Chiefs vs. Bills preview: 5 things to watch for in the AFC Championship Game

The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting their third consecutive AFC Championship Game, but this time they’ll face the Buffalo Bills. They’ll be competing for the Lamar Hunt Trophy and a chance to earn a trip to Super Bowl LV. Both teams boast exciting offenses with top-tier talent, so it should be a fun game to watch, with everything on the line.

Here are five things to watch in the AFC title game:

Do the Chiefs play Patrick Mahomes differently?

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Patrick Mahomes was cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol earlier this week, so he will be available to play and get the start for Kansas City. It’ll be interesting to see if Andy Reid alters the playbook to keep Mahomes out of harm's way. Reid already mentioned that he would continue to involve Mahomes in the running game, however, that could be gamesmanship. Reid hasn’t called a QB sneak since Mahomes dislocated his kneecap in Denver last season, which suggests the head coach might think twice about calling a speed option play again. Mahomes is also reportedly dealing with "turf toe," which is a painful injury that can be aggravated easily. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Mahomes stay in the pocket and refrain from using his feet to avoid getting knocked out of the game or having the toe injury flare-up. Still, a limited Mahomes is better than Chad Henne with the Lamar Hunt Trophy and a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Do the Chiefs focus on running the ball?

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One way the Chiefs could keep Patrick Mahomes healthy is to focus on the running game. Kansas City was very successful running the ball against the Bills earlier this season, recording a total of 245 yards on the ground. Clyde Edwards-Helaire's return will be a big boost to the offense as he accounted for 161 of those rushing yards in Week 6. He's expected to play, but could still be limited and work behind Darrel Williams. Williams is coming off a great game last week in the divisional round. He had 94 yards from scrimmage against the Browns and showed the Chiefs he's dependable as a No. 1 back. Kansas City also still has Darwin Thompson, who had a surprisingly good performance in Week 17. If the Chiefs decide to focus on running the ball, they have the players to do so, it'll just be a matter of how they mix and match them.

Focusing in on Josh Allen

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Josh Allen has made a name for himself this season as one of the top QB’s in the NFL. As a dark horse MVP candidate, he put up over 4,500 yards passing along with 37 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions. He also is a contributor in Buffalo’s run game with over 400 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the season. He is one of the few quarterbacks in the league that can do it all, so the Chiefs will have their hands full keeping him from having a big game. Kansas City was able to contain Allen back in Week 6 when they faced him the first time this season. They held him and the Bills' offense to only 17 points. In that game, Allen had only 122 yards passing, his lowest of the season, and just 42 rushing yards. He also threw an interception in the game's final moments. It was easily his worst game of the season, but he was also dealing with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. He's healthy this time around, so we'll get to see exactly how limited he was in the first game.

Stopping the Bills receivers

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The Bills' wide receivers will also be a big test for the Chiefs with multiple players capable of breaking the game wide open. The group is led by Stefon Diggs, who is having a career year with 127 receptions for 1,535 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s been unstoppable in the playoffs so far also with 234 yards and two touchdowns, so it should be expected that he keeps his hot-streak going this Sunday. The Chiefs did do a decent job containing him earlier this season holding him to only 46 yards, but he did score a touchdown. It will be tough for them to do it again, but they have the secondary players to match up. Look for rookie CB L'Jarius Sneed to match up against Diggs often in the slot. If they do stop Diggs, the Bills have some other good options in the passing game in Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis and recently-elevated Kenny Stills. However, Beasley is banged up with a knee injury and Davis isn't a sure thing to play as he carries a questionable game status.

Bounce-back game for Harrison Butker

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After looking like he was back on track after a rough start to the season, Harrison Butker missed some crucial kicks last week. He missed an extra point, his seventh of the season, and a 33-yard field goal that would have given the Chiefs plenty of breathing room. Instead, they had to sweat it out to the end of the game. Special teams coach Dave Toub said this didn't have anything to do with the issue Butker was having earlier in the season. He said it was an "operational glitch" involving the snap and hold that affected Butker’s performance, so not all the blame should fall on him. This could be a bounce-back game for Butker as it’s likely a few of his kicks will be vital if the Chiefs are to emerge from this game victoriously.