Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Pardon me while I tweak a quote from Mark Twain for this week's preview. Reports of the Kansas City Chiefs' demise have been exaggerated.
After opening the season 0-2 with losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, a red-hot Chiefs team that has five wins in its last six games will face the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
After averaging just 20 points a game over the first three weeks of the season, Patrick Mahomes and company have come alive. The Chiefs have scored, at least, 28 points in each of their last five games, and over that stretch, they have averaged 137 yards rushing, 415 total yards and have a 76% touchdown rate in the red zone.
A big part of that explosion on offense has been the return of wide receivers Xavier Worthy, who missed two games with an injury, and Rashee Rice, who served a six-game suspension.
Mahomes, who is just 1-4 against the Josh Allen-led Bills in regular season games, has three-straight games of, at least, three touchdown passes, and is tied for the league lead with 17 touchdown tosses for the season. He is averaging 262 passing yards a game, and has thrown just four interceptions.
The Chiefs quarterback has also added 280 yards on the ground, which is second-best on the Chiefs, and another four touchdowns.
Kansas City's offense has put points on the scoreboard on 52% of their drives, which is second-best in the league and the highest rate for Mahomes since 2018. The Chiefs are also ranked ninth in rush yards per-game, fifth in pass yards, sixth in third-down efficiency, and they lead the NFL in first downs per-game.
Guess who is having a good season at tight end? Travis Kelce leads the Chiefs in receptions (37) and receiving yards (474).
However, it's the depth at wide receiver that makes the Chiefs offense scary once again. In addition to speedsters Worthy and Rice, the Bills defense will have to deal with Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton.
A former member of the New England Patriots, Thornton is averaging an eye-popping 22 yards a catch.
The group's motto this season has been "everybody gotta eat".
It has been a two-man operation at running back this season in Kansas City. Isaiah Pacheco has 329 yards on 78 carries, while Kareem Hunt has 245 yards on 62 carries.
There are a couple of things to keep an eye on with the guys blocking up front, though. Left tackle Josh Simmons has been away from the team for personal reasons, while right guard Trey Smith missed the last game due to a back injury.
Defensively, the Chiefs rank second in the league in scoring. They've held five of their last six opponents to 20 points or less. Kansas City is fourth in total yards, 11th in rush yards, and third in pass yards. They are 16th on third down, and 14th in sacks per-pass play.
This could be a big game for Bills tight ends. Kansas City has given up an 82% completion rate on throws to tight ends this season.
Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid is averaging 14.8 yards per-catch, which is second-best among NFL tight ends.
Safety Chamarri Conner leads the Chiefs in tackles, but the No. 2 guy on the list, linebacker Nick Bolton, is the key in the middle of their defense.
Defensive end George Karlaftis tops the Chiefs defense with 4.5 sacks, while Chris Jones is still a force at defensive tackle with a pair of sacks and five tackles for loss.
The secondary is strong, especially at cornerback with Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson leading the way.
This will be the 10th meeting between the Allen-led Bills and Mahomes-led Chiefs since 2020. The Bills have the 4-1 edge in the regular season, but, as you well know, Kansas City has taken all four of their playoff matchups.
Over the nine previous meetings, Allen has 24 total touchdowns, five interceptions and averaged 255 yards passing. As for Mahomes, he has 22 touchdowns, three picks and 273 yards passing per-game.
Bills notes:
- Allen is averaging just 222 yards passing, which is 18th-best in the league.
- James Cook is second in the NFL in rushing yards (753) and rushing touchdowns (7).
- The Bills are 5-0 this season when they score, at least, 30 points and 0-2 under 30 points.
- According to TruMedia, the Bills have the second-highest pressure rate in the NFL at 9.7%. However, Mahomes has one of the quickest releases with an average of 2.5 seconds. Kansas City also has the lowest pressure rate against in the NFL at 22%.
- The Bills lead the NFL in average time of possession (33:14).
- The 5-2 Bills trail New England by a half game in the AFC East. The Patriots host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
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