Buffalo Rumblings
The Bills had a great night against the formerly undefeated Chiefs
The Buffalo Bills pulled off a 30-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11, ending Kansas City’s unbeaten streak to start the season and inching closer to the one seed in the AFC Playoffs. While Buffalo may still be behind the Chiefs, all it takes now is a tie between the two clubs to give the Bills the advantage.
The Bills weren’t perfect on Sunday, but what they were was good enough to come out with their ninth win of the season. It took a fantastic defensive effort, a consistent offensive attack, and contributions from everyone on special teams, as well (shoutouts specifically to punt returner Brandon Codrington and punter Sam Martin).
Those specialists weren’t among our five players to watch this week, but those players who were all contributed in pretty big fashion. Here’s how our five Bills to watch performed against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs made a concerted effort to slow Cook down, and in terms of his efficiency numbers, they were successful. Cook carried nine times for just 20 yards, and while he made five catches, he gained only seven yards on those grabs. It was clear that Kansas City wanted to keep him contained and force the Bills into 3rd & Long situations. They did that, yet the Bills and superhuman quarterback Josh Allen were still able to put up a 30-spot — the first time that’s happened to the Chiefs since the 2022 season. Cook contributed quite a lot in this one, though, as he scored both of Buffalo’s first-half touchdowns. He punctuated the Bills’ first scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown on a stretch run, and then he scored Buffalo’s second touchdown on the day by bulling his way into the end zone from six yards away. Cook was RB2 in terms of snaps — Ty Johnson led the way this time around — but he remained RB1 in terms of quantity of touches. Credit Kansas City for doing a good job limiting him, but they couldn’t keep him out of the end zone.
The second-year man was tasked with blocking Chris Jones, perenially one of the best defensive tackles in the league. It wasn’t always pretty, and it didn’t work on every play, but Torrence was often trusted to block Jones solo. He and the rest of Buffalo’s offensive line, which included first-time starter Ryan Van Demark, kept Josh Allen on his feet all day. In fact, it was only the second time Kansas City’s defense hasn’t notched a sack in a game since the start of the 2022 season. The other time was also against Allen and the Bills. Torrence looked great in what was arguably the biggest test of his young career.
Buffalo’s defensive front showed up in a big way this week. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was under constant duress, as the Bills hit him...
