Your guide to Bills vs. Chiefs in AFC divisional round playoff

The Buffalo Bills’ secondary has done more than just survived without Tre’Davious White – it’s thrived.

That idea sounded crazy when the team’s All-Pro cornerback was hurt Thanksgiving night against the New Orleans Saints, but the numbers back it up.

The Bills finished No. 1 in the NFL in total defense (272.8 yards allowed per game), total yards per play (4.6), total passing yards per game (163.0), passing yards per play (4.65), first downs allowed per game (16.7), third-down conversion rate allowed (30.8%) and points per game (17.0).

The team held the No. 1 spot in total defense over the final 15 weeks of the season, and the No. 1 spot in pass defense in 11 of 18 weeks, including the final three weeks of the year. Second-year veteran Dane Jackson stepped into the starting lineup after White went down, but replacing White has proved to be a team effort.

All-Pro safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde and cornerbacks Levi Wallace and Taron Johnson have teamed with Jackson to ensure the pass defense has continued to function at a high level. In the seven games since White was hurt, including last week’s playoff win over the Patriots, the Bills have allowed an average of just 171.3 passing yards per game.

Take out the best and worst performances over that time – the 19 yards allowed to the Patriots on Monday Night Football when New England threw just three times and the 363 yards allowed to Tom Brady and the Patriots – and that average is 163.4 yards.

“I think it shows more the bond that those guys have that even though one of their elite guys went down, that next person said ‘I’ve got your back,’ ” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “I’m speaking from the outside in, just from seeing how those guys bond in the building. They’re always laughing, they’re always together, they go to dinner, they walk in unison, they talk in unison, they do everything in unison. With them, understanding that Tre went down, of course opportunities present themselves. … They had a press conference and they brought Tre’s jersey. It’s more a family thing, where we’re going to pick a brother up and it’s not going to be any hiccup.”

We’ll stop here to point out the Bills haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row of quarterbacks – not that they need to apologize for who is on their schedule. The challenge Sunday, however, is the biggest one the Bills have faced since White got hurt – Patrick Mahomes and the big, bad Kansas City Chiefs inside a frenzied Arrowhead Stadium in an AFC divisional round playoff game.

“This is a high-powered offense, a top-five offense in our league,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “They’ve been a No. 1 offense in our league. So they definitely present challenges for any defense with a quarterback of the caliber of Patrick and the weapons that he has. Not just Travis (Kelce) and Tyreek (Hill), there are weapons galore, and just watching what (Jerick) McKinnon did last (week), that’s another weapon for the offense. ... We’ll have to really be on top of our game to try to slow them down. They are a really good offense for a reason.”

An absence felt

The Buccaneers finished with the No. 1 passing offense in the NFL, and were the only team to pass for at least 300 yards against the Bills’ secondary. Kansas City is the only other team to finish in the top five on Buffalo’s schedule.

In the first meeting against the Chiefs, with White in the lineup, Mahomes threw for 272 yards, but also was intercepted twice, accounting for half of Kansas City’s four turnovers. The likelihood of the Bills’ defense registering that many takeaways again is low, so a team effort from the secondary is going to be required.

“I can tell you we miss Tre out there,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Dane and Levi have done a tremendous job, and I think just overall the guys have come together as a team and played good team defense in Tre's absence.

“I think Levi along with the entire secondary has taken that as a challenge and embraced that challenge. It's never about one guy, whether it's Tre or Levi and I just think about the overall team, the overall unit, in this case, the defense. So we've got to continue to play like that in Tre's absence and take our game to another level.”

Wallace has done that since White got hurt. According to analytics website Pro Football Focus, from Weeks 13 to 18 of the regular season, Wallace allowed just 11 catches on 23 targets, a catch rate of 47.8% that ranks 10th among 70 cornerbacks who played at least 115 cover snaps in that time.

Wallace disputed the idea that there was any kind of an internal challenge after White got hurt.

“I honestly don't think so,” he said. “I think the standard’s just been the standard with and without him. I feel like it's been like that all year, no matter who gets hurt, who's out for a game or who’s out for a play. We work hard to have our starters good, as well as our backups, and everybody has a game plan. There's no hiccups. There's no mistakes. Everyone's still playing at a high level. That's just the standard when you come to play Buffalo football.”

After the Bills beat the Jets in Week 18, Hyde brought White’s jersey to the podium for a postgame press conference attended by the entire secondary – a way of reminding everyone that even though White is hurt, he’s still involved in what the Bills are doing on defense.

Tuesday, White texted Poyer – at 10:17 p.m.

“I mean, this is the relationship we have,” Poyer said. “He said,`Hey, we got to go crazy. Best in the world.' We just continue to just pump each other up. We take a lot of responsibility, especially since Tre'Davious left, on making sure in the back end that we're all communicating, were executing at a high level. We're always getting the guys together watching extra tape. … We love that responsibility. We love that pressure.

"With Tre'Davious down, a lot of guys have stepped into bigger roles, too. Levi Wallace, Dane Jackson, those guys stepped in huge roles for us since Tre's gone down, so it's a combined effort. It's not just like Micah and I. It's a combined effort of our (defensive) backs, just continuing to work, watching tape all the time together.”

The Bills finished the regular season tied for third in the NFL with 19 interceptions. Just one of those came from White. Poyer and Hyde each had five, while Wallace had two and and Taron Johnson had one.

“The secondary is a special unit. Every last person in that secondary unit, group, room – whatever you call it – they’re special,” Dawkins said. “Of course, I gotta speak about Micah. Micah is a special player, Poyer is a special player. Levi is extremely special. Taron, all those boys do what they do well at an extremely high level. Having them on our team, it just gives us the extra boost of energy (knowing) the air battle is going to be secure. In this league, it’s a passing league so when you have guys that can make a passing league harder for every opposing quarterback, it’s a good deal.”

Weapons galore

To continue their march toward what they hope is the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship, the Bills’ secondary faces an unenviable task – figuring out a way to slow Mahomes.

Kansas City’s star quarterback is coming off a scintillating performance in the wild-card round against Pittsburgh, as he threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-21 win.

“Pat is obviously up there with some of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Poyer said. “It's a really good offense. He's got really good players around him. … We understand that when he's on the move, especially finding receivers across the field, we're going to have to execute at a high level, and play our best football.”

Mahomes’ favorite targets are well known to Bills fans by this point. Kelce had five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown last week against the Steelers, and even threw for another touchdown. Kelce torched the Bills in last year’s AFC Championship Game, finishing with 13 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

Hill, meanwhile, had a mind-boggling nine catches for 172 yards in that game.

“He’s one of those guys that run after the catch, that ‘YAC’ (yards after catch) that people talk about all of the time, he can turn a 3-yard hitch or a 5-yard slant into an 80-yard completion,” Frazier said. “He presents all kinds of problems.”

The Chiefs have targeted Hill a bit more underneath than in the past, but he still has more than enough speed to crush defenses over the top, too.

“You’ve got to protect yourself and you’ve just got to find a way to tackle him,” Frazier said. “He’s a heckuva runner after he catches the football going back to his punt return days and we’ve got to do a good job of trying to slow him down.”

While Kelce and Hill understandably get most of the attention from opposing teams, Kansas City has other weapons. Receiver Byron Pringle finished the year with 42 catches for 568 yards and five touchdowns. He scored twice last week against the Steelers. Demarcus Robinson had 25 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

"(Pringle is a crafty dude,” Wallace said. “He really is. Even just looking at the game last week, he had a double move in the red area. What is he, the kick returner? He's got some speed, too. It's just hard for a guy like that to get the recognition that he deserves, but he's a really good player. Even Robinson, those guys are pretty good, and they don't get a lot of credit because they're behind two of some of the best players in the league, but those guys definitely deserve it."

The challenge of stopping the Chiefs extends beyond the secondary, too. McKinnon, a running back, led the team with six catches against Pittsburgh, accounting for 81 yards. He also rushed a dozen times for 61 yards.

“It's tough. It really is. I mean, you got some small guys, but you also got other big guys, big guys that can run,” Hyde said of the challenge awaiting the Bills’ secondary. “It's dynamic guys all over the place. Every team is a challenge when you go out there each and every week.

“As far as the Kansas City Chiefs, the quarterback to the weapons that they have, you got to find a way to contain them. And I think that, you know, you can't stop it. It's clear, you turn on the film, you can't stop everything. They're going to get some yards, they're going to get some points, but I guess it's on you to kind of bend don't break. Try to make them turn the ball over and put your offense in good position.”

The Bills did that in their Week 5 win, holding Mahomes to just one completion of 20-plus yards. To do that again, the Bills will need their best tackling performance of the season against the team that led the league in yards after catch.

“Every time we play these guys, the play happens and there's a whole ’nother play after it,” Hyde said. “You've got to find the receivers, you got to find the tight ends, you got to find the backs and you got to have eyes on the quarterback. Guys up front (have) to try to prevent them from getting anything downfield.

"These guys, they can literally score on any single play. Like, you put on the film from the last couple of years, you can see these guys can score on any play, so you have to really just hone in on plastering the receivers and tight ends and backs and try to force every single throw for Mahomes to be a contested throw.”

A hostile environment

It would be easy to rue the fact the Bills had to travel for this game. Buffalo went 0-5 in one-score games this season, and if even one of those results went the other way, Buffalo would have had home-field advantage. Instead, they’ll make their third trip to Arrowhead Stadium in a year.

“I think as competitors, that we all are, we love all games. We love the Bills Mafia. But at this point wherever we go, the Bills Mafia always follows us,” Hyde said. “So that's No. 1. No. 2, it's kind of cool playing in front of an away crowd, because you know you're in enemy territory. You got your boys with you, who you've been with all year, facing adversity. It's another challenge. So it's kind of cool playing at home in a way, but Bills Mafia travels in waves. So they're going to be loud. … We've been facing adversity all year and just trying to come out of it and get a win no matter what way, it doesn't matter. Just try to get a win. And that's what we're looking forward to.”

The Bills were 5-3 away from home this season, while the Chiefs lost just twice at home – back-to-back to the Chargers and Bills early in the year.

It feels fitting in a way that the postseason road again goes through Kansas City. As Ric Flair says, "To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man."

“We don't want to have that feeling that we had there last year,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “We know our season ended there last year, and now we have to do everything in our power to put our foot forward and make sure that it doesn't end there this year. And that's our main goal is to go out there and win one game, as it is theirs. But again, it's two really good football teams going at it. And I'm sure they're excited for the opportunities, as we are. Not many teams are playing this late in the season so to be playing meaningful games like this in January, it's all you can ask for."

PARKVILLE, Mo. – Late Saturday afternoon, a surge of Bills fans made a tavern in this Kansas City suburb look like O'Neill's Stadium Inn or Danny's South in Orchard Park.

A crowd clad in red, white and blue – but mostly blue – stuffed the bar to the gills and strained to hear the DJ.

"Bills Mafia, welcome to Al's Bar & Grill Kansas City," he yelled, drawing a roar from the fans before adding, "Remember to tip your servers."

One day before the NFL divisional round playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, Bills fans were already deep in enemy territory.

"Crazy in there," one fan said walking out, shaking his head, but this didn't bother die-hard, road-tripping fans.

"I've made a lot of friends across the country because of the travel," said Joanie DeKoker, better known in the Bills Mafia community as "Mama J."

Five hours before the official kickoff of the Bills Backers festivities at Al's, every table and every seat at the bar was filled.

"I couldn't believe we came in at 11:30 and we couldn't get a seat already," said Mike Anthony, a Bills fan who grew up on Long Island and lives in Las Vegas.

Photos: Bills Mafia invades Kansas City

Early in the afternoon at Al's, the Sabres-Flyers game was playing on the TV over the bar, a WKBW-TV news crew was interviewing fans and John Lang, better known as Bills Elvis, was holding court in one corner.

Proprietor Al Burns, a Buffalo expatriate who opened his Bills-friendly tavern a dozen years ago, sat at one end of the bar and soaked in the atmosphere.

"This is what I live for," Burns said. "I absolutely live for this. These are the days that make everything worthwhile."

For the weekend, Burns said he ordered 80 cases of Labatt Blue and Blue Light, along with 19 kegs to serve on tap. He also ordered 2,000 pounds of wings, which he reluctantly serves with ranch to locals when requested.

When the handful of Chiefs fans inside Al's tried to get a "Tomahawk Chop" chant going, the Bills crowd drowned them out with a rousing "Let's Go, Buffalo."

Nearby, DeKoker, a Syracuse resident, said she's been to 183 Bills games in a row, in Orchard Park and on the road. 

"I do it, first of all, because I love the Bills," said DeKoker, who was particularly close to the late Ezra "Pancho Billa" Castro and raises money for his children. "I want to be there when they win the big one. That's my goal."

Outside Al's, Kevin Parton – "Same as Dolly," though no relation – had a table of Bills shirts, caps and other merchandise set up to sell. He does this at home games and follows the team on the road, too, he said. His profits help cover the cost of his season tickets and then some.

