Previous rank: No. 2

The Bills gave everything they had. They weren’t intimidated by the moment, and they received perhaps the best performance by a quarterback in franchise history. Somehow, it still wasn’t enough. Sunday’s 42-36 overtime loss to the Chiefs was the type of defeat that can stick to the ribs of an organization for years … decades, even. This was the season when Buffalo was supposed to get over the hump and make its long-awaited return to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the rise of the Bills as an AFC superpower has coincided with a sustained run of greatness by a Chiefs team led by one of the best quarterbacks the game has ever seen. Will Sunday’s heartbreaker at Arrowhead eventually be remembered as the last agonizing roadblock before finally reaching glory? Or was this the current group’s last best chance? Allen will keep the Bills relevant for years to come, but championship windows are unpredictable and don’t bend at the knee of logic. Next September, the Bills will once again be seen as a top contender — but the journey back toward the summit will be a grind in ways both physical and mental.