After being soundly beaten in the AFC championship a year ago, Brandon Beane, the Buffalo Bills general manager, went to assemble a team that could match up with the Kansas City Chiefs. After seeing what the Buccaneers pass rush did to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Beane spent each of his first two draft picks adding pass rushers to the defensive line. He ignored some other areas of need to do so, which cost the Bills in some spots during the regular season, but all is well that ends well.
Beane’s additions on the defensive line both got to Patrick Mahomes in the Week 5 matchup, and the new guy in the receiver room Emmanuel Sanders came away with two touchdowns.
The Bills overcame some midseason adversity, and now they face the vaunted Chiefs in the divisional round. This time around, the Bills might have a team that is specifically designed to beat the Chiefs. That sure seemed to be the case when the Bills went to Kansas City and won 38-20 during the regular season. These are the matchups that will decide the game this time around.