Final score, recap, highlights: Buffalo Bills 38, Kansas City Chiefs 20
KANSAS CITY – Time to make a statement for the Buffalo Bills.
Standing in front of them Sunday night are the Kansas City Chiefs, the gold standard as Bills quarterback Josh Allen referred to them earlier this week.
The Chiefs have made three consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game, have won the last two, and own a Super Bowl title during that run. That’s where the Bills want to live, but to do it, they have to prove they can clear the enormous obstacle that is the Chiefs, a team they lost twice to in 2020, including the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“That was the team that beat us to go to the Super Bowl, so yes, they were standing in our way,” said safety Micah Hyde. “But I think this season, this is the next opponent that we’ve gotta play against. It’s a very good football team. Any time you get into the playoffs, you know that you’re going to have to run into the Kansas City Chiefs because of what they have on offense, and just the team in general. So we understand that, but I think at the end of the day, we’ve gotta prepare accordingly to go out there and play our best game, no matter who it is, and this week it’s the Kansas City Chiefs.”
- Bills need to make a statement and prove they're a legit threat to the Chiefs' superiority
- Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 5 keys to the game and Sal's prediction
- After facing 3 backup QBs, Buffalo Bills dominant defense faces NFL's best in Patrick Mahomes
Follow here all night for live updates on every scoring play and interesting thing that happens.
Final: Bills 38, Chiefs 20
The Bills avenged last year's loss in the AFC Championship Game and it wasn't even close. Buffalo's defense harassed Patrick Mahomes, who committed three turnovers.
Josh Allen finished 15 of 26 for 315 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and a TD. Dawson Knox scored for the fourth game in a row and had three catches for 117 yards.
Chiefs commit fourth turnover - 3:24 4th quarter
Buffalo's defense continues to attack. Patrick Mahomes mishandled a snap and Tre'Davious White bounced on the fumble.
Allen hooks up with Sanders for another TD to put game away - Bills 38, Chiefs 20
Buffalo is closing in on turning the tide in the AFC. Josh Allen orchestrated a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive when the Bills needed to put the game out of reach.
The Bills were bailed out by a roughing the passer call, which negated an Allen interception. Then Allen helped the Bills cross midfield before hurdling a defender on a run. He tossed a 9-yard TD to Emmanuel Sanders to cap the drive.
Chiefs pick off Allen but are called for roughing the passer
The Bills averted disaster. Josh Allen was intercepted by cornerback Rashad Fenton on a heave to the Kansas City 40-yard line as he faced pressure but defensive end Frank Clark was flagged for roughing the passer to negate in the interception.
Mahomes flips TD to Kelce to stay in it - Bills 31, Chiefs 20
Kansas City is still alive. Buffalo went three-and-out and Matt Haack's punt traveled just 35 yards to give the Chiefs the ball at their 48-yard line. Buffalo cornerback Tre'Davious White was flagged for a pass interference penalty on Travis Kelce to put Kansas City in the red zone. Mahomes pushed a 1-yard TD pass to Kelce.
Mahomes intercepted for second time of half - 2:54 3rd quarter
Even the rookies are getting in on the defensive masterpiece. Rookie defensive end Gregory Rousseau picked off Mahomes at the Bills' 13-yard line. Rousseau tipped Mahomes' pass on first-and-goal in the air to himself for the interception.
Micah Hyde gets pick-six on Mahomes - Bills 31, Chiefs 13
Patrick Mahomes has looked pedestrian all game and now the Bills are treating him like the mediocre quarterbacks they've faced to start the season. Mahomes' pass went off the hands of Tyreek Hill and safety Micah Hyde, who was closing to make a tackle attempt, made the interception and went 24 yards for the touchdown.
Play resumes at 11:16 p.m. after lightning delay
The game was delayed due to lightning for more than an hour during halftime. Fans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium were asked to seek shelter in the concourse. Players from both teams remained in the locker room during the day and came back onto the field about 11:10 p.m.
