Buffalo Rumblings
A look at the film to see how Buffalo’s offense took control of Kansas City’s defense in Week 11
The Buffalo Bills took down the NFL’s last unbeaten team in Week 11, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 30-21. Buffalo’s offense put up 30 points against a top-notch Chiefs defense largely because they could extend drives on third and fourth down. Let’s dive in to take a closer look at how they found success.
To see the reverse side of this article, Buffalo’s defensive “drive enders,” check out Skarekrow’s companion article!
The Bills’ offense shined as “drive extenders” against the Chiefs, converting 9-of-15 third downs (60%) — a significant jump from their 49% season average before Week 11. This success came against a Kansas City defense that had allowed just a 37% third-down conversion rate prior to the matchup. Despite facing 10 3rd & Long (7+ yards) situations, Buffalo managed critical conversions, including two aided by defensive penalties.
Quarterback Josh Allen was instrumental to the success, throwing on nine third-down attempts with a 60% completion rate for 77 yards and generating an impressive +0.61 EPA per pass. The Bills were also 1-of-2 on fourth down, one of those being an interception and another being the game-sealing touchdown run.
On this 3rd & 6 play the Chiefs ran Cover 1 man-to-man using a QB spy with the linebacker. Notice how Buffalo’s offensive line went right out and blocked the spy at the line of scrimmage in an effort to take him out of the play if Allen had to scramble. This left the other four offensive linemen one-on-one, something the Bills trusted their group enough to do even without starting right tackle Spencer Brown.
Allen had just enough time to let wide receiver Amari Cooper go to work on the outside with a stutter step and a vertical route down the sideline. Allen put the throw in the perfect place and Cooper made a great one-handed grab.
A big 3rd & 8 in the red zone for the Bills earlier in the game worked out nicely. The Bills were in bunch trips to the right, and sent wider receiver Khalil Shakir on a short motion toward the ball.
Buffalo’s offense ran a flood concept but did an excellent job of disguising who was going where. Notice how Samuel stepped back to let Shakir go first, creating some extra separation for him to get the ball. After the catch short of the first down Samuel made a man miss to gain extra yards. This was Samuel’s best game so far as a Bill.
What isn’t shown in this clip is how Allen used a hard count to get the Chiefs to show their hand. Kansas City was bluffing a blitz on this play, but Allen already knew they were backing out before he even snapped it. The Chiefs rushed four...
