BY: CULLEN TONGE
First, it was “Thursday Night Football”. Then it became “Saturday Night Football”. Finally, we have settled on “Monday Early Evening Football”. The Buffalo Bills have had a very odd past couple of weeks which included 42-16 loss on “Tuesday Night Football,” to the Tennessee Titans, but now they have to not worry about when they are playing, but rather, who they are playing.
The defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs roll into Orchard Park to play the Bills at 5 p.m. on Monday in what has the potential to be the best game the NFL has seen this season. Both teams are 4-1 and feature a high-powered offense and a not so great defense to start the year so fans across the country should be in for a good one. Even though it is only Week six, this game could make or break the Bills season.
As much as fans don’t want to think about the game against the Titans, it is necessary. The Bills made a lot of mistakes in all three phases of the game and it seemed that the only player who was worthy of praise was running back T.J. Yeldon. Yes, Josh Allen had some unbelievable throws, but he also had some that he would like to have back. All in all, the Bills stunk it up in Primetime.
There is one silver lining though; Tennessee is 4-0. They are one of four undefeated teams left in the entire league. Simply put, they are a very good football team. On the downside, the Bills are a very good football team as well and couldn’t compete at all. The showing Tuesday night is not what any fan wants to see, especially with the Chiefs coming into town Monday.
Both the Bills and the Chiefs started 4-0 and sat atop the AFC standings going into Week five. On Sunday, the Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, who Buffalo beat the week before, 40-32. Buffalo was now alone in first place. Then, Tuesday night happened, and they sit in third and fourth in the conference.
So what does this upcoming game mean for the Bills? Personally, I think this is a must-win game for them with a few exceptions. If they can play as good as they did through the first four weeks and put up 30 points or more and lose by 5 or less points, I will consider it a good loss. However, if Patrick Mahomes and company score touchdown after touchdown, and our offense can’t stay right there with them, the Bills might be in for a long evening.
The Tennessee loss was bad and the Bills cannot afford to have two of the exact same game in a row. I understand both the Titans and Chiefs are very good football teams, but in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. The Bills need a win. Plain and simple. I would much rather be 5-1 going into two straight weeks of divisional games then 4-2.
Don’t get me wrong, 4-2 is a great record through six weeks of play. And yes, I do believe as of right now that after Week seven against the Jets, and Week eight against the Patriots, that the Bills would be 6-2. But doesn’t 7-1 with a win against the Chiefs in Primetime sound a whole lot better?
If the Bills lose to the Chiefs, the old narrative that always finds its way back to the Bills whenever they win games will be back. “Who have they beaten? The Jets? Dolphins?” “Two games on national television, against two good teams, and both times they got slaughtered. Are they really that good?”
Now flip that. The Bills beat the Chiefs and move to 5-1. Unfortunately, there will still be haters; its inevitable. But the most common thing we’ll hear won’t be about how the Bills can’t compete with the big dogs. Instead, we’ll be talking about how they took down the defending champions and bounced back from a big loss. A win against the Chiefs puts the Titans loss in the back of everyone’s mind, if not completely out of it.
I wrote about how Josh Allen was in MVP form through four weeks. Then, in Week five, he was back to his rookie season form. We need Josh Allen from weeks one through four this Monday night. Honestly, I am not very worried about the defense. If they can force one or two turnovers to help the offense, fantastic. If not, so be it. The offense will carry us this game. If they don’t, we lose.
No matter how you look at it, the Bills sucked Tuesday. The Chiefs game is another chance to show the world what they’ve got.
And if I’m being honest, I think they’ve got the talent and hard work to prove to the world that even the best teams have bad nights.
The Sports Desk can be reached at editorialtrainwrecksports@gmail.com
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