Greg Rousseau – Syndication Server

3 keys to a Bills victory vs. the Chiefs in the AFC championship

The Buffalo Bills will play the Kansas City Chiefs on the road at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC championship game this Sunday.

These teams clash while on hot streaks. The Bills have won 12 of their last 13 meaningful games while the Chiefs have won 20 of their last 21 meaningful games. Their lone loss over that time was to the Bills.

The Bills beat them 30-21 in Week 11 this year. Quarterback Josh Allen accounted for 317 total yards and a pair of touchdowns while the team converted on 9 of 15 third-down plays in the victory.

NFL Playoff picks: Unlock exclusive data-driven predictions

Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of interceptions in the loss, but the Chiefs have won the last three playoff games over the Bills and it will be tougher to force them into mistakes this time around. Kansas City are favored by 1.5 points at home.

To slay the dragon and advance to the Super Bowl, the Bills will need to execute their game plan.

Here are three keys to a Bills win vs. the Chiefs:

Execution in pass coverage

Mahomes is good enough in the pocket that he can beat you even when everyone is covered. He’s great at buying an extra second or two and finding someone uncovered down the field, and in the playoffs, tight end Travis Kelce has often been that person.

The two have incredible rapport and always find open grass when things break down. It will take multiple defenders every pass play to shut them down.

The Bills defense will need to communicate purposefully and rapidly, especially in the middle of the field, where Kelce likes to roam. If there’s one man out of place, he’ll make you pay like he has in the past.

The good news for Buffalo is the middle of their defense is much healthier this postseason compared to last. During the 2023 playoffs, they were down both linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard, this year they are both expected to be out there occupying the middle.

Keep feeding James Cook

Handing the ball to James Cook might have been included in about ten weekly “keys to victory” this year. And it continues to prove effective under offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

The Bills went up against two of the best run defenses in their first two playoff matchups and were able to control the game on the ground. The Bills handed both the Denver Broncos (wild card) and Baltimore Ravens (divisional) the most rushing yards they’ve allowed this season.

The Bills have averaged 178.5 yards on the ground this postseason. This figure would have been good for third-most in the league during the regular season.

James Cook has been an explosive running back in the playoffs this year. Only 10% of his rushes during this year’s #NFLPlayoffs have resulted in a loss or no gain. pic.twitter.com/i3w7ZF1VUu

— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) January 23, 2025

The Chiefs ranked ninth in defense rushing DVOA this year and eighth in rushing yards allowed per game. They’ve been a decent group, but haven’t stuffed the run like Baltimore or Denver.

Igniting Cook and the rushing game will open things up for the Bills’ passing game, especially in the middle of the field where the Chiefs have allowed the most yards to tight ends in the NFL this year (1,191).

Win matchups on the defensive line

Getting to Mahomes and taking him down for a sack is easier said than done. But, getting consistent pressure could force errant passes or throwaways, which can make a big difference in the playoffs.

While there has been a lot of talk about the Chiefs rotating pieces on the offensive line this year and that they’ve struggled at times, Mahomes has a way of masking their offensive line’s deficiencies. They rank 16th in the NFL in sacks allowed this year (41), and if they had someone who couldn’t manipulate the pocket or make off-script plays, they’d be much higher on the list.

The Bills had 224 total pressures in the regular season, good for eighth in the NFL. They’ll need to mix things up at times by showing different fronts and blitzes, but the Bills also have some guys who can win their one-on-one matchup.

Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa, and others will need to capitalize on chances to get after Mahomes Sunday.

If they can force the Chiefs into unfavorable down-and-distances and make Mahomes uncomfortable in the pocket during those plays, it would go a long way toward their chances at making the Super Bowl.

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2025 Pro Bowl: Who were the biggest snubs from the Bills?

The Buffalo Bills found names from their locker room included on the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl once again in 2025.

But in expected and unfortunate fashion, despite the Bills (13-3) being one of the best teams in the NFL this season, it felt like we saw more snubs than actual selections.

At the top, Buffalo is represented by quarterback Josh Allen and offensive lineman Dion Dawkins as the pair were the only two selections.

The Bills will hope no one plays in the game, meaning the team advanced all the way to the Super Bowl. It still is a disappointment seeing a few names left off.

Here are three of the Bills’ biggest snubs from the initial 2025 Pro Bowl roster:

RB James Cook

The top of the list for most in this category is Cook. The Bills running back was named to the Pro Bowl last season but missed out this year.

