Do Bills Have Blueprint To Beat Chiefs? Best Of Nfl Week Nine

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Josh Allen of nan Buffalo Bills pictured against nan Kansas City ChiefsImage source, Getty Images

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Will Josh Allen and nan Bills yet hit nan Chiefs successful nan play-offs?

ByPaul Higham

BBC Sport Journalist

Sunday of week 9 had conscionable astir everything, and pinch truthful overmuch to get done it has been reliable to prime retired nan large talking points.

Obviously, we person to look astatine really nan Bills beat nan Chiefs for nan 5th consecutive clip successful nan regular season, but did their capacity propose they tin yet hit them successful nan play-offs?

After mostly being overlooked it is clip to study nan Seattle Seahawks, particularly their surgical quarterback, while location is only 1 action for our crippled of nan week erstwhile location is an 89-point thriller going down successful Cincinnati.

Here is what caught our oculus from Sunday.

The breakdown - are Bills yet built to hit Chiefs?

The Patrick Mahomes v Josh Allen head-to-head now stands astatine 5-5, but nan Kansas City prima has won each 4 play-off meetings and has 3 Super Bowl rings.

So make nary mistake, this type of nan Bills has been built to hit nan Chiefs and they produced an almost flawless display.

Buffalo dominated some lines of scrimmage and nan clip of possession, holding nan shot for almost 10 minutes much than nan Chiefs. The champion measurement to hit Mahomes of people is to support him disconnected nan field.

When he was connected it, nan Bills defence some swarmed him and covered his receivers - resulting successful being deed a career-high 15 times and signaling a career-low 44.1% completion.

Mahomes had ne'er completed little than 50% of his passes successful his nine-year career.

On nan flip side, Allen completed a squad grounds 88.5% of his passes and ran successful 2 short touchdowns to return his profession tally to 79 - much rushing touchdowns than immoderate different backmost successful NFL history.

Patrick Mahomes successful action against nan Buffalo BillsImage source, Getty Images

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Patrick Mahomes was deed a grounds 15 times and had a career-low completion percentage

Those 2 'tush push' touchdowns were a large difference, arsenic nan Chiefs mostly stopped them successful past season's AFC Championship but could not connected Sunday - while Mahomes ran 3 plays from nan Bills' one-yard statement and grounded to find nan endzone.

Buffalo besides cracked nan Chiefs defence pinch Dalton Kincaid having nan first 100-yard receiving crippled against them successful 12 matches.

And pinch 114 yards James Cook was nan first 100-yard rusher nan Chiefs had allowed since Lamar Jackson connected nan opening time of nan 2024 play - and first moving backmost since Zamir White connected 25 December 2023.

In 9 erstwhile meetings nan Chiefs mean 14 points much successful play-off games than regular season, but nan Bills surely look to person a blueprint for occurrence this clip astir if they again find nan Chiefs blocking their way to nan Super Bowl.

In attraction - Sam Darnold dazzles for Seahawks

Seattle backmost Sam Darnold talks aft a winImage source, Getty Images

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Sam Darnold deed 17 consecutive completions for Seattle successful Washington

"Sam's execution correct now - he's conscionable ridiculous," said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald aft different dazzling Sam Darnold display.

Yes, Josh Allen, Jackson and Mahomes person each shown glimpses, but nan 'other guys' of nan backmost fraternity are showing up this season.

Second-year triggermen Drake Maye and Bo Nix are some 7-2 aft starring nan New England Patriots and Denver Broncos to wins connected Sunday, while successful Los Angeles Matthew Stafford is lighting it up for nan Rams and Justin Herbert likewise for nan Chargers.

But it was Darnold's clip to radiance successful Washington connected Sunday pinch a surgical first half successful which he completed each 16 passes and threw 4 touchdowns arsenic nan Seahawks dismantled nan Commanders.

ESPN's, external Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) strategy is an in-depth metric that takes into relationship opposing protect spot and crippled authorities arsenic good arsenic yardage and scoring stats - and is simply a 0-100 strategy wherever 75 and supra is regarded arsenic excellent.

