We’re just two days away from the Buffalo Bills facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs. This may be the Bills’ best chance to beat this Chiefs team, and they can do so by keeping a couple of Kansas City players in check. The Chiefs have found creative ways to win games this year, some by mere luck, and others by dominating their opponent. However, one thing's for certain. This Chiefs team cannot be overlooked, no matter what people say about their season.
Kansas City’s defense has been keeping them in a lot of games this season, and Buffalo will have to key in on a couple of players on that side of the ball to win this game. Let’s look at two defensive players and one offensive player that Bills fans need to be worried about.
Defensive end George Karlaftis
Buffalo’s last two playoff opponents, the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, had the best pass rushes in the league this season, according to ESPN, and combined for three sacks on Josh Allen. This time around, Buffalo will be facing a defense that has sacked the quarterback 39 times, with George Karlaftis notching eight of those sacks. Karlaftis also totaled 28 quarterback hits and five passes defended in the regular season.
Buffalo has done well against some of the league's top pass rushers this postseason, and it looks like that won’t change this week. However, going up against a player like Karlaftis, you have to be watching him at all times. With the media giving Chris Jones all of the attention in this game, Karlaftis deserves some recognition as well, and he’s a player that Buffalo will have to gameplan around.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie
While McDuffie doesn’t have the ball-hawking skills that many other defensive backs have, he’s still a lockdown corner. Josh Allen has been excellent this postseason, throwing for 392 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. This may be a game where Josh looks away from whoever McDuffie covers, considering in their last matchup McDuffie shadowed Amari Cooper 39.5% of the time, allowing one reception for one yard, according to PlayerProfiler.
Tight End Travis Kelce
Kelce had a slow start to the season in 2024, and it wasn’t until after the Bills game in Week 11 that he began to play like the old Travis Kelce. He’s once again been Mahomes’ favorite target all the way through last week’s divisional round, where he totaled 117 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions.
The Bills need to have a clean injury report before Saturday, with multiple defenders, including Matt Milano (hamstring) and Taylor Rapp (back/hip) injured heading into this game. Buffalo may be relying on Cole Bishop to keep Kelce contained this week.