MAF PREVIEW: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT BUFFALO BILLS

BY ADAM GREENE

As the NFL continues to deal with the occasional positive COVID-19 test result, we have once again been blessed with the oddball Monday Afternoon Football match up. This week it’s a good one, perhaps the best game of Week Six as the Kansas City Chiefs travel to upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Bills.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT BUFFALO BILLS (+5.5, O/U: 55.5)

Location: Bills Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.

Kickoff: Oct. 19, 5 p.m. EST

Broadcast: FOX/NFL Network

THE HISTORY

As two of the original AFL teams, the Chiefs and Bills have been facing off regularly for the last 60 years. The Bills lead the all time match up 26-21-1, largely due to the Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Marv Levy Bills of the 1990s and, weirdly, the early 2000s. That probably had a lot more to do with both teams being bad at the time, with the Chiefs just being a little worse.

In  the 2010s, the teams are 3-3 with the Bills winning their last match up 16-10 on Nov. 26, 2017. Tyrod Taylor got the win over Alex Smith in the QB duel, completing 19 of 29 for 183 yards and one touchdown. Smith was 23 of 36 for 199 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (4-1)

The Chiefs come into this game after suffering their first loss of the season, a 40-32 shootout defeat at the hands of their AFC West rival, the Las Vegas Raiders. Patrick Mahomes had his normal stat-heavy performance, but wasn’t super accurate against the Raiders defense. He still tossed for 340 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception and was barely better than 50 percent passing, completing 22 of 43. Kansas City’s running game was shut down as well, as they gained just 80 yards as a team with Clyde Edwards-Helaire leading the way with 10 carries for 40 yards.

Defensively, they were a mess, surrendering 490 yards and making Las Vegas QB Derek Carr look more like Mahomes than Mahomes.

BUFFALO BILLS (4-1)

The Bills too just suffered their first defeat of the season, a 42-16 beat down at the hands of the still undefeated Tennessee Titans. Buffalo was the latest victim of the NFL’s war on karma, as the game was pushed around all over the schedule thanks to Tennessee repeatedly getting hit with positive COVID-19 tests.

Josh Allen had his worst day of 2020, completing 26 of 41 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Buffalo couldn’t do much in the running game either, gaining just 95 yards total on the ground.

THE PICK

This is a prime contest to pick a bounce back game, only both these teams need to bounce back. The Bills are good, probably one of the four best squads in the AFC. The Chiefs, in spite of their loss and the fact that there are two undefeated units in the conference, are still the best until proven otherwise come January and February. When you look at this game, it all comes down to who you think is more likely to lose two in a row. It’s not Kansas City. Chiefs 27, Bills 23