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The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are making a habit of making breathtaking endings to games.
But this time, the Bills took the 24-20 win with a big closing minutes stand.
The Bills offense had to work through some challenges that the Chiefs threw at them. Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo blitzed extensively throughout the game, putting Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen under duress often in the first half. Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey adjusted play calls, getting the ball out of Allen’s hands quicker and creating more pre-snap motion to hold the Chiefs from putting so much on Allen.
On the flip side, the Bills defense came in with a strong game plan to contain Patrick Mahomes. While the Bills limited some of the Mahomes magic, the All-Pro quarterback still put forth indefensible plays. Mahomes went 25-of-40 for 338 passing yards, and two touchdowns.
However, the biggest victory for the Bills was the two picks that the unit forced. Kaiir Elam and Taron Johnson recorded interceptions that stopped the Chiefs offense in its tracks.
Elam’s interception denied a possible seven points on the board in the end zone, while Johnson intercepted a pass with just over a minute left in the game to effectively end the contest. In both cases, Buffalo’s defensive line put pressure on Mahomes and forced him out of his comfort zone.
The D-line contained Mahomes well, keeping him from breaking the pocket on a consistent basis. On a few occasions, the added time allowed Mahomes to make some perfect passes. Even so, as Buffalo coaches Sean McDermott and Lesie Frazier were playing chess all afternoon against the Chiefs offense and Mahomes, the Bills found a way to win in the long run.
Von Miller recorded two sacks and forced Mahomes to throw a split-second quicker than anticipated. The Bills recorded nine quarterback hits. While the team gave up over 300 passing yards, Buffalo’s secondary did enough to prevent giving up the big play.
Allen matched Mahomes step-for-step, and eventually, passed by him. Allen ended the day 27-of-40 for 327 passing yards and three touchdown passes. All afternoon, Allen made accurate passes. In addition, Allen ran the ball 12 times for 35 yards.
The run game got a boost from running back Devin Singletary, who found space throughout the game. Singletary averaged five yards per carry on 17 carries. The Bills offensive line won the point of attack through the run game.
Several Bills had great games in the passing attack. Stefon Diggs picked apart the Chiefs secondary, catching 10 passes for 148 passing yards and one touchdown. Gabe Davis added three catches for 74 passing yards and a touchdown reception, while Dawson Knox caught three passes for 37 receiving yards and a touchdown.
While the game might not have been the thriller as previous Bills-Chiefs matchups, it did live up to the hype as a competitive game between two teams that are on a collision course to see each other once again in the playoffs.
This time, though, Buffalo has the tie-breaker over Kansas City going forward with Sunday’s victory.
Buffalo (5-1) enters this bye week with a convincing win. The Bills return to action on Oct. 30 against Green Bay at Highmark Stadium.
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