Buffalo Rumblings
Everything you need to know as the Bills look to advance to the Super Bowl!
The Buffalo Bills (15-4) continue their quest for their first Super Bowl title Sunday evening when they travel to Arrowhead to tangle with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (16-2) in the AFC Championship.
To get you ready for the game, this week on the Billieve podcast, host John Boccacino breaks down the key matchups and players to watch as the Bills look to advance into the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season.
I begin by examining how similar Josh Allen’s career arc to date has been to that of Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who, entering the 1991 NBA playoffs, had yet to get past the Detroit Pistons in three previous attempts at advancing into the NBA Finals. Both Allen and Jordan were in their seventh seasons, and while they were both great regular-season performers, they had yet to put it all together in the postseason and get to the championship.
In 1991, Jordan and the Bulls finally vanquished the Pistons en route to their first championship, much like how I believe this is the year Allen and the Bills finally defeat the Chiefs to get back to the Super Bowl.
Moving onto the game, I discuss why this feels like Allen is due for a vintage MVP performance versus the Chiefs, especially on the heels of a less-than-stellar performance vs. Baltimore when Allen made some uncharacteristic mistakes and left some points on the field.
Historically, Allen has a knack for taking something he struggled with the previous week and completely fixing the issue the next week, often leading to a dominant game. In the Bills’ 30-21 win over the Chiefs in Week 11, offensive coordinator Joe Brady called a terrific game plan and put Allen in plenty of positions to succeed, and that should give Bills fans hope that, on Sunday, Brady will successfully go after Steve Spagnuolo and the KC defense.
I also explore the Chiefs’ penchant for running a man defense (nearly 40% of snaps), which both sets Allen up for success on scrambles and also sets wide receiver Khalil Shakir up to win his matchup in the slot against nickel cornerback Chamarri Conner. I also mention how James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, and Buffalo’s gap scheme running game should be able to exploit any man looks against a KC defense that has allowed running backs to rush for over 100 yards five times since Week 13, and give credit to Buffalo’s offensive line, which will once again be tasked with paving the way against a physical defensive front featuring Chris Jones and George Karlaftis.
Switching to when the Chiefs have the ball, I examined why the onus is on defensive ends Greg Rousseau, Von Miller, and A.J. Epenesa to create pressure on Patrick Mahomes, and discuss why the Bills would be wise to once again deploy an “odd mirror” look on...
