Special Preview II– NFL, Week Five
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Bills: Week one is completely behind them. So many people were writing them off and I’m sitting here saying to myself as I’m reading the comments, it’s early. It’s one game. The only thing I was concerned with after that game was how dependent they were on Josh Allen. In that opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he threw the ball 51 times and I remember saying on the “Sports Cubicle” that he can’t throw it that many times if they want to win. Balance is still essential in today’s game. Let’s fast forward to now. On this three-game winning streak, they’ve gone back to the basics. Stefon Diggs is still Stefon Diggs, Josh is showing why he deserved the money he got because he’s making those plays where he’s moving the pocket left and right and they’re running the ball. On Sunday against the Texans, Josh threw the ball only 30 times and they were able to run the ball 40 times. This is to be expected from the offense. What’s been impressing me has been their defense! All last season, they had issues consistently rushing the passer. I see a huge improvement overall. The defense is mirroring the offense with team speed. On this three-game winning streak, two shutouts have been pitched. Sean McDermott is a defensive minded guy, so seeing this is no shocker to me. I truly feel the Bills are the most complete team in the AFC at this moment. Tonight, they make a trip to the place where their season ended back in January.
Chiefs: Now, usually I don’t like using this term so early on in the season. Week four was a must win situation for them. Their offense got back to the basics. The quarterback got back to his usual self. During the two-game losing streak, Patrick Mahomes didn’t look like himself because defenses were applying pressure on him and forcing him to get rid of the ball sooner than he wanted which ended up resulting in turnovers. A week ago, in Philly, he had all day to throw it appeared and the offensive line provided him with a clean pocket throughout the game. Every time when I go on “The Prime”, I always say one thing with T.J. Hopkins: When you play the Chiefs, you circle in on one guy and that’s Tyreek Hill. You slow him down or double him. I’d even make him work underneath instead of him getting those big yards over the top. The Eagles clearly didn’t get the memo and he scored three touchdowns. My biggest takeaway from week four was the balance they showed offensively. If you’ve listened to me on any radio shows, I’ve always called on them to run the football more. If you watch closely, teams don’t load the box when playing Kansas City because they have to drop back to defend the pass. Mahomes threw the ball 30 times and as a whole, the Chiefs ran it 32 times for 200 yards. They’re scarier when they pound the football with the running lanes. I’m still concerned about their defense of course. They struggle with making tackles in the open field, rushing the passer unless they blitz which surprises me because Steve Spagnuolo usually dials up great pass rushes and the secondary is usually BBQ chicken. Tonight, they return home for a huge game in the AFC.
Bills X-Factor: Devin Singletary– Finally! The Bills are looking to get him the ball more and let him contribute to the offense in bigger ways. Devin is a hard runner in between the tackles and in space when he can reach the second level of the defense. He’s also that one piece of the offense that Josh can check the ball down to in the passing game. I’d keep the Chiefs defense guessing if I were Sean McDermott and the Bills coaching staff. Controlling the clock will be key.
Chiefs X-Factor: Mecole Hardman– Tyreek Hill always commands the attention as does Travis Kelce. Tonight, Josh Gordon is expected to play and make his Chiefs debut. Now, Mecole can focus on being that slot option. He’s their guy that can sneak down in coverage and sit in the zone and Mahomes will find him. Anytime he’s on the field, Mecole will see a lot one on one coverages. When playing the Chiefs, you can’t double everyone. He does more than your typical slot receiver because he can go over the top and get down the field. It’s just another weapon added to the arsenal.
Final Thoughts: They played each other twice last season. Once in Buffalo and the other time was the AFC Championship in January this year. Kansas City beat them twice. This will be their first meeting since the conference title game and I’m sure Buffalo will come in with a chip on their shoulder. I’m watching to see if Buffalo can keep this same intensity on defense. I’d rush 3, preferably four and have my secondary playing tight underneath across the board. In other words, make the Chiefs earn their yards underneath and not by making those big plays over the top. This will be a tough task, but the Chiefs must take a page out of the Steelers playbook and keep Josh Allen in the pocket, plain and simple. He’s a different force when he’s running around and moving the pocket. Make him a pocket passer. I’m all for a young quarterback matchup. Arrowhead will be rocking for this one.
Prediction: Chiefs 35, Bills 31