Parton, who wore a Bills Starter-brand jacket that looked like it walked out of the 1990s, said he was hoping to add some world championship gear to his lineup.

"Absolutely," he said. "I dream about it – literally."

David Chapman drove 550 miles from La Junta, Colo., for the game. The Gowanda native remembered traveling with his classmates on a bus up to Orchard Park to see the recently completed Rich Stadium in the early 1970s.

"If you're from Western New York, you're part of Western New York," Chapman said. "And it doesn't matter where you live."

There were so many Bills fans, from Kansas City and from out of town, looking to have some fun before Sunday's game that local Bills Backers set up a pair of parties Saturday evening, at both Al's and at Taps on Main near downtown Kansas City.

Taps was opened three years ago by three brothers – Jason, Marc and Grant – who are the sons of a City of Tonawanda native, Barry Tower. The elder Tower raised them as Bills fans in Chiefs country.

"I always joke the only clothes I had until I was 11 were Bills clothes," Marc Tower said.

It's not a Bills Backers bar, the Towers family said, because they don't want to alienate their potential customer base. For example, framed signed jerseys for both quarterbacks in Sunday's game, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, hang high above the bar.

But Barry, Marc and Grant all proudly wore Bills gear Saturday afternoon as a steady crowd of Bills fans filed into the spacious sports bar.

"If the Bills win, Monday morning I will wake up similar to how I felt when my son was born," said Marc Tower, who is married to a Chiefs fan.

The bar is known for its "Tonawanda wings," based on a recipe from back home that Barry tweaked over the years. Grant Tower said they ordered about 1,000 pounds of wings for this weekend along with all the Labatt beer they could get their hands on.

Kristin Cangialosi, in town from Amherst with her husband, Tony, and two close friends, was lamenting that her record attending Bills road playoff games features losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.

"I'm 0-2," she said, insisting she's not bad luck. 

She said she hopes to bring a portable speaker into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to play the "Shout" song whenever the Bills score.

Outside Taps, three buddies from South Buffalo were using their phones to rent motorized scooters to ride around downtown. One pal, Kevin Murphy, was happily rating the barbecue they'd eaten already.

Another of the friends, Dan Parker, said Arrowhead will be the 15th stadium where he's seen the Bills play. He and his friends said locals have treated them well.

"Nobody's given us any guff yet," said Parker, who used a stronger word than "guff."

As they finished the rental process, one guy in a group passing by pointed to their Bills shirts and yelled, "I got money on you tomorrow."

The third member of the trio, Patrick Stanchak, said he would rather explore Kansas City than spend a lot of time at the Bills Backers bars, expressing a sentiment at odds with the weekend revelers inside.

"If I want to hang out with people from Buffalo," Stanchak said, "I'd just stay home."

Ron Isley refuses to take credit for an especially precious creation, so beloved in Buffalo. "Shout," a melody dear to disciples of the Bills, began like a burst of flame in Isley’s mind, though he is quick to insist it did not really come from him.

He describes it as “a God-given song for the Isley Brothers,” a gift from the divine to a soon-to-be legendary American singing group during the passionate finale to a 1959 concert in Philadelphia.

How I came to be on the phone with Isley, 80, is a journey unto itself, beginning with repeated messages from a dogged substitute teacher and leading through the classical hallways of Kleinhans Music Hall, but the truth is that I had always dreamed of the chance to ask him a few simple questions about Buffalo.

This is a guy involved with creating such global treasures as “Who's that Lady? (That Lady)," or popularizing "Twist and Shout." Just think of that. I wondered if Isley knew how “Shout” registers in Western New York, and whether that passion leads to any Isley affection for the Bills, now preparing for Sunday’s high-emotion National Football League playoff showdown on the road in Kansas City.

Sure, Isley said, he is aware of how a version of his group's epic song is played at euphoric moments at Highmark Stadium. “Oh yeah, it means a lot to us,” he said of that tradition, speaking for himself and his brother Ernie, and he said the unfettered, communal joy after a Bills touchdown meshes with what he describes as the miracle of how the song came to be.

The thing is, Isley said, he likes both Buffalo and Kansas City as communities. There is no way he is going to say he prefers one or the other in Sunday’s showdown. "Shout" was a song intended for the world, a song people embrace at weddings and other moments of utter happiness that Isley will not lock into any specific area code, including the 716. Even so, to paraphrase a certain lyric, he wants you to know how much he appreciates Buffalo's loyalty, and that leads him to a promise.

We will get back to that.

First, a little background on the way this came to be. Over the past few years, I received regular correspondence – and that is an understatement – from Pat Ruffino, 67, a retired administrator for the Erie County Department of Health who now substitute teaches in the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda schools. Ruffino, who feels deep satisfaction when Bills loyalists in the stadium and beyond dance and leap to “Shout,” wants to make sure some history is not forgotten.

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In 1993, between the great comeback against Houston and the opening of the regular season, the Bills almost dumped the song. As Tim O’Shei of The Buffalo News has recounted beautifully, the local cover – with its Buffalo-flavored lyrics – had been recorded in 1987 by Scott Kemper, an Indiana musician.

The team was ready to leave that version at the curb, frustrated by demands from Polaroid, which controlled the rights. That is when Ruffino, alarmed at the news, went to work. He became chairman of what he called the “Save the Shout Committee,” and he was relentless for the cause.

Ruffino grew up walking to games – and sometimes sneaking in – at the old War Memorial Stadium. He was a lineman at Grover Cleveland High School, and if there is one lesson he learned as a kid, it was persistence. In 1993, he called or wrote the Bills front office constantly about "Shout," and he wore a path to the door of every news outlet in greater Buffalo. In this time of fierce civic debates over saving the Great Northern grain elevator or finding the right stadium location or countless other questions about the Buffalo-to-be, Ruffino serves as a lesson about what one voice can do against the odds:

He won. The late Ralph Wilson, then the owner of the Bills, sent him a letter 29 years ago acknowledging the song's “decline has not gone unnoticed,” just before the Bills decided to keep "Shout." But what caused Ruffino’s latest correspondence – a musical statement that brought him to tears – was a video of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra sweeping through the song, with maestro JoAnn Falletta and the musicians decked out in Bills gear.

While the performance arrived this month on social media, the origins underline Isley’s emphasis on joy. Falletta said that last autumn, after the pandemic had long kept the orchestra from preparing as a whole, everyone finally reunited on the same stage to rehearse – and to plunge into "Shout."

“It was our first project,” said Falletta, who embraced the Bills when she moved here more than 20 years ago. “We love them and we’re so excited for their excellence,” she said, a point seconded by principal cellist Roman Mekinulov, a devout Bills fan who joined his daughter Talia in tweeting out their own version of the Isley Brothers classic, a year ago.

Whenever the orchestra does concerts that overlap with the Bills – a problem barely avoided Sunday, since a 2:30 p.m. BPO celebration of Mozart should be over just in time – Mekinulov said that he and his fellow diehards are not talking about musical selections when they quietly ask any crew members who venture on or near the stage:

“What’s the score?”

All of that led me to one of those this-is-a-revelation phone conversations with Ron Isley, a founding member of his bedrock American R&B group and a guy who alternates between homes in St. Louis and California. He said he was 19, still juggling his musical dreams with shifts in a New York City cigarette factory, when he and his brothers did an extended gig at Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater.

They were rolling through Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops,” the last song of the last show, when Isley looked out at an impassioned audience and was moved to simply riff: “You know you make me want to … kick my heels back and ... throw my hands up!” The crowd erupted, roaring back the word "Shout!" in jubilation. Isley, who grew up singing in the church, said he felt the touch of God in that moment. The best comparison he can make, he said, is when the words and music to “It’s Your Thing” came to him in a dream and he had to get to his brother's place, and fast, to get it down.

“I’m thinking the Lord must have had me singing the words,” Isley said of "Shout," which “came out of heaven, from the heavenly spirit.”

Isley carried the song back to New York in his head, and his late brother O’Kelly Isley Jr. helped add to the lyrics. They recorded it quickly, and "Shout" changed their lives. It was not only their first hit but would emerge as part of the American tapestry, a song that wraps in everyone and everything Ron Isley ever loved, a statement of exuberant thanksgiving he cannot narrow to any one city, much less to one team.

At the same time, he is grateful for what the song means in Buffalo, and he understands why a community that has known its share of hard times might find “Shout” to be a kind of communal choice at great moments, since it is about expressing happiness on a shared level that involves your whole being.

In that way, Ron Isley – who sees himself as just a vessel for how this song came to be – makes his promise.

If Buffalo does go to the Super Bowl, look for him to provide a welcome in Los Angeles, where Isley vows he will make Bills fans want to do - now wait a minute - what they already do so well.  

Cornerback Levi Wallace can’t help but praise Matt Milano’s instincts.

The linebacker put them on display last Saturday as the Bills routed the Patriots. Just four plays into the second half, Milano got a hand on a ball from New England quarterback Mac Jones, and Wallace was able to finish the job, pulling it in for the Bills’ second interception of the game.

“Matt did a great job of playing it,” Wallace said. “He played the play. He tipped it up and I was just locked in on it.”

Milano has been a key factor all year for the league’s No. 1 defense. After signing a contract extension in March, he’s missed just one game this season: Week 5 in Kansas City.

As the Bills head back to Arrowhead Stadium for a showdown in the divisional round, there’s been plenty of emphasis on how both teams will look different this go-round. Milano’s presence is one difference that should help the Bills.

“I think he’s had a really good season,” coach Sean McDermott said. “He’s a big part of our defense, he’s a big part of the edge of our defense, if you will, and just does a phenomenal job in the run and the pass game, which is hard to find for a linebacker that can do both so well at such a high level.”

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Milano has allowed the lowest yards per target (4.7) as the nearest defender since he entered the league in 2017, with a minimum of 150 targets. This season alone, he’s allowed just 4.3 yards per target in coverage.

He’ll want to maintain that level of play. Safety Micah Hyde knows yards after catch will be an emphasis Sunday. Kansas City leads the NFL in yards after catch, averaging 158.8 yards per game in the regular season.

“Every time we play these guys, the play happens, and there's a whole 'nother play after it,” Hyde said. “You've got to find the receivers, you got to find the tight ends, you got to find the backs and you got to have eyes on the quarterback, you know, guys up front to try to prevent them from getting anything downfield.

“These guys, they can literally score on any single play.”

Kansas City is averaging a third-best 396.8 yards per game. In the Week 5 meeting, the Bills defense allowed 392 yards, though that translated to just 20 points. The Bills defense’s ability to hold them to field goals or get takeaways was critical. This week again, the Bills understand it’s likely that quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company will gain plenty of yards, with a dynamic group of receivers.

“I think just with his matchups, I think (Milano’s) gonna be a key role just like A.J. (Klein) was the first time we played him,” Wallace said.

Linebacker A.J. Klein was a solid fill-in for the regular season meeting, finishing with nine tackles. Still, having Milano in this meeting should be a boost.

“Milano’s like a unicorn in the sense he can do it all. He really can,” Hyde said Thursday. “He can blitz, he can tackle, he can cover. He has good hands. He can do it all. And I just think that goes back to his former background, he was a safety back in the day and kind of moved to linebacker. …

“He’s just one of those guys that he creates so much opportunity for everybody else on defense. I mean I know that stuff that he does gives me some range to be able to do what I do.”

Milano said toward the start of this season that it was a focal point for him to be more vocal. It worked well early on, and he’s built off it since.

“A lot of times since Tre’Davious (White) has been out, I've been a little bit more to the boundary it feels like, and I've had to work with him a lot more,” Wallace said. “And just the way we're on the same page all the time, he just makes it easier for me to do my job. And then he's just a baller, he's just a player. He sometimes goes off script and makes plays, just knowing he's so instinctive.”

Welcome to the Bills Mailbag, divisional-round style. Let’s get right to your questions …

Larry asks: First off, I am a huge Josh Allen fan and appreciate the skills and effort he has contributed to making the Bills a regular playoff contender. However, it makes me crazy to see Allen run without taking any measures to protect the football. While Allen has significantly reduced his fumbles this year, he is still fumbling at a rate twice that of elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. I realize that Allen runs more than both of them, but the Bills lost all five one-score games this year (four against playoff teams) and can’t afford unnecessary turnovers in their effort toward a Super Bowl run. Since Sean McDermott hates turnovers, why doesn’t he “encourage” Allen to protect the ball more when he runs? He has certainly done this with other players.

J.N. Johnson asks: I have a growing concern that Bills are turning Josh Allen into Cam Newton 2.0. In the time Josh has been here, we have had an average offensive line and running backs. They are using Josh's physical skills (particularly rushing) to advance the team in the short term, making it more likely he burns out physically early as opposed to having a 20-year plus career. Tell me what the Bills are doing (if anything) to not have Josh's career fade quickly?