Darnold's 97.8 people connected Sunday was nan champion of his profession and his 3rd complete 97 this play - Jackson is nan only different subordinate to get complete that people truthful far.

In short, nan 2018 3rd wide draught prime has been fantabulous this season, proving that his renaissance successful Minnesota past twelvemonth was nary one-hit wonder.

Seattle are 6-2 but locked successful a titanic NFC West struggle pinch nan Rams and San Francisco 49ers besides having six wins, but their awesome distant shape of 4-0 this play and 11-1 since nan commencement of 2024 intends they will not fearfulness hitting nan roadworthy successful nan play-offs.

Plus, wide head John Schneider has said "we're successful and we'll spot what's shaking retired there" regards nan upcoming waste and acquisition deadline, truthful evidently consciousness they are successful nan 'Super Bowl window' now pinch Darnold astatine nan helm.

Watch this space.

Game of nan week - axenic cinema successful Cincinnati

It started pinch a Bengals touchdown from nan opening kick-off and ended pinch a Bears touchdown 17 seconds from nan extremity - pinch everything successful betwixt being axenic drama.

More than 1,000 yards of offence, 89 points and 11 touchdowns - 4 of them wrong nan last 5 minutes of a breathless 47-42 triumph for Chicago successful a stunned Cincinnati.

From Caleb Williams catching a touchdown walk to 40-year-old Joe Flacco having a career-best 470 yards and starring a 14-point comeback wrong nan last 2 minutes, this crippled had it all.

Yet nan play was still not over, arsenic aft getting nan shot backmost pinch 54 seconds left, Williams deed rookie tight extremity Colston Loveland to gallop distant for a 58-yard winning score.

"It's for illustration taking years disconnected my life," said Bears information Kevin Byard. "It's ace special. This is nan top game, top athletics successful nan world - conscionable nan emotions up and down."

Spare a thought for nan Bengals, particularly nan offence though, arsenic aft blowing a 15-point lead against nan winless Jets past week they are now nan first squad since nan 1960s pre-Super Bowl era to people 38 aliases much points successful successive games and suffer both.

Record books - section extremity history made, again

The longest kicks made successful NFL history

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Field goals person sewage longer successful nan past fewer years

Tom Dempsey - who was calved without immoderate toes connected his kicking ft - held a section extremity grounds of 63 yards that stood for 43 years earlier Matt Prater yet collapsed it successful 2013.

But kicks are getting longer - successful nan past 14 months Prater's 64-yard people has been equalled aliases bettered 4 times, nan latest being nan ironically named Cam Little's immense 68-yard effort connected Sunday.

That hit Justin Tucker's erstwhile champion by 2 yards, and cleared nan crossbar pinch immoderate room to spare arsenic well.

There has now been 7 60-plus gait section goals already this season, pinch 5 being nan erstwhile champion successful a campaign, truthful 3 points are seemingly disposable from anyplace these days.

It is simply a reliable life being a kicker successful nan NFL pinch nan crippled often being connected nan line, truthful it is only correct they get immoderate praise erstwhile perfecting their craft.

Week 9 crippled notes and stats

The Indianapolis Colts proved really important turnovers are successful nan NFL, pinch six of them successful 1 crippled stifling nan league's apical offence successful nan conclusion by nan Steelers. Was it conscionable a blip for Daniel Jones, who committed 5 of them, aliases a worrying motion of things to come?

Christian McCaffrey is connected his measurement to fable position pinch different immense 173-yard outing for nan 49ers, successful his 16th crippled pinch a rushing and receiving touchdown - putting him supra nan awesome Marshall Faulk for nan astir successful nan NFL.

There could beryllium large problem for nan Washington Commanders who mislaid second-year backmost Jayden Daniels to what is believed to beryllium a dislocated near elbow.

In starring nan Vikings to hit nan Lions, JJ McCarthy became nan first subordinate ever to person 2 passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown successful 2 of his first 3 profession games.

Giants backmost Jaxson Dart also made history arsenic nan first rookie pinch a passing and rushing touchdown successful 4 consecutive games during their conclusion by San Francisco.

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The Super Bowl victor who wants to train Harry Kane

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