Buffalo Rumblings
In a matchup dominated by well-documented narratives, the Bills’ motivations are more straightforward
It’s their eighth matchup in the last five seasons, and once again the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs will play yet another “Game of the Year” on Sunday — one that carries playoff-seeding implications, legacy narrative boosts, and will paint a picture for both coaching staffs about how they stack up as championship contenders.
Buffalo has won the last three regular-season matchups while Kansas City has of course has eliminated the Bills in the playoffs three times in four seasons. With a game good enough to have the NFL Today team fly out to be on sight at Highmark Stadium, it makes sense to dive in and makes sense of what truly matters in this clash of AFC heavyweights.
Kansas City is an “imperfect” 9-0 on the season, winning last week on a miraculous blocked field goal as time expired — and they hold the lowest point differential (+58) of any 9-0 team in league history. The Chiefs enter Sunday as only the fourth 9-0 or better team to be an underdog (Bills -2.5). If Kansas City was any other team they’d be on heavy fraud watch, but because of their deserved pedigree every close win is another way for head coach Andy Reid to set KC up for an easier path in the playoffs.
Buffalo has flipped their luck from last year, overcoming turnovers and mistakes to win games where they don’t play their best football — a stark contract to 2023’s team that was 5-5 through 11 games, which ultimately led to Ken Dorsey’s dismissal. The Bills’ biggest detractors would say “they can’t beat the good teams” and that would be a fair assessment. Buffalo’s biggest win of the season so far has been against the Arizona Cardinals. Both of Buffalo’s losses were in games featuring other AFC playoff teams, so a win this week would quiet the notion that the Bills only feast on the league’s bottom feeders.
Injuries will continue to hamper both offenses, with the Chiefs still without star running back Isaiah Pacheco and wide receiver Rashee Rice (out for the season), and the Bills without wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid, and possibly missing both wide receiver Amari Cooper and right tackle Spencer Brown.
In a game highlighted by high-octane quarterbacks, the true battle lies in the trenches where the Bills will try and solve the Chris Jones problem and the Chiefs will try to hide their struggling left tackle.
Chris Jones is Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) top-rated pass rusher from the D-line position. He’s been a wrecking ball despite being double teamed at the highest rate in the league. Down two reliable weapons, I expect Joe Brady to muddy this game up and go with a heavy personnel in neutral situations. Buffalo is tied for the highest EPA per...
