Arguably Dalton Kincaid’s biggest play Sunday won’t be recorded on any stat sheet.
Be sure, though, it was a clutch moment.
With the Buffalo Bills driving near midfield and less than six minutes to play Sunday in an AFC divisional round playoff matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Bills quarterback Josh Allen tried to pick up a first down with his legs on third-and-10 but was stripped of the ball.
The ball bounced and looked like it might be recovered by Kansas City cornerback Chamarri Conner, who had an open lane for a long fumble return.
Kincaid, though, stuck out his hand and kept Conner from making the recovery, enabling Buffalo’s Spencer Brown to land on the fumble and keep the drive alive.
It ultimately didn’t matter — after a fourth-down conversion, the Bills drove to the Kansas City 26 and tried a 44-yard Tyler Bass field goal. Bass, though, sailed it wide right and the Chiefs were able to run out the clock in a 27-24 Kansas City win.
For Kincaid, the rookie tight end out of Utah, that ended a promising first year as a pro.
He ended up making an impact Sunday, with five catches for a team-high 45 yards for Buffalo.
Kincaid caught two passes for 24 yards on the Bills’ opening drive, which ended with a field goal.
On Buffalo’s final drive of the game, he had three catches for 21 yards in helping the Bills move into scoring position.
Kincaid ended the postseason with eight receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown.
With Sunday’s results, there are eight players with Utah ties remaining in the playoffs. The NFC and AFC conference championships will be played next Sunday.
Here’s how other Utah ties on active rosters fared during Sunday’s divisional round action:
Lions 31, Buccaneers 23
Detroit Lions
- Penei Sewell, OT, Desert Hills High: Started at right tackle.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Deven Thompkins, WR, Utah State: Had 1 punt return for 0 yards.
Chiefs 27, Bills 24
Kansas City Chiefs
- No Utah ties on active roster.
Buffalo Bills
- Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State: Started at cornerback and had 6 tackles, including 4 solo stops.
- Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah: Started at tight end and had 5 catches for 45 yards.