Buffalo Bills: KC Chiefs writer provides insight on Week 6 matchup

I had a chance to talk with Matt Conner at Arrowhead Addict to get his thoughts about the upcoming matchup for the Kansas City Chiefs with the Buffalo Bills.

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are both coming off their first loss of the 2020 season and this game has the makings of being a shootout between two of the better offenses in the NFL. I had a chance to talk with Matt Conner, site expert at Arrowhead Addict, to get some thoughts about this matchup from the Kansas City Chiefs perspective.

Question 1: The Chiefs are coming off a shootout loss to the Raiders. What is the biggest thing the Chiefs will need to correct heading into this game?

I’d actually have a laundry list of things to discuss here: mental mistakes, miscommunications on coverage, a predictable game plan on defense, adjusting to life without Sammy Watkins. However, the Chiefs’ bread and butter is the high-powered offense and teams are finding ways to disrupt a bit too much by sending only three or four rushers at a time. Something has to give along with the offensive line here. The Chiefs don’t have the highest ceiling along the front, but the floor should be much higher. I was just shocked to see how much pressure teams have been able to generate in recent weeks without blitzing (which is actually what Mahomes wants you to do).

Question 2: Who is one player that has been a pleasant surprise to start the year that Buffalo Bills fans should watch for in this game?

Up until his injury, rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was the obvious answer here as a player who showed up strong as a ballhawks (2 INTs) in the season’s first quarter. That’s unexpected for the last pick in the fourth round. That said, Taco Charlton has been the Chiefs’ most efficient pass rusher (not most effective) in his limited reps. You’ll likely see him get after Josh Allen on multiple occasions in this game.

Question 3: Buffalo Bills fans know Sammy Watkins well and it looks like he won’t be available for this game. How big of a loss will it be for this offense not having him on the field?

I brought this up earlier already as a hurdle, but you’re right to extrapolate that out a bit. The Chiefs have plenty of depth with other weapons, so losing Watkins for KC is not like another team losing such a dangerous target.

That said, the best teams use their personnel to double Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and the Chiefs have struggled at times trying to find someone to step up outside of them. They can manufacture touches for Mecole Hardman that work well, but in terms of a guy who can step in and move the chains as the physical X receiver, there’s nothing reliable there without Sammy.

Question 4: How do you see this game playing out and do you have a final score prediction?

Chiefs 28, Bills 24. I think the Bills will look respectable, but I think the Chiefs go up early and keep this game out of reach with a final score that likely looks closer than what it really was.