Jay: I assure you, Larry, that ball security is stressed to Allen every week. He knows, particularly this deep into the postseason, that he can’t put the team at risk with careless giveaways. As you pointed out in your question, Allen has taken good care of the ball lately – with no fumbles in the past four games. He fumbled eight times this season, which ranked tied for 15th most in the NFL. Every player ahead of him on that list was a quarterback, and Allen had more rushing attempts (122) than all of them with the exception of Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts (139).

J.N., as for your concerns, they’re somewhat valid, but at this very moment, would you trade a few years off the end of Allen’s career for a Super Bowl? I’d imagine almost every Bills fan is screaming “yes” to that question. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger just finished his 18th season, and he’s statuesque in the pocket, to put it nicely. There will be ways for Allen to change his game as he grows older and naturally loses some of his athleticism, but that’s a topic for another time. The Bills right now need to do everything in their power to finally capture that elusive first Super Bowl, and that includes unleashing Allen as a runner. In the offseason, the offensive line can be upgraded. Allen’s coaches can continue to plead with him to slide instead of taking unnecessary hits. Right now, though, the team is utilizing his athletic gifts in the correct way in chase of a championship.

Pete from Fort Myers asks: Every time Boogie Basham is activated and plays, he seems to make big plays. I’m curious why he isn’t playing a little more? Maybe he gets beat sometimes on film?

Jay: Basham’s lack of playing time has more to do with the veterans ahead of him on the roster than it does anything wrong the rookie is doing when he’s in games. It’s not surprising the coaching staff has preferred to ride with Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison all season. They are respected veterans and leaders who are still producing, although maybe not always at the level the team and fans would have hoped during the regular season. First-round pick Greg Rousseau has clearly been ahead of Basham on the depth chart. That has been true dating to training camp. That leaves Basham and second-year veteran A.J. Epenesa at defensive end, along with Efe Obada, depending on where he’s used. That shows the Bills have good depth at defensive end, so I wouldn’t be all that concerned about Basham’s usage. He played 40% of the snaps against the Patriots in the playoff opener and had a sack.

Jeffrey Condon asks: Do you know how much more money Corey Bojorquez wanted compared to what the Bills paid Matt Haack? This guy almost lost us a ballgame.

Jay: The Bills could have made Bojorquez a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent. To do so, it would have cost the Bills $2.133 million, which would have given them the right of first refusal if Bojorquez signed a contract with another team, but not provided any compensation if they decided not to match the deal. Instead, the Bills didn’t make an offer, which allowed Bojorquez to become an unrestricted free agent, and instead signed Haack to a three-year contract that included a salary cap figure of $1.575 million in 2021. Of course, the Bills also could have tried to re-sign Bojorquez without offering him a contract as a restricted free agent, although it seems possible that was something that didn't interest him. I don’t know Bojorquez’s exact ask, but he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams for $1.02 million. It certainly seems like Bojorquez overestimated his worth on the open market.

Luigi Mike Speranza asks: Do you think the extra day of rest/prep gives the Bills any advantage against the Chiefs?

Jay: It doesn’t hurt, but home teams have generally enjoyed a big advantage in the divisional round of the playoffs. Over the last 10 years, home teams are 31-9 in the divisional round, which suggests that not having to travel makes more of an impact than the extra day the Bills got to prepare. Buffalo and Kansas City are fairly healthy, so it’s unlikely the Bills gained much of an advantage there, either. With all of that being the case, the extra day looks like a fairly small factor.

Brenda Alesii asks: It was revealed that Bill Belichick visited the Bills’ locker room after Buffalo’s thrashing in the wild-card game. Were you as surprised to hear this as I was?

Jay: Slightly, although it makes some sense in that I’m sure the No. 1 priority for both teams after being out in negative wind chills for hours was likely to go warm up. The video of the meeting between McDermott and Belichick got some attention from people wondering if there relationship was, excuse the pun, a bit frosty, but I didn’t see any real issue with their interaction. Again, it was cold. If anything, it was a classy move by Belichick – and one Allen won’t forget in his career.

“He came up to me, which was really cool,” the quarterback said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done over his career and obviously he’s one of, if not the greatest coach of all time. So, for him to come up to me after a game and just kind of give me some kudos and dap me up – meant a lot to me just knowing the type of coach that he is, the type of players that he’s been around and he’s coached and obviously the success that he’s had throughout his career. So that was a pretty cool moment for me.”

Gregory Glaza asks: I understand Stefon Diggs wanting to watch his brother play in Dallas. I cringed when I saw the disturbing video of a maskless Stefon mingling with maskless Cowboy fans. Does Stefon think he is totally immune from Covid? Call me “Debbie Downer” but the Bills’ playoff run could quickly end because of Covid. Perhaps the NFL is going to quietly ignore Covid tests during the playoffs? The NFL is all about money and they don’t want Covid affecting their television ratings!

Jay: It’s a valid concern – one I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bills share. Being concerned about it doesn’t make you a “Debbie Downer” at all. As for ignoring Covid tests, the NFL is sort of doing that. Vaccinated players without symptoms are no longer being tested. That means as long as Diggs is vaccinated, he won’t be tested unless he self-reports symptoms.

As for the NFL “being all about money,” do you blame them? I don’t want games to be canceled, nor do I think you do, Greg. In some ways, I applaud the league for changing the rules about vaccinated players being tested once a week, even if they were symptom free. Sure, that was done to get games in, but who out there is testing every week if they’re vaccinated and feeling healthy? It was unnecessary. The league issued a memo Friday that said it also would stop daily testing of unvaccinated players. The NFL Network reported that among unvaccinated players on the remaining eight teams, only about a dozen have not had Covid already, so the change impacts few players. 

At some point, we’re going to have to live with Covid. The NFL has accepted that and adjusted accordingly. Sure, they did so to protect their product, but eventually most every business is going to follow suit. Players and staff with direct contact with them are now subject to symptom screening, symptom-based testing and targeted surveillance testing, according to the memo, which is a perfectly acceptable way to conduct business moving forward.

Dennis Priore asks: Let’s play a big game of “what if?” To do this, forget the Bills and Chiefs are playing each other this week and that the trading deadline is over. Jay, you are the general manager of the Bills and the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs calls you today and offers you a trade: Patrick Mahomes straight up for Josh Allen. Do you take the deal?

Jay: Great, Dennis, now you’re going to make me come across as a “hater,” but yes, I take the deal. Mahomes has an across-the-board statistical advantage, accept for rushing yards. Take a look:

In 61 career games, Allen is 1,245 of his 1,999 tries for 14,114 yards. He is averaging 231.4 passing yards per contest with a 90.4 quarterback rating. He has 103 touchdown passes and 46 interceptions, while being sacked 118 times for a loss of 773 yards. His touchdown rate on pass attempts is 5.2% and his interception rate is 2.3%.

Mahomes has played in 63 games, going 1,550 of 2,345 for 18,991 yards. He averages 301.4 yards per game with a 108.7 quarterback rating and has thrown 151 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He’s been sacked 95 times for a loss of 606 yards and has a touchdown rate of 6.4 and interception rate of 1.6%.

Allen turns 26 in May and Mahomes turns 27 in September. This is by no means a slight of Allen, but Mahomes has been just that much better in his career.

Dale from Williamsville asks: Not that it should matter, but don’t you think a Cincinnati win in Tennessee creates a whole new mindset for the Bills against Kansas City – knowing a win means a chance to get to the Super Bowl at home next week?

Jay: You answered your own question, Dale. I don’t think it matters in the slightest. The Bills know they have the toughest test of the season ahead of them. They can’t spend a second worrying about where the AFC championship game is held. They need to devote every ounce of energy toward advancing with a win over the Chiefs. There is no reason for that mindset to change, no matter who wins Saturday between the Titans and Bengals.

Ken Radens asks: What are your thoughts on allowing a team to interview coaches and front office personnel within the same division? Example being Brian Daboll interviewing with Miami. Any compensation (draft picks) to teams that have lost coaches or front office personnel to other teams? Any interesting coaching casualties from other teams that could be of interest to the Bills?

Jay: I have no problem with Daboll interviewing with Miami. Any position coach or coordinator should be free to pursue any promotion he wants. In Daboll’s case, he has spent his entire career working to this moment, when he gets the chance to run his own NFL team. There should be no reason why currently working for the Bills should prevent him from getting that opportunity in Miami, should they offer him the job. Typically, there is no compensation provided to teams who lose coaches or front office members to other teams, although there have been very rare exceptions, like when the Raiders traded coach Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first-round picks, two second-round picks and $8 million in early 2002. As for potential adds to the Bills’ coaching staff, we have to see what happens with Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. If one or both of them become head coaches elsewhere, it’s possible they take some assistants on McDermott’s staff with them. In that case, there could be a fair amount of shuffling on the Bills’ coaching staff.

Andrew in Illinois asks: Great performance by the Bills on Saturday, but should I be worried about Tyler Bass? Two missed extra points and one doink through. That isn’t going to fly in Kansas City.

Duane T. asks: Any concern about the two blocked extra points in the Patriots game? Did the Patriots find a weakness that the Chiefs can exploit? Might that be the difference in a close game?

Ed Helinski asks: The Bills’ offense and defense are firing on all cylinders right now, but how concerned should we be with the Bills’ special teams kicking game? Matt Haack had an awful game against the Jets and Tyler Bass had two extra points blocked and banked a third one off the upright against New England. In your estimation, do you chalk these situations up to weather or could it be more?

Jay: Everything is a concern at this point in the season, so yes, it’s something the Bills undoubtedly talked about and practiced this week. Bass hadn’t missed an extra point in the regular season, so it’s a new problem. As for Haack, he’s been inconsistent all year, so that’s really nothing new. I wonder, too, what impact the extreme cold had on the kicking operation against New England. With reasonable temperatures expected Sunday night, that shouldn’t be as much of an issue, but certainly we’ll all be paying a bit closer attention when Bass comes out for extra points. As for Haack, cross your fingers, the way you probably have when he comes out most of the year.

Thanks, as always for the questions, and another reminder: I make every effort to answer every question I receive, so if you submitted one, it will run in coming weeks, especially if it did not directly deal with this week's game. Questions can be submitted via email to jskurski@buffnews.com, or via Twitter, @JaySkurski.

Alyssa O'Reilly, who watched last year's American Football Conference Championship Game from the nosebleed seats in the Kansas City Chiefs' stadium, said the Buffalo Bills' loss left her weeping the whole way home.

George Zornick has a happier memory from attending the Bills-Chiefs AFC title game in Orchard Park in 1994, when he was 10 and just assumed every football season ended with Buffalo playing in the Super Bowl.

But Ed Rutkowski remembers the pain of losing to Kansas City on Jan. 1, 1967, when the Chiefs blocked Rutkowski and his Bills teammates from playing in the first "AFL-NFL World Championship Game."

"It made me sick," Rutkowski said in an interview this week, clearly recalling key moments from the game 55 years later. "It made me so upset."

The Miami Dolphins and, especially, the New England Patriots are more familiar nemeses for the Bills and their fans. But the Chiefs and Bills have had a low-key rivalry since their days in the American Football League in the 1960s – a competition that has heated up over the past two years.

They have rosters stuffed with talent on both sides of the ball and feature two of the most dynamic young quarterbacks in the league, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

They have devoted fan bases who fill their home stadiums, travel to road games and aren't afraid to mix it up on social media. (More on that Twitter sweet potato spat later.)

And they are meeting in the playoffs for the fifth time in Sunday's AFC divisional round game at Arrowhead Stadium – the most the Bills have played any opponent in the postseason.

"You're going to see a lot of blue in the stadium," said Jimmy Gaffney, a leader of the Bills Backers group in Kansas City, who compared the burgeoning Allen-Mahomes rivalry to the dramatic Tom Brady-Peyton Manning clashes of a decade ago.

Fans from Western New York and throughout the country are venturing to Sunday's game to see whether the Bills can exact revenge against the team that dumped them from the playoffs last year.

They will be welcomed by the hardy group of Bills fans who have banded together in Chiefs territory and who share the hope the weekend ends with Buffalo vanquishing its crimson-clad antagonists.

"Regardless of what happens Sunday, it feels like a beginning and not the end of the chapter," said Zornick, a North Buffalo native and University at Buffalo graduate who had Bills season tickets even after moving to Washington, D.C.

Unlike the Dolphins and Patriots, the Chiefs are not in the Bills' division. But Sunday will mark the fourth time the teams have played over the past two seasons: twice in the regular season and twice in the playoffs.

In this case, at least if you listened to player interviews this week, familiarity between the teams has bred respect.

Photos: Buffalo Bills fans start the party early in Kansas City

Evan Davis, 36, said he hears the same thing from Chiefs fans in Kansas City, where he has lived since 2011. The South Dakota native, who defied his family to unexpectedly pick the early 1990s Buffalo Bills as his favorite team, said Buffalo and Kansas City fans endured long stretches of futility earlier in this century.

They were both "lovable losers," Davis said, and the teams' respective returns to gridiron glory – including a Super Bowl title for the Chiefs – inspired mutual esteem.

Davis dresses his 3½-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son in Bills blue on days when everyone else in the nursery is wearing Chiefs red. "They're both known in day care as the Bills fans," Davis said.

