Gabriel Davis wasn’t a high priority on the Kansas City Chiefs’ list of playmakers to stop. The Buffalo Bills’ wideout was, in terms of total targets in 2021, his team’s WR4.
In the Divisional Round, he was exactly that. WR4. As in the wide receiver who caught four of Josh Allen’s touchdown passes in a 36-42 overtime loss in Arrowhead Stadium. He was responsible for each of Allen’s scoring plays and 201 of his 329 passing yards on the day.
Davis set an NFL record by finding the end zone four times, breaking an 18-way tie atop the league’s leaderboard and putting current and future Hall of Famers like Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, Rob Gronkowski, and Fred Biletnikoff in his rear view. Each of his touchdowns came from at least 18 yards out, striking at a weakened Kansas City secondary forced to play most of the game without Tyrann Mathieu at safety.
Davis took advantage of the Chiefs’ personnel miscues to earn his first score of the game:
Quick six. 🤙
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/jbFRGChdew
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 24, 2022
He split his coverage deep to find room downfield, like he did here on a 75-yard touchdown that prevented the Chiefs from pulling away in the third quarter:
WHAT. A. BEAUT.
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/zgKSB4yG7z
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 24, 2022
He put Mike Hughes on roller skates to save a 4th-and-long predicament and score what looked like the game-winning touchdown:
Never a doubt.
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/uaRdClCRqu
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 24, 2022
After the Chiefs came back and Patrick Mahomes did Patrick Mahomes things, Davis snagged what appeared to be a second game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds left:
Stop us if you've heard this one before…
JOSH ALLEN TO GABE DAVIS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/KaJTQ7CAJl
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 24, 2022
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get the chance to add a fifth touchdown to his resume. Kansas City sent the game to overtime by covering 44 yards in 13 seconds and kicking a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. The Chiefs won the coin toss and the Bills got sent packing from the playoffs without even touching the ball in overtime.
It was an unfair end to a stellar game, but it doesn’t change the fact Gabriel Davis is an NFL record holder. That’s cold comfort after a season-ending loss, but it’s a solid reminder of just how damn great this game was.
