Five Chiefs players who need to step up versus the Buffalo Bills
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to take on one of their biggest rivals, the Buffalo Bills, on Sunday afternoon. Although the Chiefs have a better record than the Bills and are at home, there isn't much confidence in them to take out Buffalo.
For all of the problems the Bills have, they're still an experienced team that isn't afraid to play at Arrowhead. Josh Allen is one of the best players in the sport and is more than capable of stealing games for Buffalo as well as blowing them.
Even though this is only the regular season, this is an important game for the Chiefs as a loss would be catastrophic for the hopes of landing the #1 seed in the AFC. This is not going to be a game where the Chiefs can sleepwalk for a quarter or two and still win. They need to play well across all four quarters and have several players step up and have strong games.
If the Chiefs are going to earn a win against the Bills, here are the players that need to step up:
Honorable Mention: Patrick Mahomes
This is an extremely obvious one, hence why it's an honorable mention. If Patrick Mahomes doesn't play well, the Chiefs have very little chance to move the ball and an even smaller chance of winning. Given how Jekyll and Hyde the Bills have been this year, a strong outing from #15 might not be enough to win the game, but we do know that a poor performance will be enough to lose it.
1. Wanya Morris
Since Donovan Smith is unable to play due to a neck injury, third-round rookie Wanya Morris will have to step in and make his first career start at left tackle. There will be an immense amount of pressure on Morris to play well in an important game against a bitter rival.
The Bills are currently tied for third in sacks in the NFL, so the Chiefs' offensive line will have to play well, but Wanya Morris may be the player that Buffalo aims to exploit. Although Von Miller has had a very poor season, he's still an all-time great who's been a game-wrecker in the NFL for over a decade. Leonard Floyd has had a productive season, racking up 9.5 sacks in 12 games, most on the Bills. A.J. Epenesa (who lines up across the left tackle a high majority of his snaps), has totaled 6.5 sacks this season.
One of the most important parts of every Chiefs game is keeping Patrick Mahomes clean. If he's under constant pressure, that will be catastrophic to an already struggling offense. If Wanya Morris plays a regular rookie, this could be another long game for the Kansas City offense.