The Buffalo Bills return to the scene of a painful playoff loss when they visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.
The Bills seemingly were en route to an AFC Divisional round victory when they went ahead with 13 seconds left in regulation this past January, but the Chiefs tied the contest with a field goal and eventually won 42-36 in overtime on Patrick Mahomes’ 8-yard scoring pass to Travis Kelce.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott said the heartbreaking loss serves as an educational experience.
“I think just overall, you learn a lot through your experience, whether it’s positive or negative, and you can use it as you move forward as a person individually, as a team in this case,” McDermott told reporters on Wednesday. “I think when you’re in those games, just being in those games to begin with is a great educator for us as coaches, players and our football team.”
The Chiefs (4-1) and Bills (4-1) are tied for best record in the AFC. This will be the fifth meeting in the past two-plus seasons, with the teams splitting two regular-season contests and Kansas City winning a pair of playoff games.
The contest also arguably pits the top two quarterbacks in the NFL in Mahomes and Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Mahomes leads the NFL with 15 touchdown passes while throwing for 1,398 yards and two interceptions. He threw four touchdown passes to Kelce in Monday night’s 30-29 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It marks the 15th time he has thrown four or more scoring passes in a regular-season game.
Kelce’s scoring receptions were topped by just one tight end in NFL history. Kellen Winslow of the famed “Air Coryell” San Diego Chargers caught five against the then-Oakland Raiders in 1981.
“Being down by 17, nobody cracked, and you didn’t see doubt in anybody’s eyes. All it did was build the beast, make us rally together and fight for each other,” Kelce said of the comeback victory. “We know we can play some good football when we have that kind of mentality.”
Allen leads the NFL with 1,651 passing yards, including a career-high 424 yards in last Sunday’s 38-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw four touchdowns, all in the first half, to raise his season count to 14 against four interceptions.
He is no longer interested in hearing anything about the game that got away nine months ago.
“We moved on. We’re ready to focus on this week,” Allen said. “I know everybody in the media will make a big deal out of it but as players, it really is just our next game on the schedule. Nothing we did last year carries over to this year.”
The two stars have a friendly relationship despite all the recent clashes.
“When you go up against the other great quarterback in the league, you always want to win, you always want to compete,” Mahomes said on Wednesday. “Josh is a great guy. He’s a great quarterback, physically talented. He can throw, he can run, he can do it all.
“When we’re on the football field, we’re competing against each other and we want to beat each other’s teams. I have a ton of respect for him and the player and person that he is.”
Both teams have won two straight games since dropping games in Week 3 — Kansas City lost 20-17 to the host Indianapolis Colts while the Bills fell 21-19 to the host Miami Dolphins.
Buffalo listed defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle) as a full practice participant on Wednesday for the initial time since he was injured in Week 1. Receiver Isaiah McKenzie (concussion) also was a full-go after missing the Pittsburgh game. Missing the workout for injury reasons were running back Taiwan Jones (knee) and receiver Jake Kumerow (ankle).
Kansas City safety Bryan Cook (concussion), defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (knee) and cornerbacks Rashad Fenton (hamstring) and Chris Lammons (hip) missed practice Wednesday.
–Field Level Media