Rolling the dice on fourth down, the Buffalo Bills’ gamble paid off. The win made Amari Cooper a happy camper with his new teammate. Also, the Bills became the AFC favorite after the statement win over the Chiefs. Here are three reasons why.
The Bills ruined the Chiefs’ chase for a perfect season Sunday as quarterback Josh Allen’s fourth-and-two touchdown run sealed a 30-21 victory over the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Allen’s teammate, Khalil Shakir had open eyes on Allen’s scamper.
“When Josh takes off, I find myself just watching, like, ‘Wow, he’s different,’” Shakir said. “When he took off today, I just started yelling. I couldn’t stop yelling. I was blanking in the head.”
Yes, an exciting win for the Billgs. But the reason the Bills are AFC favorites has more to do with the Chiefs. The reason at the top of the list won’t be surprising, but it’s just the way life is in the National Football League.
The Kansas City Chiefs will not “threepeat”
First and foremost, Kansas City won’t win the Super Bowl again this season. Why? Because history says it won’t happen for one thing. But the main reason is the Chiefs are not a dominant team. They’re finding way to win. However, against the Bills they couldn’t get out of the escape room. They had a chance at the very end but couldn’t find Josh Allen, who burned them for a clinching score.
And then, Patrick Mahomes looked rather timid on the final drive as the Chiefs tried to mount a miracle comeback. The effort is there for the Chiefs, but the road to a third straight title is fraught with peril and the Chiefs will succumb to it like others before them.
One thing that makes it even tougher for the Chiefs is the Bills are staying grounded despite the landscape victory. Tackle Dion Dawkins said it’s just a win, according to buffalobills.com.
“It feels good to win, especially against a great team,” Dawkins said. “Anytime that we play the Chiefs, we already know what type of time it’s going to be. And to get a win, which is beautiful, but it’s not the Super Bowl. The respect is there, and the respect is high, but it’s a good thing going into the bye week. It puts everybody in good faith and good spirits and good smiles.”
Head coach Sean McDermott echoed Dawkins’ sentiments.
“This is not the finish line, as we talked in the locker room, this is the next game,” McDermott said. “We get to nine wins, it’s hard to do, so we’re extremely grateful for that, and looking forward to getting a little bit of rest here.”
And Josh Allen fell in line as well.
“Means we have nine wins,” Allen said. “Last time I checked, nine wins probably doesn’t get you in the playoffs. Going into this bye week, get to enjoy ourselves a little bit, but coming back ready, a hungry team and just trying to go 1-0.”
QB Josh Allen is the man — finally
It seems like Allen has been the dude in waiting for many years. He started becoming “that guy” back in 2020, his third season in the league. Beginning with that year, Allen’s record as a starter is 57-20. That’s stout.
And this year he looks better than ever despite playing with less than a full house of offensive weapons. A recent trade to acquire Amari Cooper changed things, but Allen has been a man on a mission regardless. He’s thrown for 2,543 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. Also, he has rushed for 316 yards with five scores.
Even the defensive players for the Bills have noted his impressive work, according to cornerback Taron Johnson.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” Johnson said. “Our offense, I mean, Josh is incredible. We’re just blessed to have a guy like that on our squad.”
And Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott proved his trust of Allen by allowing the team to go for a first down instead of kicking a field goal for a five-point lead. Allen and the Bills showed respect for Patrick Mahomes by going for it. Allen said the decision made sense, according to foxsports.com.
“Anytime you give the ball back to Pat and that offense down six with the game on the line, they like their odds in that situation,” Allen said. “So we wanted to get six or seven to make it a two-score game.”
McDermott added, “They’re just way too good to not go for it right there.”
This is Allen’s year. Yes, history also says Allen is 4-1 against Mahomes in the regular season. But he is 1-3 against Mahomes in the postseason. This year will be different.
The Bills have a nicely balanced team
As much as this is about Allen, the Bills have plenty more to offer. First, they can run the football. They’re averaging 119.2 yards per game, and James Cook is the real deal in the backfield. The Bills have one of the NFL’s best offenses with 29.1 points per game. Ahead of them are the top Super Bowl contenders, the Lions and the Ravens.
Fortunately, the Bills don’t have to contend with the Lions to get to the Super Bowl. Yes, the Ravens dusted the Bills 35-10 back in Week 4. But this is a different Bills team, and the rematch, if there is one, will be different. Lamar Jackson will be different. He always is in the postseason.
The Bills defense has been good this season, ranking No. 9 in points allowed per game at 19.5. They’re solid against both the run and the pass. And when linebacker Matt Milano gets back on the field, this defense will be much tougher. The Ravens and others will find a much tougher road, especially if the Bills have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
When the playoffs arrive, the Bills will likely need the balance if they want to return to the Super Bowl. A defense stop after a Allen TD drive perhaps.