Davis recruited his wife, Jennifer, to the cause as well, and she returned the favor by registering their neighborhood tavern, the Brooksider Sports Bar, as an official Bills Backers site.

"And surprised me on Christmas with it," Evan Davis said. "We're a small group, but we're a mighty group."

There are other, larger Bills Backers clubs in the Kansas City area, including the group based at the Fox and Hound in Overland Park, Kan.

Gaffney said the group has about 70 members, including 20 or so who regularly gather to watch each week's game.

The Long Island native, 45, said that even during the Bills' drought years, he had a ready retort to Chiefs fans who had last celebrated a Super Bowl win in January 1970: "At least I was alive to see my team in the Super Bowl."

But the Chiefs' recent run of success, including a Super Bowl victory in February 2020, is "agonizing" for Bills fans, Gaffney said.

Last year's loss to the Chiefs, just one win away from the Super Bowl, was a low point, he said.

"It was tough. We all felt like Stefon Diggs," said Gaffney, referring to the moment after the AFC Championship Game, captured by Buffalo News photographer James P. McCoy, when the Bills' wide receiver stood with his hands on his hips glumly watching the Chiefs' on-field celebration.

James P. McCoy: Inside memorable photo of Stefon Diggs watching the Chiefs celebrate

Longtime Buffalo News photographer James P. McCoy explains how he got the photo that went viral and has become a symbol of the Bills’ desire for revenge.

Gaffney's Bills Backers of Kansas City group has fielded numerous questions on its Facebook page from Bills fans traveling in for Sunday's divisional round game.

One fan who doesn't need help getting around is O'Reilly, 34, who was in Kansas City last January and is back for round two.

Just this season, the road warrior, who grew up in the Town of Tonawanda but lives in Dallas now, has traveled to Tennessee, New Orleans, Tampa and Buffalo for last week's playoff game against the Patriots and is now taking the not-quite-eight-hour drive to Kansas City.

She has fourth-row seats behind the Bills bench and plans to hold up a sign reading, "Unfinished Business."

"You still feel like you have something to prove," said O'Reilly, who bought two extra tickets that she gave away through Twitter late Thursday.

Tickets were still available, at reasonable prices, for Sunday's game at Arrowhead. TickPick, the ticket resale marketplace, reported Thursday that the average purchase price was $255 and the "get-in" price was $134, making it the most affordable divisional-round playoff game of the weekend.

Ticket prices may be low but the stakes are high. How high? Buffalo and Kansas City fans were squabbling on Twitter over a Bills fan's tongue-in-cheek campaign to persuade some of his compatriots to bring good-luck sweet potatoes into Arrowhead for the game.

It's only Wednesday and Bills fans and Chiefs fans are really arguing over a sweet potato... This is going to be some week

— Mitch Broder (@mitchell_broder) January 19, 2022

When asked by the @TBNSports if I was bringing a sweet potato to Arrowhead….my response? Hell yes under my @MatthewMilanoo jersey. Hope that part is in the article. 🙏🏻🤞🏻@BrotherBill716 @nflnetwork @espn @Kimmick86 https://t.co/ghBYlFMWZj

— Alyssa like Milano (@BillsMafiaGirl) January 20, 2022

Back in the 1990s, the Bills were so good they didn't need lucky tubers to win playoff games.

Zornick went to the Jan. 23, 1994, conference championship game, where the Bills pounded the Chiefs and, as he put it, "the ghost of Joe Montana," 30-13. He recalled the attitude of the team, and its backers, as wanting to make the Super Bowl for a fourth-straight year to annoy other fans, national media and league officials.

The Chiefs' rivalry with the Bills, however, began with Buffalo's loss to the Chiefs following the 1966 season, at home in War Memorial Stadium, just one win away from playing in what later became known as the first Super Bowl.

It was hard to watch the Chiefs lose to the Green Bay Packers two weeks later, said Rutkowski, who was convinced Buffalo's talented cornerbacks Booker Edgerson and Butch Byrd never would have allowed Packers wide receiver Max McGee to run wild in that game. ("They were on wide receivers like flies on garbage," Rutkowski said.)

How long has the sting of that loss lingered? Rutkowski has an N95 face mask, produced by Drs. Todd and Sam Shatkin at their Aesthetic Associates Centre in Amherst prior to last year's Bills-Chiefs playoff tilt.

It reads "Avenge '66."

One year later, the sentiment still holds true.

Josh Allen twice cried foul when NFL referee John Hussey failed to properly flip the coin at midfield before the Buffalo Bills thumped the New York Jets in the regular season finale at Highmark Stadium.

“Woah! Woah!” the Bills’ quarterback said after the Jets’ captain correctly called tails, but the coin didn’t flip.

“It did it again! It did the same thing!” Allen pointed out after the redo.

It took a third attempt to get it right. The Jets won and chose to defer. Allen and the Bills took the ball first, scored on their opening possession and handily won the game.

“When he steps out there, just know he’s not blinking at all,” Bills running back Devin Singletary said. “He’s not blinking. No matter the situation, he’s always in kill mode. … He’s the ultimate competitor. He doesn’t even want to lose the coin toss.”

Everyone knows Allen has been unstoppable for more than a month, leading the Bills to five consecutive victories, a second consecutive AFC East championship and an unprecedented seven touchdowns in seven drives in last weekend’s historic wild-card massacre of the New England Patriots.

Did you know he’s been unstoppable minutes before kickoff all season?

Allen is undefeated when he gets to call the coin toss, going a perfect 8-0 in the traditional pregame ritual on the road, where the visiting team’s captain picks heads or tails at midfield and the referee flips a coin to determine which team receives the ball first.

He’s 9-0, including the overtime coin toss in Tampa.

And he could improve to 10-0 on Sunday in Kansas City before the Bills play the Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs in a rematch of last year’s AFC championship game.

In the spirit of overanalyzing everything and perhaps educating ourselves, what are the odds?

“It’s one-half raised to the power 10,” said Gino Biondini, who holds a doctorate in theoretical physics and is a professor and chair of the department of mathematics at the University at Buffalo. “Every time you flip a coin, you have a 50% chance of getting heads. Say he calls heads all the time. Every time he flips it, there’s a 50% chance that he gets it right that single time.”

Whether Allen calls heads or tails is irrelevant.

Because each coin flip has two possible outcomes, Allen has a one in two chance of being correct.

“To get it twice in a row, it’s 50% times 50%,” Biondini said, “which means that you get it once every four times. And then you keep going.”

Three in a row happens once every eight times.

Four in a row is one in 16.

“When you get to nine times, it’s one in 512 times,” Biondini said. “To get it 10 in a row … it’s 1,024. So one in 1,000 times! Already what’s happened is extremely unlikely. Even if he loses the coin toss on Sunday, the fact that he won nine in a row happens one in 500 times.”

In other words, Biondini explained, a player could expect to win nine consecutive coin flips, assuming he had the opportunity each year, once every 512 seasons.

Expressed a different way, the chance of that happening is 0.195312%.

Winning 10 consecutive coin flips, again, assuming a player had the opportunity, would occur once every 1,024 seasons.

The chance of that happening is 0.097656%.

The NFL does not keep comprehensive coin toss records, so the longest stretch of correct guesses for a single player is unknown.

Allen went 3-5 on the coin toss in road games during the 2020 regular season and lost the flip in the AFC title game. This season’s Week 2 triumph in Miami marked the start of a new personal streak.

Why the Bills choose to defer

The Bills have won 12 of 18 pregame coin tosses this season. 

After each of those dozen coin flip victories (fliptories?), they chose to defer to the second half and gave their opponent the first possession of the game, the dominant choice among NFL coaches since deferring became an option in 2008.

(Each time the Bills lost the coin toss this season, their opponent chose to defer, as well.)

The general theory is that by deferring, a team can guarantee it has the first possession of the second half. And having the first possession of the second half might present an opportunity to “double dip,” with a team scoring on consecutive possessions to end the first half and begin the second.

“Coach always preaches double dipping,” Bills offensive tackle Jon Feliciano said earlier this season. Feliciano is always the first to celebrate with Allen each week the quarterback wins the toss.

Executed perfectly, the double dip is a potential backbreaker, akin to scoring off a turnover.

It can set the tone for the second half. And with back-to-back touchdowns, mean a 14-point swing.

“There are some analytics behind all that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I couldn’t even get into it to begin with. We’d have to sit here for an hour and go back and forth. But it’s just something that we’ve researched and feel like it’s the right thing to do, in most games.”

In practice, winning the coin toss and deferring hasn’t made a difference.

ESPN analyzed a decade of data in 2018 and found no statistical advantage to taking the ball to open the second half rather than the first, even though five in six NFL coaches who won the toss chose to defer.

In the small sample size that is the Bills’ 2021 season, the team has a 5-1 record when losing the coin toss and a 7-5 record when winning the flip.

This includes a 5-3 record on the road, where Allen has correctly called it nine consecutive times.

A handful of teams have enjoyed recent notable streaks.

The Cincinnati Bengals won 11 consecutive coin tosses, including one in overtime and three to begin preseason games, from Week 15 last season through Week 4 this season.

The odds of that happening – regardless of which team or player calls heads or tails – are 1 in 2,048.

In 2018, the Chiefs won 12 consecutive coin tosses, including three in the preseason, a streak Andy Reid called “ridiculous.”

The odds of that happening are 1 in 4,096.

The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions won 14 consecutive coin flips over the 2016-17 and 2004-05 seasons, respectively.

The odds of each happening are 1 in 16,384.

You have a better chance of finding a pearl in an oyster.

When I dip, you dip, we dip

The Bills had the opportunity to double dip – defined for the purposes of this story as scoring inside the two-minute warning and receiving the ball to begin the second half – in nine of the 12 games they won the toss and deferred, according to an analysis by The Buffalo News.

They converted on three of those nine opportunities, at home against Houston and on the road against Tennessee and New England.

The Bills won two of those games (and had a chance to win all three).

In Week 4 against the Texans, Tyler Bass closed the first half and opened the second with 21- and 28-yard field goals, respectively, to push the Bills’ lead from 13-0 to 19-0. Buffalo won the game, 40-0.

In Week 6 against the Titans, Allen threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beasley with 40 seconds remaining in the first half and Bass hit a 52-yard field goal on the first possession of the second half to turn a 17-13 deficit into a 23-17 lead. The Titans won the game, 34-31. (Although the Bills had a chance to win, getting stopped on downs at the Tennessee 3-yard line with 21 seconds to play.)

In Week 16 against the Patriots, Allen threw a 12-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs with 1:48 remaining in the first half and Bass hit a 34-yard field goal on the first possession of the third quarter, turning a 10-7 lead into a 20-7 advantage. The Bills won, 33-21.

“When you’re going in at halftime knowing that you’ve got the ball coming out, there’s an emotional part of that as well,” McDermott said.

The Bills won 11 of 12 coin tosses during one midseason stretch, from Week 4 at Jacksonville through Week 16 at New England.

They went 6-5 in the 11 games they won the toss and won the lone game they lost the toss.

The stretch included nine consecutive coin toss victories, including in overtime in Tampa. The Bills went 4-4 in those games.

Buffalo has lost its last three coin tosses, all at home, where Allen doesn’t get to pick. But the Bills won all of those games. They’re on a five-game winning streak heading into Kansas City on Sunday.

Hussey, the referee who worked the regular season finale against the Jets and needed three attempts to flip the coin, is the referee for this game, too.

Allen’s streak doesn’t have to end for the Bills’ season to continue.

But it’s a safe bet he’d take that result.

Going streaking

(Odds of winning consecutive coin tosses)

Toss Odds Pct.

1 1 in 2 50%

2 1 in 4 25%

3 1 in 8 12.5%

4 1 in 16 6.25%

5 1 in 32 3.125%

6 1 in 64 1.5625%

7 1 in 128 0.78125%

8 1 in 256 0.390625%

9 1 in 512 0.195312%

10 1 in 1,024 0.097656%

11 1 in 2,048 0.048828%

12 1 in 4,096 0.024414%

13 1 in 8,192 0.012207%

14 1 in 16,384 0.006104%

15 1 in 32,768 0.003052%

The Buffalo Bills visit the Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in an AFC divisional game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs are a 1.5-point favorite. Here is how The News' sports writers project the outcome:

Bills roundtable: Do Bills need to beat Chiefs for season to be a success?

How does a Buffalo Bills organization on the ascent and its fans measure success, and how will the 2021 season that began with Super Bowl aspirations be viewed based on Sunday's results?

