Chiefs’ playoff scouting report: How Bills have changed since last game in KC

It’s Buffalo. Again.

For the third time in four seasons, the Chiefs will face the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, but there will be a big difference this time.

Buffalo’s 31-17 win over the Steelers in Monday afternoon’s AFC Wild Card game means the Chiefs will be traveling to Orchard Park, New York, this Sunday for an AFC Divisional playoff game.

This will be the seventh game between the Chiefs and Bills since the start of the 2020 season. The teams have split the previous six meetings, but the Chiefs beat Buffalo in the two postseason contests during that time, and both were at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

This time the Chiefs will be the road team.

The Bills won the last meeting between the teams when they defeated the Chiefs 20-17 last month at Arrowhead Stadium.

Here is how the Bills have changed since playing the Chiefs on Dec. 10.

1. Closing it out

Buffalo’s biggest problem through its first 12 games was an inability to close out a win. The Bills were sitting at 6-6 in December but they had lost four games in which they held a fourth-quarter lead.

The Bills outscored opponents 41-26 in the second half of their last four games in the regular season. They were never in danger of losing on Monday, either.

2. Stingy pass defense

Buffalo’s defense didn’t allow more than 191 passing yards in any regular-season game after beating the Chiefs. However, Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph had 229 passing yards Monday.

And the Bills have been ballhawks, forcing seven turnovers in those four games. They had two more against the Steelers.

One concern for the Bills is injuries. Linebacker Terrel Bernard left the game on a cart because of an injury. He had 143 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks for the Bills this season, per CBS Sports. Fellow linebacker Baylon Spector (back) also left the game early.

3. Allen on the run

Quarterback Josh Allen’s most rushing attempts in a game this season came in the Bills’ regular-season finale win at Miami. He ran the ball 15 times for 67 yards as Buffalo won the AFC East title. His second-most attempts came a week earlier when he had 11 rushes for 44 and two touchdowns against the Patriots.

Allen, who is 6 foot 5 and 237 pounds, can be a handful for defenses, and the Bills had him run more than ever in the closing weeks of the season.

In Monday’s win, Allen dashed through the Steelers on a 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was the second-longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback in NFL history, CBS said.

Allen rushed for 74 yards in Monday’s win over the Steelers.

The big knock on Allen has been turnovers. CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz noted the importance of Allen protecting the ball when he said Buffalo has a 16-0 record since 2020 when Allen has zero turnovers in a game.

Make it 17-0 because he didn’t lose a fumble or throw an interception against the Steelers.

4. James Cook running, too

Bills running back James Cook had 58 yards rushing in 10 carries against the Chiefs, and he caught five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Over the final four games, Cook piled up 387 all-purpose yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. That was Cook’s most productive four-game stretch of the season.

Against the Steelers on Monday, Cook ran for 79 yards in 18 attempts, averaging 4.4 yards per tote.

Buffalo had 626 rushing yards in their final four regular-season games. The Bills averaged 5.3 yards per attempt in the win over the Steelers.