BY: MIKE READ
There are a handful of storylines for the Buffalo Bills heading into Monday night’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, where do we begin?
We have two young, talented quarterbacks who are arguably the future of the NFL, facing off for the first time in their careers, a mentor versus mentee and two top AFC teams looking to find a win after coming up short in previous games.
This game had every hype and reason for it to be a Thursday Night Game, which it ultimately was before the Tennessee Titans had their COVID-19 outbreak that caused a plethora of schedule changes to be made within the NFL, including moving this game to Monday evening.
Nevertheless, look for this to be one of the most exciting games of this NFL season.
They Said it:
“It’s going to be fun obviously, going against a competitor like Pat. One, on the field, the things that he does? It’s second-to-none. The way he can throw off platform, his eye movement, and really his recognition of the game in the last year or twi and he’s only getting better … Off the field, I’ve met him once, but we’ve kind of messaged back and forth a couple of times. Everything I’ve heard and been told about him … he’s just a grade-A dude … it’s hard not to root for him”
Josh Allen on Patrick Mahomes
“(Allen is) a guy I know that I’ll be facing a lot as our careers go on. It’ll be a great challenge and great opportunity for me to go against that team and him at quarterback.”
Patrick Mahomes on Josh Allen
MONDAY NIGHT MATCHUP:
Both AFC teams come into week six of the 2020 NFL season leading their respective divisions with a record of 4-1. And they also are both coming off disappointing losses.
The Bills are coming off their 42-16 blowout by the Titans and the Chiefs are coming off a 40-32 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, whom the Bills beat in week 4 (30-23). On paper, both the Chiefs and Bills are eerily close in stats on both sides of the ball. The Bills total offense ranks 5th in the league, averaging 401.8 yards/game. The Chiefs are 3rd in the league, averaging 407.2 yards/game.
Defensively, the Bills were a complete disaster against the Titans last week and rank 17th overall in the league, allowing 371.8 yards/game. The Chiefs aren’t too far behind the Bills though, allowing 382.8 yards/game, 20th overall in the league.
In this matchup, the Chiefs have an advantage over the Bills in the rushing game. They have a top-10 rusher with rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Whereas the Bills can’t seem to get the run game and Devin
Singletary into a rhythm – they rank last in the league in rushing.
As for receiving, while the Bills have lethal weapon Stefon Diggs, who ranks 2nd overall in receiving yards, the Chiefs have two major weapons of their own: Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill – both players rank in the top-15 in receiving yards.
The Bills’ performance against Titans alerted many fans and put into question, what’s going on? Injuries to the defense is the only logical answer at this point, even defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, during a press conference last week, alluded to that being the reason his squad hasn’t been performing to the standard fans and people throughout the NFL put them to.
Teacher vs. Student:
Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott was a former member of Andy Reid’s staff from 1998-2010, when Reid was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. McDermott moved up the rankings under Reid’s leadership from assistant to the head coach to defensive coordinator and secondary coach for the Eagles all under Andy Reid.
Gunslingers:
Allen and Mahomes will look to improve their teams to a 5-1 record on the season.
Both QB’s are in the top-5 in passing yards. Allen has thrown for 1,589 yards and is second in the league. Mahomes has thrown for 1,474 yards, he is fourth in the league.
Touchdown to interception ratio isn’t anything alerting. Mahomes has 13 touchdowns on the season and 1 interception. Allen has 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Prior to the game against the Titans, Allen only had 1 interception on the season.
There has also been talk of a friendly competition against the two QBs over the past year or two: Who can throw the longest ball? Mahomes and Allen have joked about the competition on podcasts, during interviews and after practices. Maybe fans will be able to see what each QB can do in the air against one another on the field.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
- For the Bills, it all depends on what defense shows up. If we get the same defensive performance we saw against the Titans, expect Kelce and Hill to light up the Bills secondary and Edwards-Helaire to repeat what Derrick Henry did to the Bills. After being missing last weeks game, Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White are both listed as questionable heading into tonight’s game.
- It’s time for Devin Singletary to light up, right? The Chiefs are allowing 157.6 rushing yards a game (29th overall rushing defense in the league), this game would be a good opportunity for Brian Daboll to involve the run game for Singletary and, yes…Josh Allen. For what it’s worth, Allen is second on the team in rushing yards behind Singletary.
- Expect an all-around good game between two good teams and two good quarterbacks. This might be the first time we see the Allen-Mahomes matchup, but it most certainly will not be the last.
Injury Report(as of this morning):
Bills:
(WR) J. BROWN – QUESTIONABLE
(LB) M. MILANO – QUESTIONABLE
(G) Q. SPAIN – QUESTIONABLE
(CB) T. WHITE – QUESTIONABLE
(TE) D. KNOX – OUT
Chiefs:
(T) M. SCHWARTZ – QUESIONABLE
(G) K. OSEMELE – OUT
(WR) S. WATKINS – OUT
(RB) L. BELL – OUT
Where to watch:
Kickoff is at 5 p.m. from Orchard Park inside an empty Bills Stadium. This is a national broadcasted game and the game will be on Fox, NFL Network, and streaming on Amazon. (NOTE: Weather looks like there
is a very good chance of rain for most of the game)
For more information or live updates regarding the Buffalo Bills, follow us on Twitter @trainwrecksprts or Facebook.
The sports desk can be reached at editorialtrainwrecksports@gmail.com
READ MORE ON THE BILLS:
One Response