“4:44”

(Photo: The Ringer)

(2) Buffalo Bills at (1) Kansas City Chiefs

Bills: Talk about saving the best for last! What a game that was last Sunday night in Orchard Park, New York. It was as good as advertised and came down to the fourth quarter as I anticipated. Their first half against the Baltimore Ravens was the best half of football that I’ve seen them play all year long. The way the Ravens beat up on them in the first half was reciprocated and the best way to beat a strong defensive line is to either throw it quickly or run right at them. Since Joe Brady took over as the Offensive Coordinator, the Buffalo Bills have displayed more balance as an offense, and they are establishing the running game more which is throwing defenses off because of the attention Josh Allen commands often. Speaking of Josh, I want to further discuss him if I may. The numbers weren’t necessarily eye-popping in the divisional round of the playoffs as he was 16 of 22 and threw for only 127 yards passing with no passing touchdowns, but he still impacted the game with his mobility scoring two rushing touchdowns. That may not be anything to rave about, but in my opinion, he was flawless in that game because he made throws when the opportunities were presented to him and most importantly, he didn’t turn the football over which he hasn’t done much of this year. The efforts of 17 weren’t bad, it’s just the Bills had other ways to win the football game. The second round of the playoffs hasn’t been the best to this team prior to Sunday as they had lost three consecutive seasons in the divisional round and last season was complete heartbreak at home. Here they are once again in the AFC Championship and the only thing standing in between them and New Orleans is the team that’s been a thorn in their side three times in the post season.

Chiefs: “They haven’t looked the greatest”, “they just know how to survive” and they “don’t put fear into anyone as they once did”. I’ve heard it all this season and my personal favorite has been “they haven’t looked impressive in their wins”. The last time I checked, I didn’t realize that wins had to be pretty or perfect in order for them to count because the goal at the end of the day is to win, and they have done just that. No, it hasn’t looked the best, and they have been able to slide by their opponents throughout the year, but they find ways and that’s what the great football teams are able to do. Patrick Mahomes improved to 7-0 in the divisional round of the postseason and has never lost in this round which is remarkable. He has truly built up an impressive resume since taking over as the starting Quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. Four Super Bowl appearances, three Super Bowl titles and two league MVP’s just to name a few. For quite some time, this was a football team whose identity was the offensive side of the ball, and they could win track meets and simply outscore you. Nowadays, the offense does just enough to slide by, and the defense has shown it can close games out. I noticed how strong of a defensive team they had become during the 2023 season and in the AFC title game in Baltimore last year, they proved they can ugly games up and win those street fights that I often bring up. With that win on Saturday against the Houston Texans, Andy Reid became just the fourth coach in the history of the NFL win 300 games joining legendary coaches Don Shula, George Halas and Bill Belichick. They are playing in the AFC title game for the seventh consecutive season and will welcome the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills to Arrowhead on Sunday night.

Bills X-Factor: James Cook– He makes their offense much better in my eyes and when you establish him often, good things tend to happen. A wise man always says to “Let James Cook” and when he does, that opens everything else up for the Bills offense. James may not be the fastest back, nor the greatest receiver out of the backfield, and he may not be the best when it comes to blocking at times, but he plays with grit each and every time he is on the field. James plays with great awareness and has the vision to exploit holes. He has those football intangibles and that is what makes him stand out.

Chiefs X-Factor: Kareem Hunt– It’s been so good seeing him and against playoff caliber teams this year, Kareem has been a difference maker. He impacts the game as both a runner out the backfield and receiver. In his first stint with the Chiefs, he was a key piece and coming back to the ball club, he hasn’t missed his beat one bit. Kareem is a hard runner that hits the lanes with power and speed who can also burst in the next levels of the defense. In the regular season meeting against the Bills, he was able to rush for 60 yards when the Chiefs lost their first game of the year. Andy Reid is an offensive mastermind and will find ways to incorporate Kareem in this contest on Sunday night.

Final Thoughts: These two will always find a way to face one another and for the fourth time in the playoffs, we are getting Josh Allen against Patrick Mahomes. This is a rivalry that truly is similar to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady’s battles as we see the Bills and Chiefs play one another during the regular season and also in the playoffs, just as we often saw with the two legendary Quarterbacks. When these two met on November 17th, Buffalo handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season and I remember saying to myself then, we will see these two again in January and here we are with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line! One matchup I’m looking forward to seeing is Steve Spagnuolo against Joe Brady and how both of these coordinators will attack the other in their game plans. One strength of the Bills this year has been their edge rushers and the weakness of the Chiefs is their tackles on the Offensive Line, so that’s also going to be something to watch. For the Bills to finally get over the hump, they need a big time performance from Josh Allen here. What he did last week got him by, but that won’t work against this football team. Also, when playing the Chiefs, you must capitalize on the opportunities in front of you and realize that field goals won’t beat this team, touchdowns will give you a much better shot. I remember the gameplay Coach Spagnuolo implemented on Lamar Jackson last year as they used a simple four-man rush and kept him in the pocket and on Sunday this time around, they need to contain Josh from buying time and make him beat you with his arm. This game won’t disappoint either as the battles between these two normally don’t. This will have a feel similar to Michael Jordan taking down the bad boy Pistons. I like the Bills to finally break through and get to the Super Bowl.

Prediction: Bills 24, Chiefs 21

 

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