Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A long time ago, it was Dolphins Week. For most of this century, it was Patriots Week.
That has been replaced by Chiefs Week, so hope you've been enjoying what has turned into an annual occurrence.
For the fifth-straight year, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs will play each other in the regular season. Perhaps a fourth postseason meeting in the last five years will also take place in a couple of months.
If you haven't kept track of the results, the Bills are 3-1 in the regular season matchups against the NFL's current dynasty. Buffalo has won each of the last three meetings, all of which were played in Kansas City.
Sadly, it has been a totally different story in the playoffs with the Bills losing all three games, including last season's AFC Divisional Round battle at Highmark Stadium.
The Chiefs come to town this weekend with an unblemished record. However, their 9-0 showing, to this point, has come with numerous games that could have gone the other way.
Seven of the nine games have been decided by one score, while Kansas City has trailed at some point in eight of the nine games. In a pair of those games, they were down by 10 points or more before coming back to win.
Their average margin of victory is 6.4 points. By comparison, only three of the Bills' eight victories have been one-score margins, and Buffalo's wins have come by an average of 15.6 points.
Kansas City will bring a pair of impressive streaks to Orchard Park on Sunday.
First, they've won 15-straight games, including the playoffs last year. It's the longest winning streak in the NFL since the Philadelphia Eagles won 19 in-a-row in 2010 and 2011.
The Chiefs' last loss came on Christmas Day last season to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The second impressive streak heading into Sunday's matchup is the Kansas City defense, led by longtime defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, has held 30-straight opponents (including the Bills twice) to under 28 points. That is the longest such streak in the league in 23 years.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team to score more than two touchdowns in a game against the Chiefs this season.
In case you were wondering, the Bills are averaging 29 points a game, and have scored, at least, 30 points in each of their last four games.
Linebacker Nick Bolton is the leading tackler on Kansas City's defense.
Defensive linemen George Karlaftis III (4 sacks, 13 quarterback hits) and Chris Jones (3 sacks, 10 quarterback hits) are the best pass rushers.
Meanwhile, no individual player has more than one interception. As a team, the Chiefs have picked off the opposing quarterback just five times all season.
Patrick Mahomes' numbers are far from gaudy, as he leads, what is currently, just the 11th-ranked offense, in terms of scoring. The Bills are tied for third in points per-game this season.
Mahomes is averaging 245 yards passing a game, while tossing 12 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
However, there should be an asterisk attached to that stat. Over the first six games of the season, the three-time Super Bowl MVP had six touchdowns and eight interceptions. In the three games since the Chiefs acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, Mahomes has thrown six more touchdowns and just one pick.
The Chiefs are actually running the ball at the highest rate in the Mahomes era.
Kareem Hunt, who was picked up in September, has sparked the ground game with 449 yards rushing and five touchdowns in six games in his second tenure with the Chiefs. That might be one reason why Kansas City leads the NFL in touchdown drives of 10 plays or more.
Guess what? Travis Kelce is still a big weapon.
He leads the team in receptions (60) and receiving yards (499), and he's been hot of late. In the last three games, Kelce has 32 catches for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It is the most receptions in the league in that stretch, and the second-most receptions by a tight end in a three-game period in the history of the NFL.
In his first three games with the Chiefs, Hopkins has 14 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Remember Xavier Worthy? He's the receiver the Chiefs took when they traded up with the Bills in Round 1 of the NFL Draft this past April.
Worthy has been so-so this season with 20 catches for 246 yards and three scores. Even if you add in his rushing yards, the lightning-fast wideout is still only averaging a total of 31 yards a game.
The Chiefs got some bad news on Thursday with word that kicker Harrison Butker will miss 3-to-4 weeks due to upcoming knee surgery. Butker, who has helped beat the Bills in the past, was 18-of-20 on field goal attempts and 21-of-22 on extra point attempts.
For a team that plays so many one score games, this could be a big blow for Kansas City.
The Chiefs signed Spencer Schrader off the New York Jets' practice squad. Shrader kicked in one game for the Jets and one game for the Indianapolis Colts earlier this season. He is 3-for-3 on point after attempts, and made both of his field goal attempts from 25 yards and 45 yards out.
Meanwhile, here are some items of note for the Bills ahead of Sunday's matchup:
- In their current five-game winning streak, Buffalo has outscored opponents 148-87.
- The Bills' point differential for the season is +97, which is second-best in the league behind just the Detroit Lions (+113).
- With injuries affecting the receiving group, Mack Hollins has stepped it up. Over the last two games, Hollins has caught all nine of his targets for 116 yards and a touchdown.
- The Bills defense has, at least, one takeaway in 12-straight games going back to last season
- The Bills are 4-0 at home this season, and have won 21 of their last 23 regular season games on their turf. A two-point loss to the Denver Broncos last season and a three-point defeat in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 are the only setbacks.
- If the Bills win on Sunday, they will be 9-2 for the first time since 1992. They would also be just a half game behind Kansas City in the race for the 1-seed in the AFC.
