ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – As Bills quarterback Josh Allen made his way into the end zone for his game-clinching score, the celebration was on in Western New York with the 30-21 win over the Chiefs. Allen’s 26-yard touchdown run was the crushing blow in knocking the Chiefs from their undefeated position and instantly announced themselves as bona fide contenders for the AFC’s top seed in the postseason.
With their sixth straight win and now a 9-2 record, the Bills are just half a game behind the Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC and now own the tiebreaker. If they wanted to have any hope of securing the AFC playoff path through Buffalo, Sunday was as close to a must-have as you’ll find.
The Chiefs have been the thorn in the side of the Bills in the playoffs for years. But outside of the playoffs, the Bills control the game. Sunday marked the Bills’ fourth straight regular-season win over the Chiefs. But the win over the Chiefs also marked a first for the Bills: the first time they beat Patrick Mahomes in Buffalo.
The Bills are flying high into their bye week with just six games remaining until the playoffs. Here’s what stood out during the Bills’ historic win over the Chiefs.
While Allen will get a lot of the plaudits for the game, and rightfully so, the defense deserves a huge amount of credit for their efforts. Most importantly, for the first time since Mahomes became the Chiefs’ full-time starting quarterback, the Bills shut down his favorite target like never before. Tight end Travis Kelce, who has long been a Bills antagonist because of how well he has played in these matchups, was kept shockingly quiet. Kelce caught just two passes for eight yards.
In the seven games Mahomes and Kelce played against the Bills, Kelce hasn’t had a game where he gained fewer than 57 yards. His totals over those seven games, 51 receptions for 602 yards and eight touchdowns, would rank among the most productive tight end seasons in Bills history. That’s an average of seven catches for 86 yards. Through Kelce’s last three games this season, he has 32 receptions for 254 yards. His average yardage per reception over those three games (7.93) was just a shade below the total yards the Bills allowed to Kelce on Sunday.
GO DEEPER
Josh Allen emerges as MVP favorite after signature play in win over Chiefs
Over the years, the Bills have tried a little bit of everything. They tried to keep him in the zone. They also tried assigning him a similarly sized defender who could neutralize him on obvious passes, but nothing worked. But the big question is, after all these years and matchups, how did they finally slow Kelce down?
It came down to a lot of attention and changing things from their usual approach in the defense field.
“Wherever he was, that’s what we wanted to keep our eyes on,” nickel corner Taron Johnson said after the game. “Even when it comes to zone and stuff, we actually play our zones a little bit differently when he’s in the game because of how smart he is as a player.”
Mahomes has his eyes constantly on Kelce when he needs a play, and it seems like both players share a brain for finding the weak spot in coverage. Kelce comes off the field more often than in previous seasons, giving the Bills a chance to reset their plan every time he was on the sideline and re-hone it once he trotted back into the game. But the Bills took him like they never had before, which led to Mahomes looking elsewhere for the entire game.
“When we’re in the zone, it’s just a good awareness of where he is — kind of flooding that area, kind of a deal,” said defensive back Cam Lewis, who came in on defense for every third down.
It worked, and it helped take Kelce away early, forcing Mahomes to go elsewhere outside of a few dump-down throws. The Bills also took an atypical approach once they got good results in the early game.
“I feel like we played a lot of man, to be honest, especially on third downs,” Lewis said. “I feel like we figured out early on that we could beat these guys, and our rush was buzzing tonight, so why not?”
The Bills are a zone-heavy team and have been that way for quite some time under head coach Sean McDermott. But with a pass rush to get to Mahomes and limiting his time to create, the Bills defense struck, taking Kelce away and removing themselves from the field more often than not.
There were a lot of reasons why the Bills won such a big game, but limiting Kelce was chief among them. This is likely a very different game and possibly a different outcome if Kelce was able to get going.
On Sunday, the most unlikely and remarkable streak finally came to an end. Over the last 32 games, beginning in Week 18 of the 2022 regular season, the Bills have seen their favorite offensive line five start every game through the first ten games of the 2024 season. Usual right tackle Spencer Brown missed the game with an ankle injury, forcing Ryan Van Demark into the lineup for his first NFL career start.
