How the Kansas City Chiefs can beat the Buffalo Bills
By Byron Smith
The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills continue their tense rivalry in what is clearly the game of the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are gearing up for another tense battle at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 6. After ending the Bills’ season the last two years, Josh Allen and company will be coming into Arrowhead with a chip on their shoulder. Facing them down will be a Chiefs’ team that has looked angry—on their own mission to regain what is rightfully theirs.
This Sunday’s matchup is vital for end-of-season playoff seeding, which makes a win absolutely vital if the Chiefs want to reclaim their throne atop the AFC. Both teams will be at their absolute best, so we need to break down both franchises to see how exactly the Chiefs can get their fifth and, most importantly, win this weekend.
Chiefs Offense vs. Bills Defense
Bills opponents have a collective win-loss record of 12-13. The offenses they have played against rank 15th, 18th, 27th, 29th, and 31st in yards gained. Yards per play are a little better, coming in at 4th, 6th, and then 27th, 31st, and 32nd. Total rushing yards come in at 7th, 21st, 29th, 30th, and 32nd. (The yards per rush are just as bad.) How about scoring percentage? 6th, 13th, 23rd, 28th, and 31st. The Bills have impressive stats and defensive rankings, but those numbers have come against several bottom-half ranking offenses.
The Chiefs offense is tenth in yards per play, seventh in total yards gained, fifth in total rushing yards, eighth in rushes per attempt, and second in scoring percentage. This is the best offense the Bills have played against this season, and we will get to see the actual extent of their talent.
Patrick Mahomes went full Homelander on the Las Vegas Raiders this past week, and he has been on that level almost all season. He leads the league in passing touchdowns, has the second highest passer rating, and holds the second highest touchdown percentage of his career and highest completion percentage of his career. Going down 17-0 was nothing for the man who has a higher winning percentage when facing a double-digit deficit than any other quarterback in league history.
The Bills have been vulnerable in the first half of several games this season, but have rallied in the second half to put themselves back in games. Quarterback ratings drop from 90.2 in the first half to 48.5 in the second half, largely as a result of completion percentages dropping from 71.4 to 59.6 and the defense grabbing twice as many turnovers. Without that performance, they do not come back 17 points against the Ravens.