Chiefs get field goal to trim deficit before halftime - Bills 24, Chiefs 13
Bills take a 24-13 lead into the break
As soon as Josh Allen threw the TD pass to Dawson Knox, you could hear Bills fans yelling “You scored too quick.”
Sure enough, the Chiefs did manage to rescue three of those points as Harrison Butker made a 54-yard field goal to end the half and cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-13.
The Chiefs took advantage of a replay reversal on a catch by Mecole Hardman that was initially ruled incomplete. Replay got it right and the 26-yard gain set the Chiefs up for the score, though the Bills’ defense did a nice job of limiting Kansas City to a field goal.
Allen has completed 7 of 14 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns and has added 41 yards and a TD on four carries.
Buffalo has set an NFL record with its 14th straight game leading at halftime.
Allen throws a bomb to Dawson Knox for TD - Bills 24, Chiefs 10
Kansas City turned the ball over on downs at the Bills' 32-yard line with 1:50 left in the half instead of attempting a field goal. That was too much time to give Josh Allen.
Allen scrambled to his right and Dawson Knox ad-libbed to get behind safety Daniel Sorensen. Allen threw a perfect pass to Knox for a 53-yard touchdown pass.
Allen is 3-for-3 for 149 yards and two touchdown passes on throws of at least 30 yards.
Big Allen to Diggs pass leads to a field goal - Bills 17, Chiefs 10
Yes, the Bills tacked on a Tyler Bass field goal for a 17-10 lead, but it was quite a letdown after the play that set it up.
Josh Allen threw a 61-yard bomb to Stefon Diggs who somehow got behind the entire Chiefs defense. The third-and-8 play carried to the Chiefs 11, but then the drive died. Allen was stuffed for a loss on a QB keeper and then misfired on two passes.
Again, when you’re playing the Chiefs, you can’t waste opportunities like that for more points because you’re gonna need them all.
Josh Allen to Emmanuel Sanders, highlight reel stuff - Bills 14, Chiefs 10
It didn’t take long for the Bills to regain the lead. How about a drive that traveled 75 yards in just five plays with Josh Allen throwing an absolutely gorgeous 35-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.
Allen converted a third down with a short pass to Stefon Diggs, and then found Zack Moss wide open over the middle for a 24-yard gain on the play before the touchdown.
The bad news. The drive was really quick, and now the Bills defense has to go back on the field after barely catching its breath. The Chiefs have already had the ball almost 15 minutes in this game compared to about seven for the Bills.
Bills killing themselves, now trail 10-7
The Chiefs moved into a 10-7 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half and the Bills have no one to blame but themselves.
To be frank, with the exception of their touchdown drive, they’ve been awful. This time, Patrick Mahomes drove the Chiefs 80 yards in 12 plays and chewed up nearly eight minutes on the clock. And the thing is, the drive should have been over long before the score.
Instead, a great pressure that forced a Mahomes incompletion was wiped out on a holding penalty on Siran Neal which gave the Chiefs a first down, and naturally, Mahomes made the Bills pay.
He shredded their defense the rest of the way completing five straight passes, the last a five-yard touchdown pass to Byron Pringle.
Byron Pringle loses fumble on kickoff return - 4:29 1st quarter
The Chiefs coughed up the ball. Returner Byron Pringle took the kickoff 31 yards but Siran Neal popped the ball loose and it was recovered by Andre Smith. Buffalo couldn't turn the turnover into points and went three-and-out.
Allen scored TD as Bills run through Chiefs defense - Bills 7, Chiefs 0
Buffalo took advantage of Kansas City's 30th ranked run defense. The Bills gashed the Chiefs on the ground and Josh Allen ran for a 9-yard touchdown.
Allen ran for 22 yards and followed it up with a 23-yard strike to tight end Dawson Knox. An 11-yard run by Allen gave Buffalo first-and-goal from the 9 and he finished off the drive with his legs.
Allen ran for 42 yards on the 8-play, 75-yard drive that only took 3 minute, 55 seconds.