After playing much of his college and professional career at left tackle, he was forced to make his debut on the more unnatural side of the two tackle spots. And while not blameless, Van Demark’s job in a crucial minor role added to the lore of this now long-standing rivalry. He’s a player who spent the entire 2022 season on the practice squad and worked his way onto the 53-man roster in 2023, only to make his first start well over halfway through the 2024 season.
The Bills relied on him to win his one-on-ones for much of the night, especially in a tough matchup against defensive end George Karlaftis. But Van Demark played with confidence and did extremely well considering the circumstances. His natural athleticism was on display in his kick slide all game, as he looked like he belonged all night long.
One of Van Demark’s defining moments came during Allen’s 26-yard touchdown run. As Allen scanned the underlying routes around him, Van Demark went step-by-step with Karlaftis and chased the pass rusher deep past the pocket, creating the career run Allen needed to begin his memorable run. It’s such small plays, and helping to keep Allen clean the rest of the time, that was such a big performance by Van Demark when the Bills were without one of their best starters in Brown. An unsung hero, given the situation.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!
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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 18, 2024
So the question is: what’s next for Brown? Speak with The Athletics After the game, Brown said he will definitely be back in time for the 49ers game. The injury was a low right ankle sprain, which prevented him from planting in pass protection from his position. Brown said it wasn’t really a pain problem, but rather swelling in the ankle. Brown even said he would have pushed to play if the injury had been to his left leg. Regardless, as long as the rest of the line is healthy, the Bills will likely go back to their favorite five.
What the Chiefs win means in the grand scheme of things
When the Bills earned their fourth consecutive regular-season win over the Chiefs, the locker room was especially notable with the tone afterwards. While there was the usual buzz in the air at getting a win, and even a close one, there wasn’t the feeling of those past victories over the Chiefs. In those moments, it felt like a culmination of their build rather than just what it was: a regular-season win. At the time, it’s understandable why those wins would be more meaningful given their playoff struggles against the franchise.
LET’S GO, TB!!
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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 18, 2024
But on Sunday, both during and after the game, the Bills presented themselves as a team that had been there before. Not only did they say it was just one game the week leading up to the game. They also acted that way. There was no extensive party. Moral victories seem to be a thing of the past. It was all business as if there was still business to be done. When asked if he could finally slow Kelce down and how it felt to do so, Taron Johnson wasn’t even all that effusive, thinking about the bigger picture.
“Great, but at the end of the day it’s just a different team,” Johnson said. “It’s not the play-offs. We’re just on to the next one, that’s all.’
That’s exactly the mentality that will serve the Bills best, especially with a week off to reset and reflect on the rest of their season. Make no mistake, this was a crucial win as they planned to secure both the top seed and a first-round bye for the first time since McDermott became head coach. Especially with losses to the Ravens and Texans potentially complicating their seeding, a loss to the Chiefs would have left the fourth seed with a higher percentage outcome than the first seed. But the impressive piece probably knows this while still being able to compartmentalize and not let it affect their performance in the slightest.
Even in a season that should have meant a small adjustment as they maneuvered future salary cap years, the bigger picture is becoming clear with each passing week and win. This season is no longer about putting themselves in a good position for the years to come. In fact, that hasn’t been the case since they fell to 3-2 this season after their quick two-game losing streak and got back on track with a pair of wins.
Developments are taking place in almost every respect. The offense is running in a balanced manner, the defense is stepping up when needed in big spots, and the team is battling tough injuries to big names. And with these players returning soon (see: Milano, Matt), this is as promising a first 11 games as we’ve seen from this franchise under McDermott. Not to mention Allen, who is playing the best football of his career and has the best chance to win the NFL MVP award since entering the league. This Bills team is real, and with the way this season is going, just a trip to the Super Bowl will be enough to consider the 2024 campaign a success.
MVP: QB Josh Allen – You can’t really give the MVP to anyone other than Allen after he made the decisive move in his bid to win NFL MVP this season.
LVP: K Tyler Bass — It was hard to find a true LVP, but missing an extra point in a close game could have been the difference between a win and a loss for the Bills.
Next: The Bills have a bye in Week 12, with a home game against the 5-5 49ers in Week 13.
(Top photo: Tina MacIntyre-Yee / Imagn Images)
