Four areas that stood out in Chiefs' loss to the Bills
Missed opportunities and sloppy defense contribute to defeat
The Chiefs and Bills delivered yet another fantastic regular-season game at Highmark Stadium.
And, as has become common during the regular season, the Bills emerged with a 28-21 win over the Chiefs, who are now 5-4 ahead of a Week 10 bye.
Sunday’s matchup saw the Bills and Chiefs exchange heavyweight blows throughout the first two quarters.
Buffalo scored on its opening possession, and then the Chiefs responded with 10 straight points before the Bills scored 14 straight points. The Chief closed out the first-half scoring with Harrison Butker’s second field goal of the game, but Buffalo held a 21-13 advantage.
More on Butker’s field goal later.
The Chiefs had the ball to start the second half with an opportunity to double dip with points after scoring to end the first half, but the offense came out misfiring.
Patrick Mahomes and Co. went three-and-out to start the third quarter and then punted away the second possession of the quarter.
Meanwhile, Bills quarterback Josh Allen put his team on the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, to give the Bills a 28-13 lead.
The Chiefs would get back into the game early in the fourth quarter after running back Kareem Hunt had a 2-yard score, and Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce for a 2-point conversion.
Buffalo, however, held on to gain another regular season win over the Chiefs.
The postseason between these two teams?
Well, that’s another matter with the Chiefs securing four playoff wins, which includes two in the AFC Championship Game, over the Bills in recent years.
Here are four areas that stood out:
FIRST-HALF ENDING
Remember the abovementioned Butker’s second field goal to end the first half?
The Chiefs were down 21-10 with 1:26 remaining in the first half, and that’s simply too much time for Mahomes.
Go back to the “13 Second Game” a few seasons ago for a refresher.
As for Sunday’s moment, Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field in a hurry, connecting on a 6-yard pass to running back Kareem Hunt to start the drive, immediately followed by a 20-yard pass to Kecle. Then, a 40-yard strike from Mahomes to wide receiver Hollywood Brown put the Chiefs at the Bills’ 1-yard line.
Three plays.
Just like that in prime scoring position with 20 seconds to go in the half with the Chiefs.
Hunt, though, got stuffed on first down, then Mahomes threw two straight incompletions to bring on Butker with six seconds remaining in the half, and he was good from 19 yards.
But the Chiefs squandered the opportunity to put more points on the board.
“We got to find a way to get in the end zone,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “Just after the big play, getting down to the half-yard line. The run play, we weren’t able to get in. Two chances for me and I tried to get it to Trav (Kelce) and obviously he took the big hit, but we got to find a way to get in the end zone.”
One must believe a touchdown – and not a field goal – in this situation at the 1-yard line might have changed the game.
Mahomes finished the game completing 15-of-34 passes for 250 yards and an interception for a 57.2 passer rating.
DEFENSIVE LETDOWN
The Chiefs’ defense had a mini rally in the fourth quarter with back-to-back sacks on Allen with a little more than 6 minutes remaining in the game to give the Chiefs a chance.
Mahomes, though, killed the drive with an interception after throwing into double coverage on a pass intended for wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
The Bills then took as much time off the clock as they could before missing a 52-yard field goal attempt and had to hold on when the Chiefs took over with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
Mahomes threw two Hail Mary passes to end the game, but it arguably shouldn’t have come to this.
The Chiefs entered Week 9 riding high with their defense, ranking second in points allowed per game (16.4). In fact, the Chiefs allowed just 24 total points over the past three games.
Buffalo almost matched the figure in the first half with 21 points before closing out with 28 points.
The Bills trio of tight ends – Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and rookie Jackson Hawes – gave the Chiefs defenders fits.
Of Allen’s 273 yards passing, 149 went to his tight ends.
Kincaid recorded a team-high 101 yards receiving (and a touchdown), while Knox contributed 30 yards and Hawes had 18 yards.
The Chiefs’ defense also entered the weekend ranked a respectable 11th against the run (100 yards allowed per game), but Bills running back James Cook totaled 114 yards rushing on 27 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt.
Cook added 11 yards receiving on a catch, which resulted in a first down late in the game to allow Buffalo to run more time off the clock.
Lastly, the Chiefs couldn’t stop Allen, who completed 23-of-26 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown for a 123.2 passer rating.
Allen also hurt the Chiefs with his legs by rushing for 19 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
“We didn’t execute on our end,” defensive tackle Chris Jones told reporters. “They executed on their end, and they ended up winning the game.”
RUN GAME DISAPPOINTS
The Chiefs were without running back Isiah Pacheco, who was ruled out Friday with a knee injury.
But even without Pacheco, this was still a matchup the Chiefs should have exploited with Hunt.
Buffalo entered Week 9 allowing a whopping 150.3 yards rushing per game, which ranked a dismal 31st in the league.
Hunt paced the Chiefs’ ground game with 49 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, but the Chiefs, as a team, managed just 79 yards on 20 carries.
The Chiefs elevated former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the practice squad for the game, and he managed just 5 yards on two carries. Rookie running back Brashard Smith contributed 7 yards on three carries.
Wide receivers Xavier Worthy (one carry for 7 yards) and Rashee Rice (two carries for 6 yards and a touchdown) were also involved.
By the way, running back Elijah Mitchell was inactive for a ninth straight game since the regular season started.
MIDSEASON IMPLICATIONS
It’s midseason and losses carry implications, especially when looking at the playoff picture.
The Bills (6-2) now own a tiebreaker over the Chiefs (5-4) if they finish the regular season with the same record, and then there’s the AFC West.
The Denver Broncos improved to 7-2 after defeating the Houston Texans in the early afternoon slate, and opened a two-game lead over the Chiefs in the division.
The Los Angeles Chargers improved to 6-3 after taking down the Tennessee Titans and have a one-game lead over the Chiefs.
Granted, the Chiefs don’t need to panic at this stage of the season.
When the Chiefs come off the Week 10 bye, the schedule projects as favorable and two games against the Broncos and one against the Chargers go a long way in the division.
Week 10: Bye
Week 11: @ Broncos
Week 12: Indianapolis Colts
Week 13: @ Dallas Cowboys
Week 14: Houston Texans
Week 15: Chargers
Week 16: @ Tennessee Titans
Week 17: Broncos
Week 18: @ Las Vegas Raiders
