Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - I'm not going to lie. I did not believe the Buffalo Bills defense would be able to close out Sunday's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Recent history is why I had no faith in that unit. Four times this season, the defense could not hold on to a fourth quarter lead, with three of those contests inside the final two minutes of regulation. All four games resulted in losses to the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.
When Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took the field with 1:54 left and the ball at their own 25-yard line, I was praying the Bills could just hold him to a field goal, and then hopefully Allen and company could win the game.
Mahomes completed his first two passes and quickly moved the Chiefs from their 25 to the Bills' 49-yard line. That's when the defense made its stand.
Now there was that Kadarius Toney potential game-winning touchdown, but it was wiped out by Toney lining up offside (WHEW!).
Since that play didn't count, let the record show Mahomes threw four-straight incomplete passes and the Bills won their third-straight regular season game at Arrowhead Stadium against Mahomes and company.
The guys up front came up big on that final drive. Von Miller recorded a pressure on the second of the four-consecutive incompletions. Ed Oliver batted the pass up in the air on third down, and Leonard Floyd's pressure forced an errant Mahomes throw on fourth down.
Game over!
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The Bills defense really rose to the occasion. They gave up a touchdown to the Chiefs on Kansas City's final drive of the first half and another touchdown on the initial drive of the second half, but after that, Sean McDermott's group played great.
On the Chiefs' final four possessions, they went fumble, field goal, punt (a three-and-out) and turnover on downs. That's four possessions which produced just three points and only 100 net yards.
The field goal drive came with the Bills clinging to a 17-14 lead. Kansas City ended up getting a first down at the Bills' 12-yard line, but then the defense stiffened. After a two-yard run, there were back-to-back incomplete passes (Miller had another pressure in there), and the Chiefs would settle for the game-tying field goal.
Mahomes had just one touchdown in the game, and looked frustrated at times.
Chiefs running backs had just 58 yards on 15 carries. Even tight end Travis Kelce was kept in check with six catches on 10 targets for 83 yards, and he did not get into the end zone.
The 17 points represents the third-fewest given up by the Bills defense since they lost Tre'Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones in Weeks 4 and 5. Only the New York Giants (9) and New York Jets (6) scored fewer points.
As for the Bills offense, they looked good in the first half, but couldn't do much in the second half. It's a good thing the Bills defense did their job.
Josh Allen and the offense produced two touchdowns on five first half drives, but just two field goals on five second half drives.
Allen was running for his life for a good portion of that second half, as the Chiefs were able to consistently get pressure. On multiple plays, Allen was able to escape, what looked like, a sure sack, and he either threw the ball away or completed a pass for a small gain.
The Chiefs did a great job of taking away the Bills' wide receivers. That group combined for 17 targets, seven catches and a mere 70 yards. Allen, instead, made use of running backs and tight ends in the passing game.
James Cook had another big day. He led the team in receiving, while putting together his fourth-straight outing with more than 100 yards from scrimmage. Cook finished with 15 touches for 141 yards and a touchdown catch.
Any win by the Bills feels like a season-saving win, at this point.
While improving to 7-6, they did not move up in the AFC standings, but caught up to some teams in the Wild Card race and kept pace with others. The Bills are still 11th in the conference, but have the same record as teams 6-10: Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Denver and Cincinnati Bengals.
If they can manage to beat the red-hot Dallas Cowboys at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, they have a real good shot at being 10-6 going into the regular season finale in Miami against the Dolphins.
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