted Josh Allen, a promising young prospect, and paired him with head coach Sean McDermott. Allen struggled his first season, but then he found his footing, and once the Bills added star WR Stefon Diggs, they started winning again, giving Bills fans hope at that elusive ring.
In 2020, the Bills had a real chance; they had finished the regular season 13-3 and made it to the conference championship. Unfortunately, the playoff curse showed up at the worst time, and they fell short once again. The next two seasons were the same result. They made the playoffs, just to fall short once again. Bills fans were devastated. Will they ever see a ring in Buffalo?
2023-2024 Season
That brings us to this season. The Bills had an up-and-down regular season but rattled off five straight wins to win the AFC East and make the playoffs. But once again, a familiar foe stood in their way in the KC Chiefs, but it was different this time. The Bills had home-field advantage for the first time in this matchup.
Per usual, that ugly playoff curse lingered in the background, and once again, the Bills found themselves in a similar situation to 1991. They needed a kicker to give them a chance to go and win the game, and he missed the kick wide right. Those are the two most dreaded words in Buffalo.