Tight end Travis Kelce is on a bit of a roll when it comes to the Buffalo Bills. Of course, that could be said of Kelce versus most teams, given that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is widely known as the best at his position in the entire National Football League. However, he’s been torching the Bills for the last couple games now and he looks set to do so again in Week 5 when the Chiefs host Buffalo.
Sunday Night Football is going to be the week’s most exciting matchup for a few reasons. Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes is always going to move the meter for viewership. In addition, the Chiefs and Bills are two of the biggest favorites to reach and win Super Bowl LVI. And the Bills have started out as the league’s most balanced team with a top-tier offense and defense. Consider the fact that they lost both games last year to the Chiefs—in the regular season and the postseason—and you have an ideal revenge storyline as well.
But how well things will play out for Buffalo will likely come down to how well they handle Travis Kelce carving through the defensive second level.
Travis Kelce should have another field day against the Bills.
Last year, Kelce had 5 catches for 65 yards in the first meeting between the teams, numbers that don’t seem that bad considering how Kelce can light up some teams. But the game was brutal on the ground against the Bills as the Chiefs lit them up for 245 rushing yards and even then Kelce had two touchdown catches (again in a game where the bulk of production was generated in the ground game).
Fast forward to the postseason and the Chiefs decided to air it out instead. In that game, Kelce did whatever he pleased against the Bills. Matt Milano, the Bills best “answer” for a guy like Kelce as a coverage linebacker, was finally healthy and back after missing game one, but instead Kelce made the matchup into a one-sided joke. He had 13 catches on 15 targets for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. None of those are big gains. Instead, the Chiefs just knew they could keep finding Kelce for the first down and let him methodically move them down the field.
This week, Milano looks to be on the ropes once again, health-wise, as the team has said he’s day to day with a hamstring injury. That said, teammates aren’t sure he’ll play at all this week, which makes it seem doubtful Milano will be healthy in time. That will only further test the team’s ability to cover Kelce in an important showdown for AFC supremacy.