Chiefs take the early 3-0 lead
Patrick Mahomes has to be absolutely maddening to play against. It just seems like he always makes a play when he needs one, no matter how good the defense has something covered.
Mahomes converted three third downs on a massive 17-play drive to open the game before the Bills finally were able to get off the field, and it took a Tyreek Hill drop on a well-thrown Mahomes pass to finally end the possession.
So for the Bills, holding Kansas City to a Harrison Butker field goal was actually a win, but the fact remains, the defense is going to have to be better on third down than it was on that drive.
Signing Taron Johnson was the right move
The nickel cornerback has really come a long way since the Bills made him a fourth-round pick in 2018, and rather than risk him getting to unrestricted free agency next winter, the Bills locked him up to a three-year contract extension with $14 million guaranteed through 2024 that provides uncommon continuity in the secondary.
The Bills have already extended Tre’Davious White through 2025, Micah Hyde through 2023, and Jordan Poyer through 2022. The only member of the starting group that hasn’t been taken care of, at least yet, is Levi Wallace who signed a one-year contract this past offseason.
Johnson’s future with the Bills seemed cloudy when the Bills played tonight’s opener, the Chiefs, in Week 6 of 2020. Johnson had struggled to stay healthy in his first two seasons, and then played poorly at the start of last season and was benched in favor of Cam Lewis.
However, Lewis got hurt early in the game, Johnson entered, and he hasn’t budged since. He went on to make two of the biggest defensive plays of the season, his pick-six against Pittsburgh that broke open a tight game, and then his pick-six against the Ravens in the playoffs that broke that game open, too.
This year, according to Pro Football Focus, Johnson has allowed just seven completions in 16 targets, a 43.8 reception percentage which is tied for the best on the team with, interestingly enough, Wallace. White is allowing a 60.0 completion percentage, 12 on 20 targets.
“There’s no substitute for experience,” coach Sean McDermott said when he was asked about Johnson. “When you come into this league, it’s new. Some guys come from different sized schools, and sometimes that helps you, sometimes it doesn’t. So everyone’s kinda coming from their own place, right? And then the learning curve that each person has to go through is different. So I’ve been happy with how he’s improved, and how he’s developed, and give credit to him, as I’ve said before, and the coaching staff.”
Inactives: Milano out, but so are Jones and Ward for Chiefs
As expected, linebacker Matt Milano will not be playing Sunday night due to the hamstring injury he suffered last week in the victory over Houston. Milano did not practice during the week and was never really a possibility, even though Sean McDermott tried to keep the Chiefs guessing by listing him as questionable.
It will be interesting to see how the Bills replace Milano. The obvious option is to go with A.J. Klein, but he struggles in pass coverage and this is not a game where you want to be struggling in pass coverage. Siran Neal could be a possibility and the Bills could play what essentially would be a dime defense – four rushers, one linebacker, six defensive backs.
The problem with that is the Bills would be very light if the Chiefs were to run with Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
The other inactives are defensive linemen Harrison Phillips and Vernon Butler, running back Matt Breida and offensive lineman Tommy Doyle.
Taiwan Jones, who missed most of the practice squad, is active and will play on special teams.
With Phillips and Butler, the Bills are going with five edge rushers, so Efe Obada and Boogie Basham are active and joining Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and A.J. Epenesa.
For the Chiefs, there are two important inactives of the six that were announced. Star defensive lineman Chris Jones and cornerback Charvarius Ward will not play, and that could be a real positive for the Bills. The Chiefs are getting defensive lineman Frank Clark back, though.
The weather is not going to be pretty
The Bills will have to hope that Josh Allen got plenty of useful work last week playing in the rain because the forecast at Arrowhead Stadium tonight is not pretty.
As you can see in the future radar that I grabbed off the Weather Channel app, that’s what it’s probably going to look like sometime in the first quarter, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better the rest of the night.
They’re predicting 1-2 inches of rain tonight and then overnight into Monday, so, not to be thinking only of myself, I’m just hoping I won’t need an ark to get out of here.