Cook will very likely end the 2024 season under 1,000 rushing yards as he sits on 981 currently and in Buffalo’s season finale he won’t see much, if any, playing time. Even so, he ranks second in rushing DVOA this season trailing only the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry.

CB Christian Benford

Truthfully, Benford being a quiet guy that puts his head down and just gets the job done… might have hurt his chances here. No one would compare him to Richard Sherman in that light.

But Benford has more than performed.

Benford has recorded two interceptions, two forced fumbles and three tackles for loss in 2024. Most impressively, Pro Football Focus metrics have him graded at 82.6 overall so far this year… making Benford their fourth-best corner

DE Greg Rousseau

Rousseau or Ed Oliver would both qualify here, but we’ll go outside the box with Rousseau since he was not even named an alternate for the Pro Bowl. Oliver is a longshot as a fifth alternate, at least.

Rousseau has tied his career-high with eight sacks. Rousseau has also set new benchmarks for career bests in tackles for loss (16), QB hits (24) and forced fumbles (3). PFF also favors him, as his 83.1 grade is the 12th best in the NFL among all edge defenders.

In due time, the NFL will start noticing Rousseau. Naturally, it’s all about sacks as a pass rusher, but Rousseau is a total-package defender.

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Bills’ AJ Epenesa post-Jets win: ‘It just shows that this is what we can do’

The Bills won the second of their two regular-season matchups 40-14 Sunday, bringing the Jets a game closer to landing in their offseason.

The Buffalo defense returned to form following a three-game stretch in which they allowed 1,357 yards, 86 first downs, and 107 points.

“I thought coach (Bobby) Babich and the defensive staff did a great job during the week,” Bills HC Sean McDermott said to the media. “Players played extremely fast, physical. And then when you play physical and you play fast, the ball tends to come out and to find you.”

The Bills held Aaron Rodgers to 112 passing yards. They caused two interceptions by corner Christian Benford and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, as well as a safety by defensive end Greg Rousseau.

“That was awesome,” Bills QB Josh Allen said about the defensive effort. “Playing on short fields, it makes the game a lot easier, I’ll tell you that. Our defense, man, they played lights out today. They had juice, they had energy.”

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver added three tackles, three for a loss, and a sack, and forced a Rodgers fumble that linebacker Matt Milano recovered. Defensive end A.J. Epenesa added four tackles, two for a loss, and a sack that led to a safety. And outside linebacker Von Miller had a sack, two tackles, and a tackle for a loss.

“Yeah, it was dope just for us to go out there and reap the benefits of our hard work, the work that we put in week after week,” said Rousseau who blew up a play for a turnover-on-downs and tipped a pass for the Jordan Phillips interception on another. “To have one of these games, it was great.”

The Bills built a 40-0 lead, shutting out the Jets for the first 53 minutes of the game until the 6:59 mark of the 4th quarter when former Bills QB-turned Jets backup Tyrod Taylor scored twice in relief of Aaron Rodgers.

“I wouldn’t say need … and I don’t want to say reassurance, either,” explained Epenesa about the type of game the defense had. “But it just shows that this is what we can do and this is the standard that needs to be upheld.”

For the Bills to have a chance at winning in the three rounds of the playoffs to make it to and compete in the Super Bowl, their defense will need to keep this type of performance going as just that type of standard game-to-game.

“Sometimes you just need that win to kind of refresh your mind on who you really are,” Oliver said. “Everybody had fun [and] everybody got a piece of the action.”

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Bills locker room reacts to Micah Hyde news: ‘Like he never left’

Were you surprised that Micah Hyde re-signed with the Buffalo Bills once again?

You’re not alone, even when factoring in those who will now share a locker room with him in Orchard Park.

The Bills (10-2) announced that Hyde had signed with the team for the remainder of the 2024 season on Wednesday. That news comes ahead of Buffalo’s Week 14 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams (6-6).

It’s unclear exactly what the 33-year-old will bring to the table in terms of playing time, but his veteran leadership behind the scenes factored into the decision to bring him back, per head coach Sean McDermott.

But it appears that plan was never really explained to the Bills locker room.

After Hyde’s first practice back in Buffalo, teammates were asked about him returning. Many were happy to see him and just as surprised as the rest of us that Hyde is back on the roster.

“I thought he was just here for a visit,” offensive lineman Spencer Brown said. “Then later in the day someone said he was practicing and I was like, ‘oh, he’s on the team? Awesome.'”

“He’s really good people,” defensive end Greg Rousseau said. “It felt like he never left.”

