The Bills Blog

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 28-21 on Sunday to improve their record to 6-2.

It was an impressive victory in Buffalo. The Bills stood tall in key moments, made plays on big downs and found ways to close out a win, something they’ve struggled with against Kansas City.

The Bills Defense stood out as the X factor in this one. It was clear the Bills gameplan was to disrupt Patrick Mahomes, rush him with integrity and ultimately, get him on the ground behind the sticks. For the most part, Bobby Babich’s crew executed their gameplan and were effective enough to walk away with a win. There were a few moments that were shaky and indicative of a lack of preparation on key plays. For example, the Chiefs faced a 4th and 17 early in the 4th Quarter that would’ve given the Bills the ball back up 15 at their own 40 yard line. Instead of coming up with a stop that would’ve seemingly put the game away, The Bills Defense blundered, allowing Patrick Mahomes to sit back and connect with Rashee Rice for an easy 29 yard completion. Its in these types of moments that we see the coaching disparity between Andy Reid and Sean Mcdermott that has cost Buffalo multiple playoff wins in recent years.

Despite a few mistakes, the Defense made enough plays to win the game, which is no easy feat against Mahomes and the Chiefs. Rookie CB Maxwell Hairston’s presence was felt throughout the game. His speed and ability showed true in coverage as he locked up Chiefs speedster Xavier Worthy on multiple deep routes. Additionally, he came up with a huge Interception on 3rd down late in the fourth quarter. He seemed to be around the ball a lot and played sticky coverage with one of the fastest receiver rooms in the NFL. Hairston looks to be a key addition to a struggling Bills secondary. The Defensive unit did lose an emerging key piece. Despite only playing in 2 games, DE Michael Hoecht was just starting to make his impact felt before tearing his Achilles and ending his season on Sunday. It’s a loss the bills are going to have to overcome if they want to achieve their ultimate goal.

Now to say that the Defense was the only X factor in this one would be an utter lie. Josh Allen was doing Josh Allen things on Sunday and finished the game with a franchise record 88.5% completion percentage. He also had 273 passing yards, 2 more rushing touchdowns and a passing TD to cap off a great day from the MVP. Allen’s supporting cast was out in full force however, as RB James Cook had another big day with 114 rushing yards on 27 carries. Although his YPC were down a bit, he rattled off many big gains on Sunday to open things up for Josh Allen and the rest of the Offense. Buffalo’s offensive line also deserves a shout out as they looked much more complete, they gave Allen time in the pocket, were effective on QB sneaks and created solid rushing lanes for Cook to get downfield.

This was a huge win for Buffalo for both morale and playoff implications. The Bills now hold a 2.5 game lead on the Chiefs heading into week 10. They’ll look to continue their success on the road against the Miami Dolphins.