Getty Emmanuel Sanders celebrates a play in a game against the Miami Dolphins.
When the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Buffalo Bills in the postseason, there was a veteran playmaker on the Bills’ offense that has left a sour taste in the mouths of Chiefs fans for the better part of a decade.
In 2014, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders became a free agent for the first time since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. During that offseason, Kansas City was one of the teams engaging in negotiations with Sanders.
From the outside, it seemed like the Chiefs — who had just come off an 11-win season in the first year with Andy Reid as the head coach — were going to sign Sanders. Sanders’ agent, Steve Weinberg, had agreed to a deal “in principle” with Kansas City on behalf of Sanders, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. However, when all was said and done, Sanders joined the Denver Broncos instead.
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Weinberg had allegedly shopped the Chiefs’ offer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well, which had one team official claiming Weinberg broke “every rule in negotiations,” per Rapoport.
This undoubtedly rubbed Chiefs Kingdom the wrong way, as their team was building a championship-caliber roster and Sanders would have put Kansas City one step closer to the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Instead, Sanders opted to sign with a division rival of the Chiefs.
So, when Kansas City beat Buffalo in an overtime thriller on Sunday, January 23 to advance to the AFC Title Game, one fan wanted to let Sanders know that “karma” led to the Bills’ loss. Sanders in turn explained his side of what happened during the 2014 offseason, even though he had already done so in the past.
Sanders Claims Chiefs GM ‘Tried to Play Me’
“Emmanuel Sanders is still paying for what he did to the Chiefs back in 2014. It’s called karma,” one Twitter user said.
Emmanuel Sanders is still paying for what he did to the Chiefs back in 2014. It’s called karma.
“Kudos to all the present chiefs.. great game but in 2014 the chiefs gm tried to play me. Lol stop trying to twist the narrative,” Sanders explained in a tweet on Tuesday, January 25. “Also, put some respect on my name lol.. super bowl champ will forever be attached to my name.”
Sanders Had Worst Outing of Season vs. KC
Sanders’ worst performance of the 2021-22 season came during the 42-36 loss to the Chiefs. In that game, he caught just one pass on one target for 16 yards. But he wasn’t the only Buffalo receiver to have a season-worst outing.
Star receiver Stefon Diggs caught only three catches against Kansas City — which tied a season-low — and totaled seven receiving yards, which was the only time this season he recorded a single-digit yardage total, per Pro Football Reference.
However, second-year wideout Gabriel Davis picked up the slack for Buffalo’s receiver room, accounting for 201 of the Bills’ 329 yards through the air, and caught all four of quarterback Josh Allen’s touchdown passes.
Despite Davis breaking the NFL’s postseason record for receiving touchdowns in a single game, the Chiefs offense had quite the outing of their own which is why they came out with the victory.
In the Divisional Round, Kansas City totaled 552 yards of offense, averaged 7.2 yards per play, and scored 42 points against the league’s No. 1 ranked defense during the regular season, per Pro Football Reference. That type of resiliency is a big reason why the Chiefs are favored to win the Super Bowl ahead of the Conference Championships, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.