Last year’s playoff exit was met with a sense of finality. With a slew of free agents, an aging roster and cap concerns, the Bills knew hard decisions were coming. Many equated that to a step back in their championship chase. All it did was provide an opportunity for a step forward.

The Buffalo Bills ought to be getting used to this by now. It surely doesn't make it any easier. Despite another gutsy effort from Josh Allen and his bunch, who took the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs down to the wire in the playoffs yet again,

On the other, it left the Bills stuck in their own Groundhog Day prison, beating Kansas City to seemingly prove their legitimacy in the fall only to have their season ended by that same foe in the winter.