A roundup of reaction from the Bills locker room can be found below:

Was fun hearing all the different stories from #Bills players when they saw Micah Hyde back in the building

Most were pretty surprised#Billsmafia pic.twitter.com/ZmVaKgWLdm

— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) December 4, 2024

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Baldy’s Breakdown: Bills stacking wins using NFL best turnover differential

Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Bills have continuously beaten their opponents this year by winning the turnover battle, and Sunday night in Week 13 was no different.

The Bills (10-2) forced the San Francisco 49ers (5-7) to turn the ball over three times and had no turnovers of their own in the 35-10 victory.

The Bills lead the NFL in turnover differential at +17. They are second in the league for most takeaways (24) and second in the league with the fewest giveaways (7). They are also second in fumbles recovered (11).

Add all of these components together and you can get a good picture as to why the Bills are 10-2 on the year before even mentioning the team’s points scored and points allowed.

On Sunday, the Bills did what they have been doing all year: they forced their opponent to cough up the ball. Cornerback Christian Benford recovered a fumble forced by safety Taylor Rapp, Jalen Virgil recovered a fumble forced by Cole Bishop on special teams, and pass rusher Greg Rousseau recovered a Brock Purdy fumble.

“One reason the Bills have won seven in a row, and are running away with the AFC East again, is their ability to take the ball away,” said NFL Network and Fox Sports analyst Brian Baldinger in his post-game breakdown. “They are taking it away on average two times per game. You keep doing that, you keep winning.”

Their current turnover differential (+17) is much improved from the previous two years. In 2023, the Bills posted a +2 turnover differential, and in 2022 they broke even (0).

It’s not just the defense causing turnovers that is the reason for their leap over the past two years. A big reason for the improvement is the fact that the offense, and more specifically quarterback Josh Allen, is taking care of the ball.

Last year through 12 games, Allen already had 13 interceptions. This year, he has five.

The offense had zero turnovers in Week 13, and that now makes it six games out of twelve where the Bills have not given the ball away. Last year, the Bills only had three such games over the entire year.

McDermott expressed his pleasure with Allen and the offense taking care of the ball earlier this year, saying, “He’s done a tremendous, tremendous job… he really has, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way we’ve protected the house on offense. His level of decision-making has increased this season and been very important to our team.”

Taking care of the ball always gives you a chance to win. Add on top of the league-leading turnover differential the fact that the Bills are second in the NFL in points per game, and you can see why they are one of the favorites to win the Lombardi Trophy.

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Bills vs. Chiefs: 3 key matchups to watch in Week 11

The Buffalo Bills will host the Kansas City Chiefs in their upcoming Week 11 matchup.

Even though these two teams are extremely familiar with one another, it will still be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference.

Here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Chiefs contest:

Bills running backs vs. Chiefs front seven

The Bills have enjoyed a resurgence in their running game this year. James Cook has had 80 or more rushing yards in three of his last five games, and he has five rushing touchdowns over that stretch. Buffalo has found a true complement to Josh Allen’s passing game. But, rushing yards should be tougher to come by this week.

The Chiefs allow the third-fewest rushing yards per game this year (83.2). And, advanced metrics back up their play, too. Kansas City ranks second in the NFL in defense rushing DVOA.

Whoever wins this matchup will play a big role in the game. If the Bills can run the ball effectively, it will open up anything they want to do on offense. If they can’t, they’ll have to rely on the arm and legs of Allen.

DE Greg Rousseau vs. LT Wanya Morris

Kansas City’s left tackle has had his struggles this year, and he’s coming off a knee injury in Week 10. Rousseau, on the other hand, is having his best season as a pro.

Morris ranks as the 62nd-best offensive tackle in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, while Rousseau grades as the eighth-best pass rusher among edge defenders.

Rousseau has just 5.5 sacks through ten games, but he has been consistently getting after the passer. He ranks fourth in the NFL with 19 QB knockdowns and is tied for 10th in the NFL with 22 pressures.

Patrick Mahomes vs. the second level of Bills’ D

The Chiefs quarterback loves to get the ball out quickly in head coach Andy Reid’s offense. They put a lot of trust in their skill players to catch underneath passes and produce yards after the catch. In turn, this puts a lot of stress on Bills defenders to make plays in space.

More specifically, Buffalo’s linebackers (and slot corner Taron Johnson) will have their hands full while trying to stop the run, cover the pass, and make sound tackles in space.

When these teams met in the divisional round of last season’s playoffs, the Bills were without Terrel Bernard in the middle of the defense. They had trouble on defense in that game, so we will see what kind of difference Bernard can make in this rivalry.

