NFL Divisional Playoff Preview - Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of blowout wins in the Wild Card round. This week, they meet in the Divisional round with the final spot in the AFC Championship Game on the line. Buffalo won the first meeting between these teams in the regular season, but the Chiefs are 2.5-point favorites at home for this rematch at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills played as close to a perfect game as possible in the Wild Card round when they blew the New England Patriots off the field in a 47-17 victory at home. Buffalo went the entire game without punting or kicking a field goal, scoring touchdowns in seven possessions, only failing to score at the end of the first half and when they took a knee at the end of the game. This week, the Bills may need a similar offensive output to get by the Chiefs.

Josh Allen starred for the Bills in their first meeting with the Chiefs this season, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions in that 38-20 victory for Buffalo. But it was the defense of the Bills that made the difference, as they picked Patrick Mahomes off twice and slowed down the Chiefs enough to win comfortably. If the Bills can repeat that performance, they could have a Super Bowl appearance in their future.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs blew the Pittsburgh Steelers out, winning 42-21 to advance to the Divisional round. Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes in that game, breaking 400 passing yards in the winning effort. Pittsburgh opened the scoring with a fumble return for a touchdown from TJ Watt, but the Chiefs scored the next 35 points to put the game out of reach to set up a rematch with the Bills this week.

If the Chiefs want a different result than they got against Buffalo in the regular season, their defense will need to play better than it did the first time. Kansas City allowed Dawson Knox over 100 receiving yards on just three catches in that first game. Knox will figure prominently in the Bills’ game plan this week as well, and the Chiefs will need to keep him and the rest of the Bills’ receiving corps from finding pockets of space.

Keys To The Game

The biggest key to this game for the Buffalo Bills will be getting their running game involved. Josh Allen led the Bills in rushing yardage during their regular-season meeting with the Chiefs, with Allen rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown in that game. The BIlls will need Devin Singletary to at least provide a threat on the ground to keep the Chiefs from bringing constant pressure against Allen and the passing game.

Kansas City’s biggest key to this game will be avoiding turnovers, as that was a real problem against the Bills earlier this season. The Chiefs turned the ball over four times against the Bills the last time they played, including a pick six in the third quarter that put the game out of reach for Buffalo. That cannot happen again if the Chiefs want to make their third straight AFC title game.