Jay Skurski: The Bills are peaking at the right time, as evidenced by their 30-point margin of victory over the New England Patriots in the wild-card round. That’s good news for a team that has been maddeningly inconsistent at times this season. The challenge, however, will be far greater against the Chiefs. Kansas City has scored at least 28 points in each of its last six games. The Chiefs also have fixed their defensive problems from early in the season. From Weeks 8-18 of the regular season, they allowed a league-low 16.1 points per game. Offensively, Kansas City has cleaned up things, too. After turning the ball over 19 times in the first eight games, the Chiefs have just eight since that time. That includes two against Pittsburgh in the wild-card round, however, so that’s a potential good sign for the Bills’ defense in what’s expected to be a close game. As good as Kansas City’s offense has been lately, the Bills have been slightly better. Quarterback Josh Allen and Co. have averaged 32.3 points per game over the last six weeks, with a resurgent running game factoring heavily into that. Allen just waxed the No. 2 defense in the NFL against New England. He keeps things rolling in this one. Bills, 31-24.

PlayAction: Bills WRs must contend with Chiefs' 'sticky' press coverage

You’ll recall last year’s AFC championship game, when CBS analyst Tony Romo used the phrase “sticky” umpteen times to describe the press coverage (and grabbing) the Kansas City Chiefs’ cornerbacks were employing on the Buffalo Bills’ wideouts, writes Mark Gaughan.

Katherine Fitzgerald: Both teams have evolved since Week 5, when the Bills proved that they can beat Kansas City on the road. I think they do it again. The Bills defense’s ability to either hold quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company to field goals or to force turnovers was key in the last meeting. On the other side, the Buffalo offense is feeling more rounded than early October. Kansas City solved early season woes, and has won 10 of its last 11. Still, the way the Bills beat the Patriots twice in the last four weeks really stands out to me as an indicator of what this team can be right now. Bills players have said they’ve sensed for awhile that they would face the defending AFC champions again. They’re ready for it. Bills, 31-27.

Mark Gaughan: Josh Allen is more ready for the moment with Chiefs than last year

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL.

Mark Gaughan: Too bad these two teams can’t meet in the Super Bowl. In fact, I think I like the winner of this game to win the Super Bowl. Like most, I expect a shootout. Last team with the ball wins. It probably comes down to which team can generate more heat on the quarterback. One defense will manage to get one stop in the last eight minutes of the game that proves to be the difference. The Bills had 42 sacks, the Chiefs 31 this season. On ESPN’s pass rush win rate chart, the Bills are sixth best, the Chiefs seventh. I think the team that runs the ball more effectively will have an edge, too. I kind of like the Bills on that front. But Chris Jones is the best defensive lineman on the field. I like the Chiefs’ pass rush a little better. Chiefs, 33-30.

Rookie DE Greg Rousseau ready to return to Kansas City

When the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles.

Jason Wolf: The Bills beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead once already this season. They can do it again. Buffalo racked up 436 yards of offense in the last meeting, a 38-20 road victory in Week 5. Kansas City committed four turnovers in the game, and Micah Hyde broke it open with a pick-six in the third quarter. As Hyde has said, confidence in the NFL is a heck of a drug. Throw in the AFC title game vengeance factor, and the way the Bills performed in the wild-card round, and it’s easy to imagine another Buffalo victory. Expect Josh Allen to use his running ability to loosen the K.C. defense and Devin Singletary to continue to enjoy success on the ground. The Chiefs allowed the second-most yards per carry in the NFL this season. Bills, 28-24.

PlayAction: Bills on alert for Chiefs' trick plays near goal line

Watch out for the tricks that Patrick Mahomes & Co. have up their sleeves Sunday. Mark Gaughan has advice for the Buffalo defense in a playoff edition of PlayAction.

Rachel Lenzi: This is one of those games that could turn into the storyline of whoever scores last will win. The Bills and the Chiefs exploited porous defenses in their first-round playoff games, and maximized their offensive outputs. The Chiefs are one of the NFL’s hottest teams entering the playoffs, winning 10 of their last 11 games, and they have minimized mistakes on offense. They’ll have to figure out a way, though, to break through a Bills secondary that has found its groove, allowing its last two opponents – the Jets and the Patriots – 235 yards. The Chiefs' defense has had its own issues, but has fortified itself in the last 10 games. The Bills, though, have done the same, and will find areas to exploit in Kansas City’s defense as they continue to find more balance on offense. Bills, 31-27.

Sticky coverage and pressure.

That’s the combination to expect from Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in Sunday’s AFC divisional playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.

Bills roundtable: Do Bills need to beat Chiefs for season to be a success?

How does a Buffalo Bills organization on the ascent and its fans measure success, and how will the 2021 season that began with Super Bowl aspirations be viewed based on Sunday's results?

You’ll recall last year’s AFC championship game, when CBS analyst Tony Romo used the phrase “sticky” umpteen times to describe the press coverage (and grabbing) the Chiefs’ cornerbacks were employing on the Bills’ wideouts.

The Chiefs love their press-man coverage again this season. Kansas City had the highest rate of press coverage in the league this year (40%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Chiefs played press coverage a whopping 68% against Pittsburgh’s receivers in Sunday’s wild-card game.

Stick to the wideouts early in the down and get heat on the quarterback before he has time to let longer-developing crossing patterns open against man coverage. That’s a logical plan for Spagnuolo against the Bills.

PlayAction: Bills on alert for Chiefs' trick plays near goal line

Watch out for the tricks that Patrick Mahomes & Co. have up their sleeves Sunday. Mark Gaughan has advice for the Buffalo defense in a playoff edition of PlayAction.

“You’re a complete corner when you do that, in my opinion,” Spagnulo said last month on playing physical with wideouts. “I tend to lean toward those guys. I think that makes us better. Now, you don’t take that at the expense of the skills that you need to cover, and we have a couple guys that have that combination.”

The Chiefs don’t have a shut-down cornerback in the Tre’Davious White class. But each of their top three corners is a quality player. On the outside are Charvarius Ward and Mike Hughes. Ward is big, at 6-foot, 5/8 inches with 32 1/4-inch arms and 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash. Hughes is not as big (5-10) or fast (4.53), but was the 30th overall pick of the Vikings in 2018. In the slot is L’Jarius Sneed, 6-1 with 4.37 speed.

“I love being physical,” Sneed said last month. “Spags likes it. He’s got an aggressive defense, and I love being physical myself. On the offensive side, they don’t like that. Receivers don’t like when you put hands on them and stuff like that. Take their heart out of their chest, that’s why I like it.”

How we see it: News' writers predict Bills-Chiefs in AFC divisional game

The Buffalo Bills visit the Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in an AFC divisional game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs are a 1.5-point favorite. Here is how The News' sports writers project the outcome.

Tight formations. One thing the Bills sprung on the Chiefs in Week 5 was more varied, tight formations. Fullback Reggie Gilliam played a season-high 22 snaps. The Bills used a lot of play-action fakes with the fullback on the field. Lining up the wideouts tighter to the tackle box made it a little bit harder for the cornerbacks to get their hands on them off the line of scrimmage. It also helped in pass-protection on play-action passes. Allen was 9 of 13 for 143 yards and two TDs on play-action passes in the game, according to News charting.

The Bills used three wideouts on 26 of 54 plays in Week 5, and Allen threw for 220 yards from that spread group.

Mark Gaughan: Josh Allen is more ready for the moment with Chiefs than last year

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL.

Four-man rush. Spagnuolo has been able to back off the blitz since the Chiefs added edge rusher Melvin Ingram at midseason. It has helped Chris Jones to thrive at defensive tackle. The Chiefs were blitzing 33.5% the first seven weeks. They’re down to 26.5% the last 11 weeks, 15th most in the league, according to Football Outsiders.

The K.C. game plan in Week 5 was to not blitz Allen much. Spagnuolo blitzed only once in the first 17 dropbacks. After the Bills got up 31-13, he brought nine blitzes in the fourth quarter. With monster defensive tackle Jones on the field this time, it will be interesting to see if Spagnuolo will wait to see if he can get pressure with just four men early in the game.

Rookie DE Greg Rousseau ready to return to Kansas City

When the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles.

When Spagnuolo decides to bring heat, he goes big. The Chiefs ranked No. 1 last year in rushing six or more men, and they’re No. 1 again this year at six-plus rushers at 12%, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

That gives the Chiefs' defense a boom-or-bust quality. The Chiefs gave up 52 completions of 20 or more yards this season – 16th most in the league. The Bills’ defense allowed a league-low 31 20-plus passes.

No. 24 challenge. Ingram gave Dion Dawkins fits in the season opener against Pittsburgh. It was Dawkins' worst game, and he still was coming back from his bad bout with Covid-19. Dawkins has had a sensational pass-blocking season, and he has gotten better late in the season in the run game. He was rewarded with a Pro Bowl berth. Dawkins probably won’t see a ton of Ingram on Sunday. Ingram usually plays over right tackle, while Frank Clark plays over left tackle.

“That was Week 1, where a lot of us weren’t at their self,” Dawkins said. “I’m extremely excited for this game that’s coming up on Sunday.”

Ingram is 6-1 1/2. It’s going to be a challenge for 6-8 Spencer Brown to keep Ingram from going low and under in turning the corner with the speed rush.

“He’s fast, he’s a shorter player,” Dawkins said of Ingram. “He plays with a lot of energy and he’s a savvy vet. But we’re definitely catching him at the right time. I’m extremely excited to see his number flash across me and across Spencer. It’ll be a very great athletic day for both him and us.”

Bills notebook: It's no surprise road to a potential Super Bowl goes through Kansas City

“I had a feeling if we wanted to get to the Super Bowl, we were going to have to beat them,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “Here we are some ‘X’ amount of weeks later in that position for a great opportunity if we go play our best football.”

The 30,000-foot view. If the Chiefs and Bengals win, Kansas City would become the first team ever to host four straight conference championship games and the seventh to play in the game four straight years. New England played in the AFC final eight straight years from 2011-18. The others to go four straight: Oakland (1973-77), Philadelphia (2001-04), Dallas (1992-95), Buffalo (1990-93) and Dallas (1970-73).

Shell coverage. Allen and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes saw a lot of similar coverages this season, with defenses working harder than ever to play zone and prevent big plays. The Chiefs had 69 pass plays of 20-plus yards in 2020 and 58 this year. The Bills had 66 in 2020 and 51 this year.

Mahomes earlier this year on how defenses have played him: “It kind of goes in different phases. At the beginning of my career, it was a lot of zone coverage. Then it became a lot of pressuring me and trying to get the ball out of my hands to see if I could pick it up. Then last year, similar, it started off with zone and then it became a lot of press-man coverage. This year, it’s kind of been a lot of deeper zones. Not letting us get free releases off the ball, but still playing that zone coverage. I think our team has done a great job of adjusting every year. ... For us, it’s about being patient now, being patient with the run game, being patient with the short passing game and keep taking what’s there. If we’re going to do these 12-, 14-play drives and we’re still scoring touchdowns, they’re just as effective.”

Stats for the road. Buffalo put up 47 points last week on a New England defense that allowed 17.8 per game this season. The last team to score 47 or more in a postseason game against an opponent that had allowed fewer than 18 a game? The 1992 Dallas Cowboys, against the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. … Both the Bills and Chiefs are strong on special teams. The Bills ranked second in punt coverage, third in kickoff coverage. The Chiefs ranked first in punt coverage, fifth in kickoff coverage.

While a new snow sculpture of Josh Allen is big enough to immediately command attention in the Allegany County town of Cuba, the brilliant colors that make it pop out from a field of white are the result of a kind of Marvel team-up between celebrated Western New York street artists with a shared passion for the Buffalo Bills.

Spray paint maestro Vinny Alejandro and snow sculptor Eric Jones first made contact over social media, a conversation initiated after Alejandro, his family and their pet dog, Sophie, moved last year from Buffalo to Cuba. Yet the two men did not actually shake hands until they met by chance at September's Garlic Festival, where they both offered demonstrations of what they do.

At the time, they spoke near giant, stylized back-to-back murals of American eagles that Alejandro swiftly painted before a crowd. Jones, 46, who has also built a reputation for his caricatures and for his pumpkin carvings, immediately loved Alejandro's work. He suggested that maybe they could combine their talents in the coming winter to do something regarding the Bills.

Alejandro needed about a second to say yes. He recalled the playoff euphoria of a year ago, when the 13-3 Bills knocked off the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens before falling to Kansas City, a period in which Jones received international attention for his Bills-themed snow sculptures near his West Clarksville home – especially one just beyond Cuba's historic Block Barn that portrayed the arms-around-shoulders friendship of wide receiver Stefon Diggs and quarterback Allen.

Sean Kirst: At a high and icy corner of Highmark Stadium, the weather was just fine

The passion of the fans watching from the distant sections of 337, 338 and 339 at Highmark Stadium helps define a franchise, writes Sean Kirst.

To again capture such lightning demanded two basic elements: You needed success in the playoffs and you needed snow. Both arrived a few days ago in a big way, after the Bills swept past New England 47-17, closely followed by a snowstorm that zeroed in on Western New York.

Jones got busy quickly near Route 305 – he chose Allen as a subject because he wanted to do one striking likeness of a single player – before Alejandro, who turned 48 this week, finished off the project Thursday. He used 15 different shades to put the last touches on an 8-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide Jones sculpture that portrays Allen in classic quarterback mode, stretching back to heave the ball, with a backdrop of a football field and the team logo.

