Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Sunday's win for the Buffalo Bills over the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium was huge for a number of reasons.
We can start with the NFL standings.
The win improved the Bills to 6-2, and allowed them to keep pace with the AFC East-leading New England Patriots, who also won on Sunday and upped their record to 7-2. The Bills are just a half game behind the Patriots, as well as the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos for the best record in the AFC.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are just 5-4 and third in the AFC West. They trail Denver by two games and the Los Angeles Chargers by one game, and Kansas City has already lost to both of those teams.
This win was very important for the Bills' confidence level, which probably took a hit following the back-to-back losses to New England and the Atlanta Falcons. It also was a big boost for my mental well-being, and I'll bet for many of you as well.
The Bills, once again, showed that when they are on their game, they can beat any team in the NFL. Although I did hold my breath for almost the entire fourth quarter.
This was also a complete football game, with the offense and defense both doing their part to produce a fifth-straight regular season win over the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs. This truly was an example of complementary football, which we haven't seen often enough from the Bills this season.
The defense balled out. They consistently generated pressure, and did so without having to rely on blitzes. The pass rush frustrated Mahomes all game.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bills pressured Mahomes on 52% of his drop backs. When under pressure, Mahomes was just 3-of-16 for 61 yards and an interception.
The Bills defense made history too, as Mahomes completed a career-low 44% of his passes (15-of-34). It marked the first time in his illustrious pro career that he completed less than half of his passes.
The Chiefs had 10 possessions and reached the end zone only two times.
In addition to the interception, the first for rookie cornerback Max Hairston, the defense recorded three sacks and held Kansas City to a 23% success rate on third down. There was also a big goal line stand just before halftime when the Chiefs had 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but settled for a field goal.
With the Bills clinging to a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had two drives with a chance to tie or take the lead. Hairston's pick ended one of those drives, and then on the final series of the game, the defense prevented a comeback similar to 13 seconds.
Hairston was one of many standouts on defense. He had that interception, but also had one of my favorite plays in the entire game.
In the third quarter, Kansas City sent speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy on a go route. Hairston, the fastest player on the Bills, went step-for-step with Worthy all the way, and broke the play up. It was so great to see a Bills corner who could stay with a blazing-fast Chiefs wide receiver.
Hairston continues to earn the trust of the coaching staff with his play. He had a 50-50 split of snaps at the CB2 position with Tre'Davious White.
A game like this was also why the Bills signed pass rusher Joey Bosa in the offseason. He was a disruptive force, while being on the field for 73% of the snaps - his second-highest snap count of the season.
Bosa finished the game with a sack, and was credited with five quarterback hits and four tackles for loss.
Second-year safety Cole Bishop had his best game as a pro, making play-after-play. Bishop had four passes defended, was terrific in his coverage, and showed solid tackling too.
If Hairston and Bishop continue to make strides, it would make a massive difference for the secondary going forward.
As for the offense, Josh Allen played like a Most Valuable Player. The Bills quarterback was in complete control of the offense, and handled whatever the Chiefs threw at him.
Allen completed a career-high 88% of his passes (23-of-26), had total three touchdowns (two rushing and one passing) and didn't turn the ball over.
The passing game even made plays downfield. As per Next Gen Stats, Allen was 6-of-7 for 158 yards and a touchdown on throws of 10 or more air yards.
The tight ends did a lot of damage against a Kansas City defense that had allowed an 82% completion rate on passes to tight ends coming into the game. Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes combined for eight catches on nine targets for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Kincaid did the bulk of the work with six catches for 101 yards and that score. He also put up those numbers while being on the field for only 36% of the snaps.
Bills running back James Cook continues to play like one of the best backs in the league. The Bills also realized Cook needed to be involved more.
The 26-year-old had a season-high 76% snap count, a season-high 27 carries, and became the first running back to rush for more than 100 yards against Kansas City in 25 games. Cook finished with 114 yards, and is second in the league in rushing behind the Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Bills, who entered the game leading the NFL in percentage of run plays per-game, ran the ball 71% of the time on first down. But Cook's success on those plays gave the Bills favorable down and distances.
That was one factor in the Bills' 58% success rate on third down.
Additional Bills notes:
- The Bills, who lead the NFL in average time of possession, had the ball for 34:45.
- Allen is now first all-time in the NFL in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 79.
- Allen is also first all-time with 47 games where he had a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.
- The Bills are now 26-4 at home since 2022.
- Kansas City had their second-fewest points scored of the season, and second-most given up.
The 6-2 Bills will next play the Dolphins in Miami next week, while the 7-2 Patriots head to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers.
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