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Although the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo
Bills are each 4-1 and leading their respective divisions in the
AFC, each will be coming off their first defeats Monday at
Orchard Park, N.Y. The game got pushed back four days because of
dominoes related to COVID-19 developments and kick off at 5 p.m.
ET.
Each team allowed 40 points in their recent losses, creating
deficits neither Patrick Mahomes nor Josh Allen could overcome
quarterbacking the Chiefs and Bills, respectively.
Mahomes was constantly hounded and sacked three times by the
Oakland Raiders in a 40-32 loss, leaving him to scurry quickly
from the pocket and often look over the top in third-and-long
situations.
"We can't just rely on the big play," said Mahomes, who
completed a season-low 51.2 percent of his passes against Las
Vegas. "We have to execute at a high level and when the big play
comes, you have to hit it."
Although Mahomes often clicks on those looks, the end of a
13-game winning streak -- including playoffs, highlighted by
last season's Super Bowl victory -- proved he is mortal.
Now, Mahomes must move on from a setback without experienced
receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring) and guard Kelechi Osemele
(knee).
"I can help with different calls and putting people in better
positions," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "Everyone has a little
piece of the pie here."
That includes the Kansas City defense, which permitted 20 points
or less in each of the Chiefs' first four games before allowing
490 yards to the Raiders, including five chunk plays of 40-plus
yards.
Botched execution hurt the Bills in their first defeat and now
they have a short week to recover after falling to Tennessee,
42-16, on Tuesday. Two interceptions and long returns Buffalo
gave up on special teams proved fatal against a virus-plagued
opponent that had practiced only once in 12 days.
One of Allen's interceptions bounded off the hands of a
receiver, but the Bills quarterback will still be looking to
rebound against the Chiefs. That will be a collective effort,
though, after his defense could only get him the ball twice in
the final 17 minutes against Tennessee.
Allen relies on one of the NFL's hottest receivers, Stephon
Diggs, who ranks second in the league with 509 receiving yards.
Allen, meanwhile, ranks second in passing yards (1,589) and
touchdown strikes (14).
Those impressive numbers also present a concern, however. The
Bills have become one-dimensional, gaining just 469 yards on the
ground to rank 28th in rushing after ranking eighth in the NFL
last season.
"The number of opportunities, run versus pass, has been a little
bit different," Buffalo coach Sean McDermott said. "So, that
would be one piece. Then the other piece is making sure that
we're staying true to our philosophy in terms of what we're
doing up front. It's a mentality."
Ground opportunities could exist against the Chiefs, who rank
29th against the rush, allowing 157.6 yards per game. Allen,
however, is focused on overall execution.
"We're not going to let this one loss define us," he said.
"We've got to be better, we've got to be prepared and we've got
to come out swinging early."
The Chiefs' ground game (13th overall, 119.3 rush yards per
game) looks like it will soon get a boost as former New York
Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell tweeted
Thursday afternoon that he has joined Kansas City -- news that
the Chiefs seemed to confirm with a subsequent tweet. The Jets
cut Bell, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, Tuesday as the former
three-time 1,000-yard rusher currently has just 19 carries and
74 yards in two games this season.
Bell will not be available to play Monday due to coronavirus-testing
protocols, according to ESPN.
Buffalo wide receiver John Brown (knee) and cornerback
Tre'Davious White (back) resumed light workouts after missing
Tuesday's loss to Tennessee. Tight end Dawson Knox is dealing
with a calf injury.
--Field Level Media
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