“Hey, anything Bills for me,” said Alejandro, who provided such nuances as different shades of brown for the ball and Allen’s moustache.

Painting snow, he said, is much trickier than his usual streetfront canvas, but he likes the purpose of this sculpture: Matt Lasher, marketing director of the West Herr Auto Group, said the company paid Jones’ expenses for materials and equipment and will also donate $2,500 – channeled through the Hope Rises Network – to Harrison’s Playmakers, a youth organization.

Through Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, that effort promotes “social inclusion and kindness” for children with developmental disabilities. Kate Glaser, founder of Hope Rises, said her goal is connecting Jones with charitable efforts as he erects future snow sculptures, many involving the Bills, throughout Western New York.

A year ago, for the sculpture that exploded on social media, Jones handled his own painting. But he is a lifetime Bills fan – he remembers being in front of the television with his father and grandfather when Buffalo lost Super Bowl XXV by a point to the New York Giants – and it seemed a touch of destiny when Alejandro, raised in the Old First Ward, settled nearby.

Their elemental connection, they agree, is loyalty to the team. Alejandro said even his wife, Jessie, who grew up near Kansas City and has "a piece of her heart always with the Chiefs,” is rooting for the Bills this time around.

At his new home, far from the city, Alejandro stays busy. He inherited his all-in Bills passion from his dad, who was born in Puerto Rico. Last summer, Alejandro was lead artist for Los Artistas del Barrio Buffalo, a collective of Latino artists who created a beautifully prominent mural of baseball great Roberto Clemente on the wall of the Burgos hair salon on Niagara Street.

Alejandro is also enjoying a burst of jobs from businesses across the Southern Tier, as well as commissions from several Seneca Nation dispensaries that can now sell legal marijuana and want his colorful murals for their walls.

As for the Bills, they have been a part of Alejandro’s life since he was a tiny child. He has done countless Bills-themed murals throughout Western New York, though his favorite remains a rendering of a giant Bills helmet, wagons encircling it, on an Abbott Road building at the stadium complex in Orchard Park. 

“Just the fact that it was there,” he said, “was kind of my ‘Mama, I made it’ moment.”

Sean Kirst: On Niagara Street, a Roberto Clemente portrait is 'a point of pride'

A mural on Niagara Street pays tribute to baseball great Roberto Clemente as well as Buffalo's rich baseball history.

That mural was painted over when New Era Field became Highmark Stadium, a part of street art life that Alejandro learned long ago he had to accept. While a snow sculpture has an even shorter existence, Alejandro said it matches perfectly with a time frame he has waited years to enjoy again:

He remembers the civic elation during the Super Bowl years in the 1990s, how the Bills seemed to keep the holiday feeling alive long after the Yuletide, how Western New Yorkers decorated their homes and turned on porch lights in team colors as part of a shared and joyous electricity. Alejandro used to wonder if his own children could ever appreciate such a thing, and not only is it here:

If you drive to Cuba, you will see it comes in at least 15 colors.

“That pride is back,” Alejandro said. “It feels the exact same.”

By Thursday afternoon, visitors were already showing up for photographs with the All-Snow quarterback, leaving Jones to speak of this vision: He allows himself an occasional daydream that the Bills will defeat Kansas City on Sunday on the road, while the Cincinnati Bengals will manage on Saturday to upset the Tennessee Titans, leaving Buffalo to host a conference championship game for the first time in 28 years.

If that happens, Jones said, he would take a mountain of snow outside Highmark Stadium and build it into a monumental sculpture that exists already in his imagination, a sculpture to greet the Buffalo faithful at the title game. But he also knows his craft and the sport are much alike, in this sense: What matters is how you manage what is in front of you today.

“I’d love to do something huge,” he said of the Bills, though what he really hopes, beyond all else, is that Sunday gives him one more reason to keep dreaming.

The Buffalo Bills are again facing the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL playoffs, and the Chiefs remain the measuring stick in the AFC until someone knocks them off. 

If the Bills can, Buffalo will be making its first trip to back-to-back AFC championship games since the 1992 and '93 playoffs. If the Bills can't, they face another offseason of attempting to figure out how to take the next steps. 

PlayAction: Bills WRs must contend with Chiefs' 'sticky' press coverage

You’ll recall last year’s AFC championship game, when CBS analyst Tony Romo used the phrase “sticky” umpteen times to describe the press coverage (and grabbing) the Kansas City Chiefs’ cornerbacks were employing on the Buffalo Bills’ wideouts, writes Mark Gaughan.

But how does a Bills organization on the ascent and its fans measure success, and how will the 2021 season that began with Super Bowl aspirations be viewed based on Sunday's results?

That's where we start this edition of our Bills roundtable with News Bills reporters Jay Skurski, Katherine Fitzgerald, Mark Gaughan and Jason Wolf.

Do the Bills have to beat the Chiefs for this season to be considered a success?

Mark Gaughan: Josh Allen is more ready for the moment with Chiefs than last year

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL.

Skurski: Yes. The buzz of beating the Patriots in such a convincing way has Bills fans riding high, but a loss to Kansas City would be a crash landing. This season was all about advancing beyond the stage the Bills reached last year, which was the AFC championship game. Or, to put it another way: Super Bowl or bust. That’s setting the bar high, but that’s what the expectations were for this team coming into 2021.

The Bills spent the offseason building a roster that could beat the Chiefs, then went out and proved they could do so in the regular season. Failing to do so again in the playoffs would represent a step back, and create the narrative that the Bills can’t get past the Chiefs when it matters most.

For most franchises, losing in the playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium would be an acceptable end to the season, but the Bills aren’t most franchises. All of the droughts inherited by this coaching staff and front office – a playoff appearance, an AFC East title, a postseason victory – are behind them, except the last and most substantial one.

They have legitimate championship aspirations. Falling short of that would make this season a disappointment. 

Fitzgerald: Yes. It feels a little intense to say yes here, but if the Bills lose, they’ll have a worse regular-season record than last year and will have lost to the same opponent a round earlier in the playoffs. It’s hard to call that a success when the team is raising their standards – which is a good a thing.

Rookie DE Greg Rousseau ready to return to Kansas City

When the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles.

Last season’s mark of 13-3 was always going to be hard to match, even with the additional game, and it is hard to win in the NFL. So this is more looking at the losses themselves. The 0-5 in close games stands out to me. All that said, any areas of improvement that the regular season highlighted can be somewhat absolved by a deep run.

The Bills have reached the time of year that really matters. It’s a positive to have won the division again. It’s a positive to have trounced the Patriots in the rubber match. But the Bills aren’t building a franchise around being content with simply beating the Patriots or running the AFC East. They have to get a little deeper in the playoffs.

Gaughan: No. If they get blown out by the Chiefs like last year in the AFC title game, that will be bad. But if they play reasonably well and lose, it was a successful season. While the Bills didn’t have as good a record as last year, they repeated as AFC East champs. Josh Allen had another great season. The defense ranked No. 1 in the NFL after ranking 16th last season.

Maybe the pass rush won’t be good enough Sunday vs. Patrick Mahomes. But how much better did you realistically want the defense to get in one year? The Bills destroyed their arch enemy in the playoffs in one of the greatest wins in team history. Maybe the third greatest at Orchard Park (after 51-3 and The Comeback). All of that equals a good year.

Are the Bills clearly better than the Chiefs? C'mon. Nobody could answer yes. They’re close. If the Chiefs and Bills played 10 times on a neutral field in Yuma, Ariz., they’d go 5-5. Of course, Bills fans are going to be disappointed if the team loses. Crushed. Fine. The emotional attachment is why it’s so much fun for fans.

PlayAction: Bills on alert for Chiefs' trick plays near goal line

Watch out for the tricks that Patrick Mahomes & Co. have up their sleeves Sunday. Mark Gaughan has advice for the Buffalo defense in a playoff edition of PlayAction.

I’m certain Chiefs fans would not agree with this, but I think the Kansas City season would still be a success if they lose close to the Bills. What? There’s no happiness unless your team goes to the Super Bowl? Should the Chiefs be ashamed of losing to Allen and the Bills? No way – and vice versa.

Again, barring a blowout loss Sunday, I say most Bills fans will wake up March 1 and say to themselves, the 2021 season was a load of fun.   

Wolf: I’m tempted to say yes, because losing in the playoffs at Kansas City wouldn’t reflect an improvement over last season. It could even be considered a step back, considering this defeat would come in the divisional round instead of in the AFC championship game.

But the question isn’t about improvement. It’s about whether this season would be considered a success, even if they lose to the Chiefs. And that’s a resounding yes. The Bills won a second consecutive AFC East championship, capturing back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 1990 and ’91 seasons, and obliterated the New England Patriots 47-17 in the first home playoff game with a full crowd in a generation.

Josh Allen orchestrated an historic beatdown, leading Buffalo to touchdowns on seven consecutive drives as the Bills became the first team in NFL history to not punt, attempt a field goal or commit a turnover in a single game. Bills fans can feel good about that result for a while.

Bills QB Josh Allen on 'family' atmosphere: 'Nobody wants to leave the locker room'

"I’m so focused on trying to be the best quarterback for this team, the best teammate I can be, and try to win football games for this team," Allen said.

Who other than Josh Allen will be the Bills’ most important player Sunday?  

Skurski: Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. Sorry, I can’t pick just one, but it’s only fitting to include Poyer and Hyde together. The Bills’ All-Pro safeties are the dual engines that make the NFL’s No. 1 defense go. Buffalo’s secondary has survived the loss of All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White up until this point, but it will face its greatest test Sunday. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his two favorite weapons – receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce – put on a clinic last year in the AFC championship game, and that was with White on the field. The Bills responded in October, but it’s going to be tough to count on recording four takeaways again, like they did in the Week 5 win. If they can get one or two, though, that may be enough to tilt the scales Buffalo’s way. Hyde’s interception last week against the Patriots was perhaps the best defensive play of the season for the Bills, and played a huge part in the blowout win. Poyer and Hyde are responsible for communicating the coverage calls in the secondary, and that communication will be critical. Without White, the Bills’ safeties need to each play their best game of the season. 

Fitzgerald: Devin Singletary. The defense as a whole will need to win the turnover battle, but in singling out one other player, I’ll go with Motor. He had just 25 yards on six carries in the October meeting, with Zack Moss getting a bigger role. But Singletary has been critical to the Bills’ recent run, and the team will need to continue to have that threat to open up the offense.

Gaughan: Flip a coin. I’ll pick two: Jerry Hughes and Ed Oliver. The Bills aren’t going to get many sacks. Mahomes was the third hardest QB to sack in the league. But they need to get some heat on him.  

Wolf: Devin Singletary. The Bills’ running back has scored eight touchdowns in the last five weeks and has scored twice in each of the last three games. He’s received double-digit carries in each of the last five games and has surpassed 80 rushing yards in four of those five. Not only does his success take pressure off Josh Allen and the passing game, but if the Bills can effectively run the ball and chew time off the clock, it’ll limit how much Patrick Mahomes and the explosive Chiefs offense are on the field. 

Bills notebook: It's no surprise road to a potential Super Bowl goes through Kansas City

“I had a feeling if we wanted to get to the Super Bowl, we were going to have to beat them,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “Here we are some ‘X’ amount of weeks later in that position for a great opportunity if we go play our best football.”

Who throws for more yards, Allen or Patrick Mahomes? 

Skurski: Allen. The Bills’ No. 1 pass defense allowed just one 300-yard passer all season – Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady. That includes holding Mahomes to 272 yards in the first meeting, some of which came near the end when the Bills were content to trade yards for points off the clock. Allen, meanwhile, threw for 315 yards in that meeting. 

Fitzgerald: Allen. Mahomes is wildly talented, but I think the Buffalo defense holds up here. In the last meeting, Kansas City’s opening drive lasted 17 plays, only to end in a field goal. Later in the game, Mahomes led Kansas City to the Buffalo 8-yard line before he was intercepted. So, he’s still going to throw for plenty of yards, but the bend-don’t-break Bills defense will help minimize the total. 

Gaughan: Allen, no matter which way it goes. Either the Bills’ offense stays hot and he has a huge game, or the Bills are playing from behind and he has to throw to catch up.  

Wolf: Josh Allen. This is less a reflection of Allen’s superiority over Mahomes than it is the Bills’ passing defense outclassing the Chiefs. Even without Tre’Davious White, the Bills managed to finish the season with the NFL’s top pass defense. The Bills’ defense was the only unit in the league to allow fewer than 3,000 passing yards this season (2,771). The Chiefs’ pass defense ranks 27th, after allowing 4,273 passing yards.

Many people feel the Buffalo Bills might have played the best game in team history in last week’s 47-17 annihilation of New England. Josh Allen took the field seven times and produced a touchdown every time. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns, ran six times for 66 yards and didn’t commit a turnover. Allen finished the game with a 157.6 passer rating. It’s what happens when you throw more TD passes than incompletions. And when you complete all 14 of your passes of 10-plus yards. The 47 points the Bills scored were the most given up by a Bill Belichick-coached New England Patriots team.

