Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills face off against their intraconference tormentors this weekend, hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in the latest installment of the two teams’ storied rivalry. Since the 2020 season, Buffalo and Kansas City have met a total of nine times, with the Bills winning four of the games and the Chiefs winning five. All four of Buffalo’s victories have come in regular-season games, while Kansas City has won all four playoff matchups between the two teams in that span.
While the stakes won’t be as high as they were the last time these two teams met in the AFC Championship Game back in January, there are fairly large playoff implications for this matchup. The Chiefs would take their fourth loss of the season, damaging their chase for yet another AFC West Division title. It would also make another No. 1 seed highly unlikely. If the Bills lose this week, it will be their third loss of the season, and they already trail a tough New England Patriots squad in a quest for their sixth-straight AFC East crown.
If the Bills want to come out on top this week, they’ll have to slow a slew of Chiefs. Here are five Kansas City players to watch this week.
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QB Patrick Mahomes
The book on beating Mahomes is similar to beating most elite quarterbacks: pressure him up the middle using only your front four and you’re in good shape. The problem, of course, is doing that. If it were easy, then everyone could do it.
Losing defensive tackle Ed Oliver is going to hurt the Bills in their pursuit of this goal, but the additions of defensive end Michael Hoecht and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi give the Bills a solid, deep defensive line rotation overall. If Buffalo can impact Mahomes early in the game, it could lead to some happy feet and rushed decisions. They’ll need their newcomers (especially Hoecht and Joey Bosa) to provide the pass-rush juice that previous Bills defenses couldn’t provide.
If they can slow Kareem Hunt and Kansas City’s running game, it will allow that defensive front to go all-in on attacking the game’s best quarterback. Slowing Mahomes is essential to victory this weekend.
WR Xavier Worthy
Rashee Rice is clearly Kansas City’s top receiver, but head coach Andy Reid loves to remind people just how smart he is. If he has the chance to feature Worthy, whom the Chiefs acquired via a draft-pick trade with Buffalo, then he’s going to do it.
Preventing Worthy from making splash plays will force the Chiefs to go on long, sustained drives. The second-year man isn’t an elite wideout, but he does have elite speed, and speed kills, especially when a team like the Bills misses tackles in the middle level. I could see some reverses or screens early on to test Buffalo’s gap integrity.
Worthy is the kind of guy who could make one man miss and turn a two-yard loss into a forty-yard gain. The Bills need to...