How to watch, listen to Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs game
When: 8:20 p.m. Sunday
Where: Arrowhead Stadium
TV: NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya)
Satellite radio: Sirius 81, XM 226
Radio: 96.5 FM/950 AM
Series: Bills lead 26-23-1 counting playoffs.
Tipico betting line: Bills +2.5
Talking points
► Chiefs coach Andy Reid on Bills defense: “Buffalo is a tough football team, and we know they’re well-coached. It’ll be a great challenge for us. They’re playing fast. Leslie (Frazier) is doing a variety of different things there, coverage wise
and front wise, so we’ll have to be focused in and sharp with that. But they are playing fast.”
► Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes on his four interceptions to date: “Yeah it’s definitely something I have to cut down on, especially those interceptions that are around the middle of the field. I’ve taken chances of throwing it deep sometimes and kind of getting those interceptions on third and long and stuff like that. That in turn is a punt, but whenever you’re throwing interceptions around the middle of the field, that usually puts the defense in bad situations so that’s something I definitely need to work on as the season goes on.”
► Chiefs LB Daniel Sorensen on the Bills offense: “We got to see them twice last year, got very familiar with their personnel for the most part, same guys. So, a few additions with (Emmanuel) Sanders and things like that. I think we know who they are and it’ll be a great matchup. We’re excited to compete against them. They’re a great football team. They’re coming into Arrowhead, so it’ll be a fun game. It’ll be really exciting.”
NFL rankings
Bills Chiefs
Total offense: 404,0 yards (6th); 427.5 (2nd)
Rush offense: 145.3 yards (5th); 130.3 (8th)
Pass offense: 258.8 (12th); 297.3 (5th)
Points scored: 33.5 (T2nd); 33.5 (T2nd)
Total defense: 216.8 yards (1st); 437.8 (31st)
Rush defense: 68.9 yards (4th); 146.0 (30th)
Pass defense: 148.8 yards (1st); 291.8 (27th)
Points allowed: 11.0 (1st); 31.3 (31st)
Buffalo Bills and Kansas City individual leaders
Rushing
Bills: Devin Singletary 49 carries, 259 yards; Zack Moss 35-147; Josh Allen 24-129; Mitchell Trubisky 10-27; Matt Breida 4-4; Isaiah McKenzie 2-5.
Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire 58-291; Patrick Mahomes 15-92; Darrel Williams 21-72; Tyreek Hill 3-30; Mecole Hardman 3-27.
Passing
Bills: Josh Allen 99 of 156, 1,055 yards, 9 TDs, 2 interceptions.
Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes 102 of 141, 1,218 yards, 14 TDs, 4 interceptions.
Receiving
Bills: Stefon Diggs 26 catches, 305 yards; Cole Beasley 25-210; Emmanuel Sanders 16-268; Dawson Knox 15-144; Devin Singletary 7-24; Zack Moss 5-36; Gabriel Davis 3-63.
Chiefs: Tyreek Hill 30-453; Travis Kelce 24-312; Mecole Hardman 13-123; Clyde Edwards-Helaire 7-50; Byron Pringle 7-104; Demarcus Robinson 6-72.
2021 Buffalo Bills schedule
9/12 vs. Steelers, L 16-23
9/19 at Dolphins, W 35-0
9/26 vs. Washington, W 43-21
10/3 vs. Texans, W 40-0
10/10 at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m.
10/18 at Titans, 8:15 p.m.
10/24 Bye week
10/31 vs. Dolphins, 1 p.m.
11/7 at Jaguars, 1 p.m.
11/14 at Jets, 1 p.m
11/21 vs. Colts, 1 p.m
11/25 at Saints, 8:20 p.m.
12/6 vs. Patriots, 8:15 p..m
12/12 at Buccaneers, 4:25 p.m.
12/19 vs. Panthers, TBD
12/26 at Patriots, 1 p.m.
1/2 vs. Falcons, 1 p.m.
1/9 vs. Jets, 1 p.m.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.