Arrowhead Pride
While the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills are not divisional rivals, they are well acquainted after meeting nine times over the past five seasons — including the playoffs. On Sunday, they’ll face off once more when the Chiefs travel to Orchard Park, New York.
The team knows what is in store. Before Wednesday’s practice, head coach Andy Reid praised the preparation of Buffalo’s Sean McDermott, who was on Reid’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2001 to 2010.
“Tough [and] well coached,” he said of McDermott’s squad. “He gets all phases involved. He’s very, very thorough. I had him when he was a pup — I joke that I had him when he had hair — but he’s very, very detailed in how he goes about things.”
Reid admires the combination of McDermott’s defense, an offense led by star quarterback Josh Allen and strong special teams play.
“Their offense is special,” remarked Reid. “Obviously, the quarterback is one of the best in the league at what he does, and he’s got a great surrounding crew — starting up front and moving on back. Then defensively, their front? They can bring it. They’ve got a solid front. Their linebackers [and] secondary? They’re well coached. The scheme [on] both sides of the ball and special teams are solid there, too — [and] well coached… They’re just an all-around good football team. There are not a whole lot of weaknesses there.”
A lack of weaknesses on both teams has led to some nail-biter finishes in the series. Four of the last five contests between the teams have ended with single-score margins — with the exception being last season’s regular-season game: a nine-point Buffalo victory.
On Wednesday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes offered some insight into these close matchups — but doesn’t necessarily think these prior meetings will predict Sunday’s game.
“Every single game comes down to one play here or there that someone has to make,” he explained. “if that’s offense, defense [or] whatever it is. I think it just comes down to players making plays in big moments for us — and it’s worked out for them in other times.
“[But] to me, it’s just about the next time. It’s about going out there and playing against a great football team and knowing that it’s not like we can think that’s going to happen again. You’ve got to go out there and play with your best ability the next time you get the opportunity.”
Mahomes knows the plays Buffalo’s defense can make — even beyond capitalizing on turnovers.
“Turnovers are one thing,” said Mahomes, “but just in general, if you don’t stay locked in the entire game, they capitalize on the mistakes. If that’s even just a little missed assignment or a missed throw that you need to make to keep ahead of the chain, they get you in third-and-long, and then they come up with some type of blitz that’s unscouted. All of a sudden, you give the ball back to...
