Buffalo Rumblings
Points may be at a premium on Sunday
Buffalo Bills fans are well aware of the big showdown happening in Orchard Park, NY on Sunday afternoon. The Bills will play host to the undefeated reigning Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs in what should be the game of Week 11.
Buffalo has won three of the last five regular-season matchups against Kansas City — the postseason is another, highly unpleasant story. A huge factor in the Chiefs’ dominance this season comes from a top-ranked defense that has yet to give up more than 25 points to a team this season. Meanwhile, the Bills’ offense has scored 30 or more points in seven out of 10 games.
The Bills won’t find success in the passing game easily, as the Chiefs’ defense hasn’t allowed a quarterback to throw for 300 yards this season. The closest was reigning NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson who had 273 yards in the first game of the season. Since Week 3, no quarterback has thrown for over 230 yards. To further complicate matters, rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman has already been ruled out for Week 11.
Now, there’s always more to the story depending on how you look at stats. If you take away a three-interception performance against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs’ passing defense has only had two interceptions on the year. The past three weeks against the likes of Bo Nix (Denver Broncos), Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders) Kansas City’s defense has allowed each of those quarterbacks a passer rating above 110.
Was the tight end position on your bingo card? Tight ends for the Broncos, Buccaneers, and Raiders combined for 17 catches on 20 targets, averaging just under 13 yards a catch.
Luckily, the Bills have two talented tight ends. Dawson Knox seems to bring his A-game against Kansas City. In his last five games against them he has 12 catches for 203 yards with two touchdowns. The unknown is whether Dalton Kincaid will be healthy enough to give it a go after suffering a knee injury against the Indianapolis Colts.
It would be great if running backs James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson could give the offense a boost, but don’t hold your breath. The Chiefs have yet to allow a rusher to reach 75 yards, let alone 100 on the ground. However, where Buffalo’s running backs can succeed is in the passing game, especially on check downs.
The last three weeks running backs have made 15 catches on 16 targets. Josh Allen has shown patience this year taking his check downs at every opportunity. Buffalo can also use the quick passing game as an extension of the rushing attack. Similarly, players...
