Chiefs have 49-yard go-ahead TD called back by penalty, fall 20-17 to Buffalo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs thought they had beaten the Buffalo Bills with one of the most unexpected and audacious of plays Sunday.

Then the roar inside Arrowhead Stadium was silenced, replaced instead by a cascade of boos.

The Bills had just taken the lead on Tyler Bass’s field goal with 1:54 to go when Patrick Mahomes marched the Chiefs across midfield. He dropped back, spotted favorite target Travis Kelce across the middle, hit him between the numbers — then watched the ex-high school quarterback throw across the field to Kadarius Toney, who finished off the 49-yard touchdown catch.

Except there was a flag on the play. Toney had lined up offside. The play came back, Mahomes proceeded to throw incomplete on three straight plays, and the Bills, in desperate need of a win, escaped with a 20-17 victory.

Meanwhile, it was another brutal loss for the Chiefs (8-5), who have lost four of their past six. And an especially tough way for Toney to end his night; he also dropped an easy pass earlier in the game when Kansas City was driving for points.

The loss didn’t rest entirely upon Toney’s shoulders, though.

The Chiefs have been beating themselves with penalties and turnovers most of the season, and that was the case again on Sunday. They were flagged seven times for 45 yards — that 5-yarder on Toney the one that everyone will remember — while Mahomes was picked off on a batted ball and Rashee Rice fumbled the ball away late in the third quarter.

Too many mistakes for a team with too many deficiencies to overcome.

In past years, the Chiefs seemed as if they could win no matter what. And proof often came at…