The last unbeaten look to leave Highmark Stadium with another victory
The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have engaged in a rivalry of late that is reminiscent of the old battles between Tom Brady’s New England Patriots and Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts. What makes the rivalry similar isn’t just that the league’s two best quarterbacks participate in it, but also that it’s been a mostly one-sided affair.
The Chiefs and Bills have met seven times since the start of the 2020 season. Kansas City has won four of the seven games, including all three playoff matchups. Between 2003 and 2006, the Patriots and Colts also met seven times. The Patriots were 4-3 in those matchups and won Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004. The Colts finally overcame their nemesis in 2006, beating them twice en route to a Super Bowl win.
Can the Bills make like those ‘06 Colts and finally slay their big, red dragon? While a win in the regular season would certainly be a step in the right direction, it’s winning in January that’s going to resonate most. We can’t jump ahead to that time, though, so we’ll focus on how the Bills can win on Sunday.
Just a quick note regarding our five players to watch in this one. Obviously, we’re all watching quarterback Patrick Mahomes, so I’m skipping him this week. I skipped Bills quarterback Josh Allen, as well, for the same reason. There are plenty of quality players to watch on the opposing sideline.
Here are the five Chiefs we’re watching this week.
RB Kareem Hunt
I’m working under the assumption that starter Isiah Pacheco, whose 21-day practice window to return from Injured Reserve (IR) was opened this week, is going to miss the game. Thus, it will be Hunt carrying the load for the Chiefs. He’s a physical runner who has the potential to give Buffalo problems, especially if they aren’t sound in their run fits or if Kansas City’s stout offensive line can gain traction.
It’s incumbent on the interior defensive linemen — DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver, Austin Johnson, and Jordan Phillips, primarily — to eat blocks and keep the linebackers clean. Quentin Jefferson could see some time all along the defensive front, as well. Those guys need to do the job so that Hunt stays mostly in first gear. If the Chiefs manage to run the ball well, it could be a long day defensively for the Bills.
WR Xavier Worthy
Yes, there are two obviously better targets in the passing game in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and tight end Travis Kelce. Let’s be real, though: all the focus in this one is going to go to Worthy, the speedy rookie that Buffalo “gave” to the Chiefs via trade last spring.
Worthy has caught 20 passes for 246 yards and three scores this year, adding nine rushes for 37 yards and two more touchdowns. If he scores, that’s all we’re going to hear about afterward. If the Bills aren’t careful, they’ll use Worthy on the back-side on some jet-sweeps or end-arounds. I’m less concerned that Worthy is going to be the guy to beat the Bills than I am interested to see him in action.
RT Jawaan Taylor
Hopefully, the officials watch Taylor closely this week, as well, given that he is almost always early out of his stance in pass protection. That seems to be something NFL referees are being more lenient about this year, as even Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins has been guilty of moving early multiple times this season without penalty. However, it always seems that Taylor is leaving egregiously early.
Taylor’s a very good tackle, too, which just makes it doubly frustrating that he seems to be committing penalties and he’s good. He’ll likely have to contend with edge rusher Von Miller and defensive end Greg Rousseau this week, so hopefully the Bills’ top defensive line duo can take advantage of his early movement to give themselves an idea as to where to attack.
DE George Karlaftis III
Karlaftis is long, mean, and tough. He’s a fierce pass-rusher and a sound run defender. If he’s going against a limited Spencer Brown, who didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday thanks to an ankle issue, it could cause problems for the Bills. If he’s working against Ryan Van Demark, who has played on a total of 74 offensive snaps in his career, it’s a huge advantage for Kansas City.
Either way, the Bills will likely leave a tight end or sixth offensive lineman in to help block or to chip before leaving in a route. Karlaftis has four sacks and 13 quarterback hits this season. Let’s hope those numbers stay stagnant for at least this week.
CB Trent McDuffie
The cornerback who could have been with the Bills in an alternate reality is the versatile McDuffie, who was allegedly the preferred player at defensive back when Buffalo drafted Kaiir Elam in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. While Buffalo hit big on their sixth-rounder that year in cornerback Christian Benford, it still stings that general manager Brandon Beane might have been able to snag both McDuffie and Benford had the Chiefs not traded up to nab their man. What’s wild is that the Chiefs drafted McDuffie No. 21 in that draft and then took Karlaftis at No. 30 overall in the same draft. Talk about building up a defense.
Anyway, the thing I’ll be looking for with McDuffie is whether he’ll shadow Buffalo’s top wideout, Khalil Shakir, like the Chiefs used to do with L’Jarious Sneed and Stefon Diggs. If so, someone like Curtis Samuel or Amari Cooper, who is limited thanks to a wrist injury, will need to step up this week. Dalton Kincaid is also out thanks to a knee injury suffered last week, so the Chiefs might be wise to force Josh Allen off his go-to wideout by using McDuffie as the glue-guy.