NFL PLAYOFFS

But here the Bills opted to have their strong-legged kicker, Bass, kick deep, for a touchback. Crucially, no time ticked off the clock. Mahomes and crew still had 13 seconds to try to get a couple deep completions to hopefully be able to attempt a game-tying field goal.

And that’s exactly what the Chiefs did, against Buffalo’s totally gassed defenders. Mahomes quickly hit Hill for 19 yards, timeout. Then Kelce for 25, timeout. Butker forced overtime with a 49-yard field goal.

Buffalo coaches should have had Bass squib the kickoff, to burn up around half of the remaining 13 seconds. They’ll never live down that they didn’t.

“We talk about a lot of things,” Mcdermott said, when asked about Bass kicking deep there. “I’m just going to leave it at the execution, and that starts with me.”

Look, as long as you weren’t a fan of either team, this game had to have been an absolute joy to watch. The Mahomes vs. Allen primetime show proved as entertaining as we’d all hoped.

“I mean, it was a heck of a game,” Mahomes said. “Tyreek and Travis made the plays that won (it).”

Said Allen: “It sucks the way this happened … It’s tough to take this in … They made one more play than we did. That’s what it came down to. We’ve got to find a way to be better next year, and accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

After three weekend NFL divisional playoff games of mostly sputtering and sloppy offence — if ultimately thrilling endings — the Chiefs and Bills gave us what we wanted, and needed, after all those turnovers and sacks.

The ‘wow’ plays jammed onto our wide-screens down the stretch by Mahomes and Allen was almost beyond comprehension. These two indeed are the NFL’S young superstar, dual-threat quarterbacks without equal. They specialize in off-the-cuff creativity, transforming their special talents into often breath-taking gains and scores, nearly all of which other NFL passers cannot replicate.

The impressive final stats don’t come close to underscoring all of that. Here they are anyway.

For Mahomes: 33-of-44 (75%) for 378 yards, three TDS, no interceptions.

For Allen: 27-of-37 (73%) for 329 yards, four TDS, no interceptions.

Each even led his team in rushing — Mahomes with 69 and a TD on seven carries, Allen with 68 on 11.

In a phrase a radio announcer coined generations ago, these two men did everything but sell tickets and blow up the football. And we’re all

the better for it.