Bills beat Chiefs: Statement win or more of the same in January?
By Andy Davies
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills subjected the Kansas City Chiefs to their first loss since Christmas Day of 2023 on Sunday, ending their unbeaten start to the season.
Miami Dolphins fans everywhere were for once ecstatic that the Bills won a game as their team from 1972 remain the only team in NFL history to go the whole season unbeaten, former full back Larry Csonka raising a glass of champagne.
Bills fans everywhere will be hoping that win over the Chiefs will lead to champagne glasses being clinked all over Buffalo (and New Orleans) in February. This is now the fourth time Allen has beaten Patrick Mahomes. However, he has yet to beat him when it really matters, in the playoffs.
Was the win on Sunday a statement win for the Bills? Or are they gearing up for more playoff disappointment in January?
Bills showcase offensive weapons without Stefon Diggs
The Bills have been contenders for the majority of Allen’s time in the NFL, making the playoffs in all but one season, with the only absence being his rookie year. However, he has only made one AFC Championship game and has a 5-5 postseason record.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs arrived during the 2020 offseason and him and Allen immediately clicked, reaching that aforementioned single AFC Championship game appearance together.
Their relationship became more and more strained before Diggs was eventually traded in the offseason to the Houston Texans. Many felt Allen only became good when Diggs arrived and that he would struggle without him. However, the Bills and Allen have been just as good if not better in his absence. With five rushing touchdowns in 2024, this makes his career total 58, which is just seven behind the franchise record of 65 set by Thurman Thomas.
Year | Passing Yards | TD’s | INT’s |
2018 | 2,074 | 10 | 12 |
2019 | 3,089 | 20 | 9 |
2020 | 4,544 | 37 | 10 |
2021 | 4,407 | 36 | 15 |
2022 | 4,283 | 35 | 14 |
2023 | 4,306 | 29 | 18 |
2024 | 2,543 | 18 | 5 |
Statistically, Allen is projected to have his worst passing yard total since his rookie year and his third lowest touchdowns in a season. However, he is also projected to have his lowest interception total. Throwing picks and being careless with the football have been the biggest setbacks in Allen’s career.
He has been far less of an interception friendly quarterback this season. You cannot help but feel that this is massively impacted by Diggs not being around, who would often moan when he did not receive the ball from Allen.
In particular, this has seen Khalil Shakir become more involved, recording 599 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. This is only 12 yards less than the entire of his 2023 season, where he had two touchdowns in the entire campaign.
Diggs’ absence has also allowed running back James Cook to be set free, with 10 touchdowns in 2024, a big jump from two in 2022 and two in 2023.
We’ve read this book before
Despite this win for the Bills, they have been here before.
Allen is now 4-1 against Mahomes in the regular season, with some highlight plays along the way. This includes hurdling a Chiefs defender as the Bills won in 2022 and then the play on Sunday where he ran for a 26-yard touchdown to seal the game with a bruising run.
However, he is 0-3 against Mahomes in the postseason and this is what matters. This is what Allen has to overcome, along with his reputation for throwing interceptions, if he wants to win a Super Bowl, or even reach one.
Of course, the Chiefs cannot win every year, but they are bound to still get far in 2024. It is likely that if they are to not make it, it will be the Bills or Baltimore Ravens to stop them in their tracks. Allen has a very good chance to play Mahomes in the playoffs, and this would currently be the AFC Championship with both teams occupying the top two AFC seeds.
This Mahomes and Allen rivalry is being compared to Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning and there are a lot of similarities. Mahomes, like Brady, has the rings. Allen, like Manning, has struggled to get over the hump against the league’s best QB. However, Manning eventually had his moment and beat Brady. Allen will hope that this is the year he does it. Otherwise, it will be more of the same for Allen and the Bills .
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABEL