Chiefs opponent preview, AFC Championship Game: Scouting the Bills

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One more win gets a team to the biggest game in the world of football. On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will host their third consecutive AFC Championship Game, welcoming the Buffalo Bills as their opponent. In a return match from Week 6, many of the same names that captured the headlines then are playing vital roles yet again. The Bills have not lost since that game against Kansas City.

After five days of being in the concussion protocol, quarterback Patrick Mahomes will suit up for Kansas City. Who will represent the AFC and get the chance of a lifetime to win a Lombardi Trophy?

Here is everything you need to know about the Bills ahead of the AFC title game:

Chiefs vs Bills History

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

This will be the 50th all-time meeting between the two original AFL organizations and the Bills currently hold a 26-22 lead over the Chiefs. The two teams tied once in their series back in 1963. Twice in the ’90s, the great defensive teams led by Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City had their Super Bowl hopes dashed by Buffalo’s AFC dynasty. The two met in the 1967 AFL Championship in which the Chiefs won by a score of 31-7. They next met in the 1991-92 divisional round, with the Bills toppling Kansas City 37-14. Their last playoff meeting came in the 1993 AFC Championship Game, in which the Bills came away with a 30-13 win on the back of a great performance by Hall of Fame RB Thurman Thomas. Now for the second time, they meet in the final playoff game before the Super Bowl.

Marquee Additions / Losses

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

This originally appeared in our Week 6 scouting report

Bills Additions

  • WR Stefon Diggs

  • HB Zack Moss

  • G Brian Winters

  • T Daryl Williams

  • CB Josh Norman

Bills Losses

  • HB Frank Gore

  • DE Shaq Lawson

  • DT Jordan Phillips

  • CB Kevin Johnson

Bills Coaching Scheme

AP Photo/Philadelphia Inquirer, Ron Cortes

This originally appeared in our Week 6 scouting report Sean McDermott was hired as the head coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2017 and he hired Leslie Frazier the same year to be his defensive coordinator. A year later in 2018, he hired Brian Daboll to come and serve as his offensive coordinator. McDermott was a defensive coordinator himself from 2011 to 2016 with the Panthers under the now Washington head coach Ron Rivera. In McDermott’s first season, the Bills made the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season. He led them to the playoffs again in 2019 but made a quick exit again. The Bills won their first playoff game under McDermott with a win over Indianapolis in the wild card round. Frazier’s defense has been a solid unit ever since he joined McDermott’s staff in 2017 but Frazier and McDermott have a tough task ahead of them to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense but have the players to do it, it’s all about execution and game planning at this point. The Buffalo defense failed to slow down the K.C. rushing attack in Week 6. Brian Daboll has served as offensive coordinator for the Browns, Dolphins, and was the Chiefs coordinator for their 2012 season that ended with a 2-14 record. Daboll has a lot of hours spent on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England. He also has spent time with Nick Saban on a couple of different occasions. He was a graduate assistant for Saban’s Michigan State Spartans in the late ‘90s and Daboll was a co-offensive coordinator for Saban at Alabama in 2017. Daboll is attention-to-detail driven just like Saban and Belichick but applies his philosophies on offense. He also learned how to exploit a weakness in the opposing defense, sometimes utilizing different offenses each week.

Key Players for the Bills

AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes

This originally appeared in our Week 6 scouting report

QB Josh Allen

The Wyoming product is having a breakout season and sits toward the top of most NFL passing stats. Allen threw for 4,544 yards, 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and has run for another eight scores in the regular season. He has been a great locker room leader and even though he isn’t always the most accurate passer, his strength in the pocket and playmaking ability helped Buffalo to a 13-3 record and their first division title since 1995.

WR Stefon Diggs

Diggs was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings and has been a big boost to the aerial attack of the Bills. He has 1,535 receiving yards and he hauled in eight touchdown receptions. He is clearly his quarterback’s favorite target and his play has opened up opportunities for fellow receivers Cole Beasley and John Brown.

LB Tremaine Edmunds

The Bills had two first-round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. The first one was Josh Allen and the second was a young and talented kid out of Virginia Tech. Edmunds stands at 6’5 and weighs 250 pounds so he is an imposing force in the middle of the defense. In his first two seasons, he totaled over 100 tackles and did so again in 2020 with 119. He also has two sacks and two interceptions.

CB Tre’Davious White

Arguably the best defender on the entire defense is cornerback Tre’Davious White who led the team in pass deflections on the season with 11. The fourth-year defensive back signed a new four-year contract to remain in Buffalo. In order to have the best chance to slow up Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, White has to be on the field for Leslie Frazier. White also picked off three passes which also was the best on the team.

Key Matchups for AFC Championship

AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann

Stefon Diggs vs. L'Jarius Sneed

With Rashad Fenton and Bashaud Breeland both listed as questionable the depth of the cornerbacks for the Chiefs is an issue, to say the least. Diggs is easily the best receiver for the Bills and will be a tough task for the defense. Sneed, who has been trustworthy much of the year, will have to have his best game under the brightest lights yet. He didn't play in Week 6 as he was on injured reserve. Diggs, however, was held to 46 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 6.

Chiefs OL vs. Bills DL

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is questionable for the AFC title game but in the Week 6 matchup, CEH ran for 161 yards. Buffalo is more aware of that stat than anyone who has mentioned it in the media or fanbase. The Bills defense will be better prepared to stop the run but cannot stack the box to do it. The battle in the trenches is going to dictate who wins this game.

Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen

Over on the NFC side, there is 37-year-old Aaron Rodgers taking on 43-year-old Tom Brady but it is much different for the AFC. Patrick Mahomes at only the age of 25 is already playing in his third AFC Championship while Josh Allen is only 24 and making his first appearance. Two of the best young quarterback talents in the league and both have so much more room to get better. Get used to seeing these two battle over the next decade.

Overview

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

This has the combustible elements that could make this a shoot-out-style game but a cold January day in Arrowhead Stadium is the perfect setting for a grind-it-out contest. More than likely we will see two talented young quarterbacks are it out but in the playoffs with everything on the line, you do what is needed to win. The Bills bested the Chiefs back in 1994 in the AFC Championship Game but nearly 27 years to the day later, will the results be different?