5 Bills players that must step up vs. Chiefs in divisional round
The Buffalo Bills are hoping to make their playoff blunder against the Kansas City Chiefs a thing of the past during their upcoming divisional round matchup.
The Bills (11-6) will visit the Chiefs (12-5) on Sunday, the same site where they lost the AFC championship a year ago.
If Buffalo is to play beyond their trip to Kansas City this year, a few players in particular must have a big game.
Here are five Bills players who must step up against the Chiefs:
WR Stefon Diggs
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
If Diggs gets going, that likely means the Bills offense as a whole is rolling. Most importantly, it probably means quarterback Josh Allen is playing well, too.
And good news: Diggs has played well against Kansas City in recent meetings. He only had two catches in the Bills’ win in KC earlier this season but notched 69 yards on them. He also had six grabs for 77 yards in last year’s postseason.
TE Dawson Knox
Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox (88) (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
While it’s not offense vs. offense, when it comes to the Bills and Chiefs… it kind of is. If Knox gets involved in the game plan with Diggs, that will allow Buffalo to match Kansas City’s duo of receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce.
Like Diggs, Knox impacted the win over KC earlier this season. He surpassed 100 yards receiving while also scoring. Knox is also heating up recently as he had two touchdowns in the wild-card round against the New England Patriots.
OL Mitch Morse
Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
The top threat to Buffalo’s offense succeeding via the Chiefs defensively comes from a few of their players in the trenches.
In the middle, defensive tackle Chris Jones was named the sixth-best player at his position by Pro Football Focus this season. He can stop the run and led Kansas City with nine sacks.
Additionally their D-line has a new face: Melvin Ingram. He was added after the Bills defeated the Chiefs earlier his season and many credit his addition to helping the entire defense improve as this year rolled on.
While Morse can’t block everyone, he’s the veteran in the middle. Along with Allen, Morse has to help his teammates get in the right positions on the field to block this duo out of the game.
CB Levi Wallace
Bills cornerback Levi Wallace (39) Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
A huge key to this AFC divisional contest is cornerback Tre’Davious White. Rather, the lack of him.
White played a part in slowing down Hill and Kelce in Week 5 and since then his season has come to an end. White’s ACL injury occurred on Thanksgiving and since then the Bills defense has held well.
However, they haven’t faced a team like the Chiefs on offense. Few teams are that good and if Wallace can play at a top level, Bills safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer will appreciate it.
DE Greg Rousseau
Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50). (AP Photo/John Amis)
The entire offseason the Bills front office put together last summer was all about attacking the Chiefs. It started in the defensive trenches and the marque addition was first-round pick Greg Rousseau.
Buffalo is hoping they can slow down Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes in any way possible. One of the best plans of attack is to put him on the ground and Rousseau, who sacked him earlier this year, will hope to do just that.
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