Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chiefs LB Nick Bolton sniffed out Bills' most baffling play

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Nicolas Roesch | Last updated 1/24/24

Until the fourth quarter of Sunday's divisional-round game, the Buffalo Bills' offense was pretty much having its way with the Kansas City Chiefs' defense.

The Bills scored on four of their first five possessions of the game, jumping out to a 24-20 lead through three quarters. Little did they know, they wouldn't score another point the rest of the evening. With 13 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Kansas City's defense forced just its second punt of the game. However, Buffalo had other plans.

Despite being backed up on the 30-yard line, the Bills' special teams unit faked the punt. Backup safety and special teams upback Damar Hamlin took the direct snap and attempted to run for the first down but was tackled a few yards short. The Chiefs appeared ready for the fake attempt, and it could have been in part thanks to linebacker Nick Bolton, who you can see warned his punt return unit about the possibility in the clip from "Inside the NFL" on the CW.

.@_nickbolton2 had a feeling a fake punt was coming @InsideTheNFL | @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/daTOa1jpVm
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 23, 2024

It's not clear why Bolton thought that the Bills may attempt a fake there, but thankfully for K.C. he was right. The team has seen plenty of fake punts this season and they've allowed a few to convert, but they didn't allow this one. You can hear the enthusiasm in Bolton's voice when Hamlin is stopped short.

It was a strange decision, to say the least, for the Bills to call the fake there. Perhaps they thought that the Chiefs' offense, which had scored on every possession of the game up to that point (not counting kneeling to end the first half), was too unstoppable. It's also possible that they felt they'd have the element of surprise in that particular situation.

The Chiefs' defense would continue to stiffen up after that, forcing another punt and holding Buffalo to a field goal attempt on its final drive, which of course went wide right and effectively ended the game. Bolton's intuition on the fake punt, as well as his team-leading 13 total tackles, helped lead the way.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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