The Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21 at home on Sunday.
The contest that saw the teams’ final scores roughly on average for the season so far also had significant takeaways on and off the field.
But the biggest one belonged to Buffalo linebacker, Terrel Bernard.
With 1:07 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Bills’ defensive captain and play caller took away a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for Kansas City tight end and MGMT “Electric Feel” fan Travis Kelce for an end-game interception.
Terrel Bernard just called GAME in Buffalo! 🦬
via @NFL pic.twitter.com/UujTPCQClR
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 18, 2024
The entire Buffalo defense ran down to celebrate with him in the end zone after getting in front of Kelce to grab the ball out of the air.
“The main thing is just having awareness of him, “ Bernard said about covering the Chiefs TE to WIVB. “Pre, post-snap, trying to get guys around him as much as possible, playing within our scheme and our system still but understanding he’s going to be one of the first options every pass play.”
It was the second interception for KC’s Mahomes, whose first and last throws in Sunday’s game were caught by Buffalo.
Bernard, who was out during the last meeting between the clubs in January’s divisional round of the playoffs, also had eight tackles and a sack on the day to go with the big-time turnover.
“I think having that awareness, [defensive coordinator] Bobby [Babich] did a great job in the gameplan, all the coaches did, putting him in our minds all week and knowing where he was at and where he was going to be, what he likes to do in certain spots. I think that was a huge factor, and everybody playing to the details of the defense.”
Everything has changed for Kelce since his last matchups against the Bills in which he seemed unstoppable.
He may just want to shake it off, knowing all too well that Bernard and the Bills defense held him to only two catches for eight yards receiving.
But with the win the Bills now have a better shot at a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Chiefs do as well although they are not out of the woods yet.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was complimentary of the Bills when asked what his takeaways off the field were from the loss.
“Things you can learn, the main thing is that they’re a good team and, if you have a few mistakes in there, they can capitalize on them,” Reid said.
The teams could face off again in the postseason, and time will tell which club will play host to the other if they do.
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