Now for the pending reality of it all from the well-oiled machine: NFL teams that have managed to take down a Belichick-coached team by 20 or more points are just 6-12 straight up and against the spread in their next game, including 0-5 straight up and 1-4 against the spread versus teams with a winning percentage of more than .666.

With the win, the Bills are 3-0 at home and 0-3 away in the playoffs under Sean McDermott. The Kansas City Chiefs bumped Buffalo out of the playoffs in the AFC title game last year, although the Bills circled back and routed the Chiefs 38-20 at Arrowhead in October. The Bills enter this contest with plus-32 net TDs this season – the best in the league.

Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes was money for Chiefs’ backers in last week’s 42-21 win over Pittsburgh, going 30 for 39 for 404 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. He was even more pristine in the second half, going 11 for 11 for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes is 7-2 in the postseason, with both losses coming at the hands of Tom Brady.

In closing, we add this beauty from the well-oiled machine as it reminds us that teams coming off a wild-card win of 25-plus points are 3-7 straight up and against the spread since 1990, including 0-5 straight up and against the spread versus sub-.800 foes. To which the Bills Mafia promptly responded, "Gulp!" 

Prediction: Chiefs over Bills by 10. 

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Previous episodes of PlayAction:

Whatever you’re paying for television service, you’re getting your money’s worth Sunday night.

Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen, Part IV.

Bills notebook: It's no surprise road to a potential Super Bowl goes through Kansas City

“I had a feeling if we wanted to get to the Super Bowl, we were going to have to beat them,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “Here we are some ‘X’ amount of weeks later in that position for a great opportunity if we go play our best football.”

They're the two most electric, insanely talented, young quarterbacks in the NFL in the playoffs.

There’s no question who’s No. 1 right now. The Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback, still only 26, has a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP award and two AFC titles. Mahomes has all the things that come with a Lombardi Trophy. He’s on your television constantly, whether it’s selling State Farm Insurance, soup, sneakers or shampoo. Sunday’s AFC divisional playoff game will be Mahomes’ 10th playoff start.

Allen, 25, is eight months younger than Mahomes. Sunday will mark his sixth playoff start.

Rookie DE Greg Rousseau ready to return to Kansas City

When the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles.

Yet Allen is more ready for this moment, more ready to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes, than he was a year ago.

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL. (Mahomes produced 39 touchdowns and 5,220 yards.) There’s no doubt Allen is a little better quarterback than he was a year ago.

He has another year working with coordinator Brian Daboll under his belt. The database of defensive looks in his brain is larger. Defenses have forced him to play with more patience over the past year. He has adapted.

Recall last year’s AFC championship game in Kansas City. The Chiefs had Allen and the offense off balance. A muffed punt by the Chiefs early allowed the Bills to score on a one-play, 3-yard drive. Take that away, and the Bills’ first seven drives went: FG, punt, punt, punt, FG, FG, INT.

“I felt, especially early on in that game, that he was trying to prove how good he is,” former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky told The News in September. “He played in a hurry, and he was almost trying to prove that fact. That’s how he got himself into a little bit of trouble. He didn’t trust the things he was seeing.”

Bills rookie tackle Tommy Doyle's big-man touchdown a byproduct of big win, hard work

The touchdown was a huge moment for Doyle, a fifth-round pick in 2021, who’s become a bigger part of the Bills' offense lately. The 6-foot-8, 320-pound lineman has been an asset in the Bills’ six-linemen sets.

Allen has played within himself better this year. Against seven playoff opponents, he has 18 TDs and two INTs. In the Dec. 26 meeting with New England, he skewered the Patriots with underneath passing early, then took bigger chunk plays later. Last week’s humiliation of the proud Patriots defense was the most brilliant game of Allen’s career.

On Wednesday, Allen talked about his progression since his first playoff game in Houston in 2019.

“I think it’s just repetitions of in-game reps and being in the playoffs the last few years,” Allen said. “Taking the experience and the knowledge that we’ve gained, understanding that every drive that you have in the playoffs is very crucial to the game. Being smart with the football and not pressing.”

Allen used to think he had to play angry. Now, we see more lethal surgery.

“I would just say the biggest thing I've seen is just his confidence and his command of the offense,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “He's got really good playmakers around him. He's able to distribute the ball. I think last week we saw every receiver had a catch. I think I said on mic'ed up last week, we're lucky to have him on our team. I wouldn't want to play him if I was on another team. He's a great teammate, great guy. And his confidence is through the roof.”

Erik Brady: 'Net Boy' makes his return and wouldn't miss a demolition of the Patriots

The last time Dave Champlin saw a Buffalo Bills home game in person, he was on the net crew. During the Bills' wild-card rout of the New England Patriots, he was in the stands.

“When he steps out there, just know he’s not blinking at all,” running back Devin Singletary said. “No matter the situation, he’s always in kill mode. That’s the best way to put it.”

Mahomes isn’t blinking, either.

Mahomes has 151 touchdown passes in his first five seasons, second most in history. Dan Marino is first at 168.

Mahomes and Allen are among only six QBs who have thrown for 4,000 yards and 35 TDs in back-to-back seasons (with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees).

If the Bills’ McBeane braintrust can keep pushing the right buttons, this has the makings of a rivalry similar to that of Tom Brady vs. Manning, who went head-to-head 17 times over 15 seasons. (Brady won 11).

Iona coach Rick Pitino: “I’m hoping the Bills go all the way.”

“I’m a big Buffalo Bills fan,” Pitino said Wednesday on a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference videoconference. “I root for the Giants, one, and the Bills, two. I like the Mafia and everything around it.”

“Both of them are great for the NFL,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Buffalo media Wednesday. “First of all, to have this influx of these young guys to come in, I think is tremendous for the league. Both of these guys are two of the finest. They’re both mobile. They both can run around, extend plays. It’s fun to watch unless you’re playing them, right? Then it’s not so fun.”

Allen knows it is inevitable he will be judged in comparison with Mahomes.

“I think that's the nature of the business,” Allen said. “We know in this league, the quarterbacks, they get a lot of the praise and they get a lot of the hate, downfall and all that stuff, too. And I think it just kind of comes with this position that we play. But ... it's obviously pretty cool to be in that conversation with a player who's won MVP and won a Super Bowl already. And he's done all the major things that you want to accomplish in your career, and obviously he wants more, too. Yeah, it's cool and I know the type of guy Pat is. We’ve talked to each other a few times. He's an awesome dude, and I know he's got his foundation set up that helps a lot of people. And that's something I really admire about him as well, that he's a real good person off the field as well.”

Mahomes and Allen both are likable characters. They both play with the joy of a little kid.

"We’re living a kid’s dream right now," Singletary said. "Even though, at times, it might be pressure, sometimes you’ve got to sit back and just realize we’re living a dream and just enjoy and cherish all the moments. I think that’s what Josh shows day in and day out.”

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Obviously, the other 21 starters on the field for each team will have a big say in the matter. The Bills’ defense didn’t make Mahomes be spectacular last January. He could have played the game in a tuxedo.

Odds are, however, Allen is going to need his A game to outduel Mahomes.

“I don't know if rivalry is the right word, but they are the mecca of the AFC,” Allen said. “And that's the team that everybody wants to aspire to be, to be in three AFC championships in a row and being in two Super Bowls in a row. So that's the type of level that we want to be and in order to be the best, you gotta beat the best.”

It took Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau just five games to earn his first-career AFC Defensive Player of the Week award. It’s taking him a little bit longer to find the right spot for the football-shaped trophy.

“It's actually, I think, in my laundry room right now,” Rousseau said. “I'll probably put it somewhere better when I get a house. But I don't have a lot of space for stuff.”

Mark Gaughan: Josh Allen is more ready for the moment with Chiefs than last year

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL.

Rousseau can re-decorate later. Right now, the rookie is focused on returning to Kansas City with the Bills this weekend for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. He's felt a "fire in the locker room" this week as the Bills prepare. 

When the two teams met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles. Rousseau became just the second Bills player to earn Defensive Player of the Week as a rookie.

Now, as the Bills gear up for a rematch with the team that ended their season last year, Rousseau looks to have a big game once again, building off all he has since learned.

Bills rookie tackle Tommy Doyle's big-man touchdown a byproduct of big win, hard work

The touchdown was a huge moment for Doyle, a fifth-round pick in 2021, who’s become a bigger part of the Bills' offense lately. The 6-foot-8, 320-pound lineman has been an asset in the Bills’ six-linemen sets.

Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said that the coaching staff was re-watching some of Rousseau’s plays against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.

“I think when Greg goes back and looks at that game again, he’s going to see some plays and he’s going to say, 'You know what? I need to do that again,’ ” Frazier said. “And we need that from him. ... He's grown a lot over the course of the season, but we need his impact in order for us to have the success we need on defense this coming Sunday.”

In the regular-season meeting, the Bills had four takeaways, including one on special teams. Mahomes threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, the first of which was a pick-six by safety Micah Hyde. Then, on the ensuing drive, Kansas City marched to the Buffalo eight-yard line before Rousseau batted and then reeled in a pass by Mahomes.

The Miami native’s most recent previous interception was roughly a decade ago.

“Probably like when I was 10 years old, playing Little League football, I remember I had one,” Rousseau said. “So way back.”

Bills notebook: It's no surprise road to a potential Super Bowl goes through Kansas City

“I had a feeling if we wanted to get to the Super Bowl, we were going to have to beat them,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “Here we are some ‘X’ amount of weeks later in that position for a great opportunity if we go play our best football.”

The Bills’ first-round pick in 2021, Rousseau says he thinks the biggest area he’s grown in during his rookie campaign is his reaction speed. He credited veterans Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes and defensive-line coach Eric Washington for helping him in that aspect. It comes in large part from thorough preparation for an opponent’s tendencies.

“Good players aren't good players because of their athleticism only,” Rousseau said. “That's obviously part of it, but a lot of this is being connected to the situation and just knowing your opponent.”

Rousseau found that the drills the Bills defense ran in practice that week prepped him specifically to bat down balls. Those reps, along with the situational understanding, helped him react quickly on the interception.

While the pick stands out, Frazier saw Rousseau have a “tremendous impact” in both the run and pass game against Kansas City.

“In run defense, his ability to be able to take on blockers and be able to shed and make plays in the run game was big for us,” Frazier said. “And, obviously, getting his hands up and coming away with an interception in the red zone to take points off the board, that’s a big-time play.”

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The last time Dave Champlin saw a Buffalo Bills home game in person, he was on the net crew. During the Bills' wild-card rout of the New England Patriots, he was in the stands.

Rousseau says that the “splash play” was big, but he doesn’t assign too much significance to his performance in the game. He put the trophy in the laundry room, rewatched the things he could still get better at and looked ahead to the upcoming games.

“I try to really minimize how much I think about a game (as) good or bad,” he said. “I try to really just put them all in the same buckets, same category. So I don’t really see it different from any game.”

He does allow himself to relish big plays a bit, but only in the big-picture sense. Even if the Week 5 performance seemed like a breakthrough game from the outside, Rousseau doesn’t frame it that way. He doesn’t want to overhype a game when he’s still trying to learn and grow.

“I wouldn't say I’ve made it, but I say I get happy when I make big plays,” Rousseau said. “And I'm like, ‘Man, I'm really helping this team. I'm in the NFL, this is a playoff-caliber team.’

“So just being able to make a tackle for loss, or make a sack or interception or fumble recovery, whatever it is, it’s like, ‘Man, I'm helping this organization go in the right direction. I'm doing my job.’ So that's the biggest thing.”

James P. McCoy: Inside memorable photo of Stefon Diggs watching the Chiefs celebrate

Longtime Buffalo News photographer James P. McCoy explains how he got the photo that went viral and has become a symbol of the Bills’ desire for revenge.

On a close-knit team, Rousseau has impressed players from different position groups with his preparation. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs will talk to him before games

“I’m not too much on that side of the ball, but I try to show him some love before the game and tell him he better get his hands on somebody or I’m gonna get my hands on him,” Diggs said. “It’s a steady grind. I remember being a young player and I remember how long the season was.”

Frazier praised Rousseau’s ability to work past the rookie wall earlier this season. Diggs agreed, and quickly pointed out that Rousseau isn't done yet. 

“I’m proud of him up to this point, but I feel like he’s got a lot of ball left in him,” Diggs said. “He’s got more juice in those legs, and he’s gonna make some more plays for us. I’m saluting him for staying on the grind.”

As they walked off the field inside Arrowhead Stadium in October, the Buffalo Bills had a good feeling they would be run into their opponent later in the season.

That belief turned out to be true, as the Bills will visit the Kansas City Chiefs for a second time, with the rematch coming Sunday in an AFC divisional playoff game.

Rookie DE Greg Rousseau ready to return to Kansas City

When the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in Week 5, Rousseau had one of the best games of his season in a 38-20 win, earning the league's weekly honors. He intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sacked him, had a tackle for loss and five tackles.

