Mahomes and Allen prepare to duke it out once again
Coming off of a heart-racing win against the Broncos last week, the Kansas City Chiefs will turn its focus to the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs and Bills have one of the most intense rivalries of the past five years.
The teams have squared off seven times since the 2020 season. The Chiefs have an overall record of 4-3 in those matchups, and a playoff record of 3-0. The Bills have been the Chiefs’ toughest opponent in the Patrick Mahomes era, with Bills quarterback Josh Allen leading all quarterbacks in career wins over Mahomes.
After three straight high-scoring outputs, the Chiefs offense was held to 16 points against a strong Broncos defense. No team has beaten Buffalo this season while scoring less than 20 points — the Bills pose a record of 4-0 in those matchups. In Kansas City’s four wins over Buffalo since 2020, the Chiefs scored at least 26 points. Mahomes will need to lead his offense to a high-scoring performance in order to take down the Bills.
In the win over Denver last week, the Chiefs’ lead back Kareem Hunt was held to just 35 rushing yards, marking his lowest rushing yard count on the season. However, Hunt led the team in receiving yards with 65. Hunt has an opportunity to bounce back, as the Bills defense allows 4.9 yards per attempt to running backs, the 30th best mark in the league.
The Chiefs can run a traditional smashmouth offense this week, using physical, up the gut runs to burn the time and keep the ball away from Allen as much as possible. In each of the last five matchups, the Chiefs have had a higher time of possession than its opponents.
Mid-season wide receiver pickup DeAndre Hopkins has already faced the Bills defense this season during his stint with the Tennessee Titans. Hopkins was held to one catch for -2 yards, the lowest mark of his entire career. However, Hopkins has been statistically rejuvenated since joining Kansas City. This would be Hopkins’ first matchup as a part of the Chiefs-Bills rivalry.
This won’t be the first time for Travis Kelce, as this will be his seventh matchup against the Bills. After a slow start to the season, Kelce has reached at least 60 yards in five of his last six games. Kelce could be a problem for a Bills defense that is still missing star linebacker Matt Milano. The Bills’ linebacking core has given up 50-plus yards to tight ends in three of the last four contests.
The Chiefs recently designated RB Isiah Pacheco and DL Charles Omenihu to return from injury reserve this week. In 2023, Pacheco rushed for 935 yards while Omenihu piled up seven sacks. With either player returning, the Chiefs will look for a huge boost in a needed time.
A win on Sunday for the Chiefs would be the most impressive and important win of its season. A win against the Bills would push them to a 10-0 record, the best start in team history. In their nine wins so far, the Chiefs have beaten all three divisional opponents along with teams above .500, such as the Ravens and Falcons.
The Bills have been a consistent thorn in the Chiefs’ side in the regular season. Winning will be no easy task and the Chiefs certainly have a difficult matchup ahead of them.
Kansas City will travel to Buffalo for the game starting at 3:25 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com
Copyedited by Caroline Sweet and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com
Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com