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3 keys to a Bills victory vs. the Chiefs in Week 11

The Buffalo Bills will play the Kansas City Chiefs at home at Highmark Stadium in Week 11.

The Bills (8-2) are looking to build on a five-game win streak, while the Chiefs (9-0) haven’t lost since Christmas Day in 2023.

Buffalo is favored to win by 2.5 points in this one. In the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen era, the Chiefs hold the advantage over the Bills, winning four of the seven meetings. However, Buffalo is 3-1 in the regular season against KC.

Even though the Bills are favored, the Chiefs are undefeated for a reason.

The Bills will need to execute their game plan to pick up their ninth win of the year.

With that, here are three keys to a Bills win in Week 11:

Make stops on third down

The Chiefs have the NFL’s best third-down offense. They convert on third downs 52% of the time. They can stay on the field longer because they convert on the most crucial down more than anyone. Kansas City leads the league in time of possession.

Although the Chiefs offense isn’t as explosive as they have been in past years (11th in points per game), they don’t have to be. Kansas City keeps the opposing team’s offense off the field and limit points from the opposition. If the Bills defense could get off the field on some crucial third downs, it would improve their chances greatly.

Make drives count

Because the Chiefs dominate time of possession, their defense has seen only 87 drives so far this year, which is the least in the NFL. That means, on average, opposing teams only get about 9.5 drives per game. If you are Buffalo, you need to make those possessions count.

The more drives that end in a touchdown for the Bills, the more difficult it will be for the Chiefs to play their 2024 brand of football. Every possession in the NFL is something to be cherished, but against a team like the Chiefs, you must take advantage of opportunities when you get them. They don’t come around often for Kansas City’s opponents this year.

Get pressure on Mahomes

The Chiefs have had difficulty at their left tackle position this year. Rookie Kingsley Suamataia got the nod to start the year but was replaced by Wanya Morris in Week 3 due to performance. Morris, although more consistent than Suamataia, still struggles at times. He has received a 56.4 offense grade this year according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks 62nd in the NFL among tackles.

Bills edge rushers, Greg Rousseau in particular, should be in line for opportunities to get after Mahomes in Week 11.

The Chiefs have allowed four sacks in each of their last two games, and the Bills defense is coming off of a four-sack outing against the Indianapolis Colts.

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PFF: Highest-graded Bills players on defense vs. the Seahawks

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 8, 31-10.

Statistics might help determine who played well or not, and so may the eye test. But, let’s take it a step further with some help from the analytics folks at Pro Football Focus.

Using PFF grades from Week 8, here are the five highest-graded players from the Bills (6-2) defense against the Seahawks (4-4).

PFF grade: 74.6.

PFF grade: 75.7.

PFF grade: 77.4.

PFF grade: 82.2.

PFF grade: 86.3.

Bills’ Greg Rousseau helps Sabres kick off their season

Technically it was not their first game as the Buffalo Sabres played out in Europe to kick off their 2024-25 regular season schedule.

But on Thursday, the Sabres had their first contest at home at KeyBank Center. The Sabres ended up losing to the Los Angeles Kings 3-1, but Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau was in the house.

Rousseau banged the drum to kick off a “Let’s Go Buffalo” chant at the start of the game.

Check it out below:

GROOOOT kicking things off tonight#LetsGoBuffalo | @BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/4wf8osmTW1

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 10, 2024

Bills at Texans: 3 key matchups to watch in Week 5

The Buffalo Bills will visit the Houston Texans in their upcoming Week 5 matchup.

Even with it being a an AFC clash, it will still be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference.

Here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Texans contest:

CB Rasul Douglas vs. WR Nico Collins

Not Stefon Diggs?! Well, the former Bills player is not the Texans’ No. 1 playmaker. That’s Collins and he has burst onto the NFL scene. Douglas and fellow outside cornerback Christian Benford have played great this season and this will be a fun matchup to watch.

OL Spencer Brown vs. DE Will Anderson Jr.

Brown had a poor outing against the Baltimore Ravens in a 35-10 loss last week. He needs to be better. Pro Football Focus graded him as Buffalo’s worst offensive lineman in that outing.

Anderson, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2023, was selected there for good reason: He is good. Anderson has 2.5 sacks so far this this season.

DE Greg Rousseau vs. OL Laremy Tunsil

Von Miller was having a good season… and now he’s suspended for four games. Rousseau will be someone who needs to help fill that pass-rushing void and he could see plenty of Tunsil. The tackle has dealt with an ankle injury which is something the Bills’ pass rush could hope hampers his game.

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