Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Divisional Round Final Score Prediction
By Aaron Tully
In the Divisional Round, the Buffalo Bills will be looking to establish themselves as the clear favorite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl by knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this season.
The Bills and Chiefs met back in Week 5 in Kansas City, where the Bills manhandled the Chiefs in a 38-20 statement win. The Bills forced four turnovers, including two Patrick Mahomes interceptions, while not committing any themselves. Winning the turnover battle will be key for a Buffalo victory on Sunday, as their most impressive wins come when the offense plays a clean game.
This, however, is a different Chiefs team than the one the Buffalo Bills thwarted back in October. They have won 11 of the 13 games they’ve played since the first meeting and six in a row at Arrowhead. Patrick Mahomes has been absolutely on fire since the calendar flipped to November, throwing nineteen touchdowns and just three interceptions since then.
Sunday will also be the biggest test for the Buffalo secondary so far since losing Tre’Davious White to a torn ACL back on Thanksgiving. All of Kansas City’s receivers were held in check when they met the first time, but this time they won’t have to face one of the league’s best corners in White.
To their credit, the Buffalo secondary has not missed a beat without White, finishing as the top overall defense and pass defense in the NFL, allowing just 163 passing yards a game on the season, and 17 points per game.
Buffalo’s offense should be in the same conversation as the Chiefs when it comes to the most dangerous offenses in the league. They hung 47 points on a New England defense that is regarded among the league’s elite units. Josh Allen had the best game of his career, throwing for 305 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to 66 rushing yards on six carries.
Dawson Knox had a stellar game, catching five passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns, including an incredible catch in the back of the endzone on a pass that was intended to be a throwaway. Stefon Diggs caught three passes for 60 yards, extending his continued success over Patriots cornerback J.C Jackson.
Devin Singletary also scored twice on 16 carries, adding 81 rushing yards. Singletary has been on fire down the stretch for the Bills and will be important to Buffalo’s chances of knocking off the Chiefs.
As far as injuries are concerned, the Bills are relatively healthy, with Mario Addison being a limited participant in practice. The Chiefs have a number of limited participants, including Tyreek Hill, but their only two players who were questionable are cornerback Rashad Felton and running back Darrel Williams.
It is difficult to see any key players missing a must-win game for the Chiefs, so it should be assumed that anyone who has a chance to play, will play.
Final Score Prediction: Buffalo Bills 27, Kansas City Chiefs 28
This is a chance for the Bills to avenge their AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs a season ago. It is a chance for the iconic image of Stefon Diggs watching the Chiefs celebrate to become the catalyst for a Bills Super Bowl run. That would be a dream scenario for Buffalo, however, dreams do not always come to fruition, especially for the Bills.
light. Must Read. 4 more bold predictions for the Bills vs. Chiefs
It is a daunting task for any team to win in Arrowhead Stadium once in a season, let alone twice. Both the Chiefs and the Bills are on fire entering this matchup, and something has to give. These teams are evenly matched, and this game could certainly go either way, but the home-field advantage will give the Chiefs the edge in this one.