“Everybody knew that,” Bills receiver Stefon Diggs said of an inevitable rematch with Kansas City. “The Chiefs are a hell of a team. They got all the talent in the world, they’ve been playing at a high level, they’ve been to the Super Bowl twice. They have a hell of a quarterback, hell of receivers, good defense – they’re a great team. Something that we look forward to, as far as the challenge and putting ourselves in a position to have success. We can’t say anything other than they’ve been doing all the right things.”

The Bills won comfortably in October 38-20, but the Chiefs have been on a roll since then, winning nine of the final 10 games in the regular season and opening the playoffs with a resounding 42-21 win over Pittsburgh. They are the AFC’s No. 2 seed behind the Tennessee Titans.

“I had a feeling if we wanted to get to the Super Bowl, we were going to have to beat them,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “Here we are some ‘X’ amount of weeks later in that position for a great opportunity if we go play our best football.”

Mark Gaughan: Josh Allen is more ready for the moment with Chiefs than last year

Allen’s statistics this season fell a little shy of his franchise-record passing totals of 2020. But Allen’s numbers still were spectacular. He produced 42 touchdowns and 5,160 yards, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the NFL.

The Chiefs have made it to the AFC championship game the past three seasons, so it’s no surprise the Bills’ potential path to the Super Bowl once again goes through Arrowhead Stadium.

“We just got to keep knocking at the door,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “They're a really, really good football team that's obviously been world champions of late, and went back last season. We're a good football team, I believe, and we just got to keep knocking.”

Injury report

The Bills’ first injury report of the week was a short one. Defensive end Mario Addison was a limited participant in practice due to the shoulder injury he suffered against the Patriots.

Cornerback Rashad Fenton (back) and running back Darrel Williams (toe) did not practice for the Chiefs. Kansas City listed three players as full participants – running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (shoulder), receiver Tyreek Hill (heel) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (knee). Edwards-Helaire did not play last week against Pittsburgh.

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Better weather

The weather dominated the conversation last week ahead of the game against New England – for good reason. It was stupid cold against the Patriots.

It’s been much less of a topic this week, mainly because it looks to be fairly plain. The high Sunday in Kansas City is forecast to be 42, with a low of 25. Winds are projected to be 5-10 mph, which means the weather shouldn’t be a major factor for either side.

Have the uniform gods determined that we will see another Josh Allen leap against the Chiefs on Sunday?

The Bills revealed their uniforms for the AFC divisional playoff game and will go white jerseys and white pants. 

When Allen made his leap over Minnesota linebacker Anthony Barr in 2018, the Bills were wearing the white on white look (minus the gray facemasks).

When Allen made his leap over Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed in Week 5 this season, the Bills also were wearing white on white (the facemasks were changed to white this year).

KC drip. 🔥@EnergyMark | #BUFvsKC pic.twitter.com/BybiepRrQi

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 19, 2022

While there is no data that suggests Allen can only take a high-flying leap in this uniform combination, the evidence is the evidence at this point.

The Bills have gone white on white six times this season: the season-opening loss to the Steelers, and victories at Kansas City in Week 5, against Miami in Week 8, against the Jets in Week 10, a loss against the Buccaneers in Week 14 and the win over the Patriots in Week 16.   

The photo of Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs on the field in January 2021 at Arrowhead Stadium watching the AFC championship celebration by the Kansas City Chiefs is being shared again as the Bills head to Kansas City on Sunday. Longtime Buffalo News photographer James P. McCoy explains how he got the photo that went viral and has become a symbol of the Bills’ desire for revenge.

I covered the entire 2020 Bills season from the front row of the stands, and the AFC championship game was no different. No media photographers were allowed on the field because of Covid-19 restrictions. Covering a professional football game from this vantage point is difficult. I'm accustomed to shooting from the field and documenting the action at eye level. I usually try to show the readers a perspective that they don’t see when watching from the stands. 

Several local newspaper and television photographers, along with those from national outlets, all cramped into the front row. I would move as fast as I could between the seats while excusing myself as I passed another journalist. Covid-19 was very much on everyone’s mind, and we tried to keep 6 feet apart, but it was impossible. 

The game did not lend itself to great action photos. I needed images that told the story of the game. With the game out of reach, I decided to concentrate on player reactions. The game ended and the Bills players walked off the field, exchanging hugs as Kansas City started its celebration. All of the players were heading off the field, except for Stefon Diggs. A few players tried to get him to leave, but he refused. Coach Sean McDermott came running out from the locker room and consoled his star receiver.

McDermott ended his embrace and left the field, but Diggs stayed. I zoomed in on Diggs standing on the field by himself from the vantage point behind the bench. My photo assistant came sprinting up to me, yelling that the best view of the photo was from behind him, with the Chiefs celebrating in the back, from the end zone. I sprinted through the seats to the end zone. I was praying Diggs would hold his ground for just a few more seconds.

Diggs had his hands on his hips, and I knew that was the image. Luckily, another photographer who was blocking my view moved to the side of my frame for about 10 seconds and I had my shot. I called the director of photography and explained the shot. We were on a tight deadline. All I had to do was run the length of the stadium between the seats, up the lower stadium stands and three flights of stairs. I made it just in time to the photographers’ media room. The person in charge was packing up. I told him I only needed a few minutes to transmit. The photo was published quickly online, and within hours, the image had gone viral.

The Buffalo Bills will face an improved Kansas City Chiefs defense in Sunday’s AFC divisional playoff game.

Kansas City will have two key defensive linemen on the field who did not play in the Week 5 meeting between the teams, won by the Bills 38-20.

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Three-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones, widely viewed as one of the top five defensive tackles in the NFL, missed Week 5 with a wrist injury. He gave the Bills fits in the two losses to the Chiefs in the 2020 season.

“He’s really good. I mean, he’s really good,” Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. “He stands out. We’re up there preparing right now and he’s just a dynamic player. He’s big. He’s long. He’s powerful. He’s got explosiveness. He’s got quickness for a bigger guy. He’s a problem.”

The Chiefs also have a new starting left defensive end in Melvin Ingram, acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh on Nov. 2. Ingram has played 10 games for the Chiefs. He hasn’t lit up the stat sheet. The 32-year-old has two sacks. His 42 pressures rank tied for 35th among edge rushers, according to Pro Football Focus. But Ingram has been an upgrade for the Chiefs.

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Ingram gave Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins trouble in the season opener, getting five pressures. That was, by far, Dawkins’ poorest game of the season.

“He’s come here and he’s added some good senior leadership to the defense, along with the other good leaders that we have,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “It’s worked out well for him and we’re glad we have him.”

Jones has 47.5 sacks over the last five seasons, second most in among NFL defensive tackles. After playing mostly at defensive end the first half of the season, he moved back to the inside starting Week 8.

That keyed a second-half defensive resurgence. Kansas City allowed a league-worst 29 ppg the first seven games. The last 10 of the regular-season, it allowed a league-low 16.1 ppg.

The other defensive end is Frank Clark, who had two sacks vs. Buffalo in the AFC title game last year. He had 4.5 sacks this season.

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“They’ve got Ingram now, and Clark. It’s just their defensive line creates a lot of issues and they’re tough to block,” Daboll said.

The Chiefs also have a slightly different look in the defensive secondary since Week 5.

Starting cornerback Charvarius Ward missed four games early in the season, including the Bills meeting. He has been back the entire second half of the season to team with outside starter Mike Hughes and slot corner L’Jarius Sneed.

The other change is at safety. Daniel Sorensen was a full-time player the first five games of the season and was picked on by the Bills. He lost his starting job to Juan Thornhill, a second-round pick in 2019. Sorensen still is playing about 50% of the defensive snaps because the Chiefs like to play six defensive backs.

While the Chiefs’ defense has mostly dominated the second half of the season, it did give up big offensive days against two top young quarterbacks the last month of the season.

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The Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert rolled up 28 first downs and 428 yards in a 34-28 loss to the Chiefs on Dec. 16. Joe Burrow passed for 446 yards in a 34-31 win over the Chiefs on Jan. 2.

No, the NFL has not realigned.

It just feels like the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs share the same division. The two teams will meet for the fourth time in the past two seasons Sunday, this time in an AFC divisional playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Well this team, it's like a division game, right?” Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. “You play your teams in your division and you have a certain familiarity with them, whether it's play style or personnel.”

The Chiefs won the biggest of those matchups last year in the AFC championship game, although the Bills got at least a bit of revenge with a win in Week 5 of the regular season.

“There's a lot of games from then until now,” Daboll said. “You spend time evaluating and watching. In this venue, again, it's a competitive game against a really good team. A great atmosphere and a big game, so we're going to need our best.”

Familiarity can sometimes breed contempt, although in this case, there is a healthy amount of respect on both sides.

“Yeah, I think there’s a sense of it,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said Monday during an interview with Kansas City sports radio station KCSP-AM of a budding rivalry with the Bills. “They have great football players over there, obviously, starting with Josh (Allen). He’ll be there a long time in Buffalo. I’m sure we’ll play a lot of games against each other. They’ll have a lot of great teams, coaches … I'm excited for it."

The Chiefs and Bills are both coming off dominant showings in the wild-card round. The Bills were 30-point winners over the Patriots in a game that will go down as one of the best in franchise history, while the Chiefs overcame a bit of a slow start against the Steelers before settling in and blowing out Pittsburgh, 42-21.

“They're the defending AFC champs, and it's tough to play them anywhere, let alone at their place,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “So we've got to put in a good week of practice and get ourselves ready to go perform at our best.”

After losing to the Bills in Week 5, the Chiefs closed the regular season 10-2 over the final 12 games, good enough to earn the AFC’s No. 2 seed. That’s big, because they’ve won five straight postseason games at Arrowhead Stadium.

Mahomes and Allen each threw five touchdown passes in their respective victories, which means Sunday will be the first meeting of quarterbacks to have done so in their previous playoff game, according to NFL Research.

“Yeah, we’ve seen him a few times,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said of Mahomes. “He’s seen us as well. So, he has some idea of what we might want to do on defense and we think we have some idea of what he might want to do, what Andy Reid might want to do from an offensive standpoint, he and Eric Bieniemy. But the one thing that trumps that is … athletic ability. You’ll have people in spots, but because of his creativity and his ability to make plays off schedule, that kind of wipes out some of your strategy at times. We may think we have an idea of what might be coming, but because of his ability to be able to make those off-schedule plays, it’s difficult at times.”

Here are four more observations from Monday’s video news conferences with McDermott, Daboll and Frazier:

1. Defensive end Mario Addison is day to day. Addison suffered a shoulder injury during Saturday’s win over New England.

“We’ll see where that leads us through the week,” McDermott said.

There were no other reported injuries for the Bills.

2. Allen hasn’t been sacked in four straight games, easily the longest streak of his career. Previously, he had never even gone back-to-back games without being sacked. Daboll said that’s a credit to more than just the offensive line.

“To me, sacks is a team stat,” he said. “Everybody can put it on the offensive line, but it takes all 11. It takes the timing, rhythm of the passing game. It takes good decisions, it takes the backs understanding who to block if there's protection responsibility or getting out fast if there isn't, and then it takes the line communicating the looks that they're getting. … Everybody has got to be dialed in. That's why all those stats that are out there, you know most of them are team stats, because it takes all 11 guys to be dialed in and run a play properly on offense.”

3. McDermott said his confidence in the kicking game hasn’t been shaken. Tyler Bass had a pair of extra points blocked against the Patriots – about the only two things that went wrong Saturday.

“Full confidence in our kicking game and what we're doing there,” the coach said. “A couple of plays we want back but, overall, very confident in that group. They've had a really good year.”

4. Frazier gave a passionate response when asked about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on our country. “The doors that have been opened, I don't know if it were not for his sacrifice if we'd be having this conversation right now,” he said. “It opened up the doors throughout the world, not just in athletics, not just politics, but in life. There are opportunities that were presented because of the sacrifice that Dr. King and many others made to give me an opportunity, people that look like me. And I'm forever grateful for that sacrifice. Someone being willing to give their life to give me and others an opportunity to experience an equal opportunity. I don't think there's any words that I could ever use to show my thanks any more than to come to work every day and work as hard as I can to be an example that Dr. King and many others have sacrificed their lives for me to have a chance to represent in a right way.”

Buffalo Bills fans were already on emotional edge has the hours ticked down toward Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game in Kansas City. 

A bit after 8 p.m. Saturday, the Bills and the Pegula Sports and Entertainment content team hit them all right in the feels with a 1 minute, 39 second hype video narrated by former Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams. 

We are not satisfied. 😤@Windows | #BUFvsKC pic.twitter.com/dWPNQ23pas

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 23, 2022

The News checked in with PSE supervising producer Michelle Girardi Zumwalt on Sunday for the behind the scenes story on the making of the video:

"We know our fans really connect with our Legends Community, based on reactions to the Legend of the Game and the way Steve Tasker’s 'It Might Be Chilly' video and character took off last season. So, we did a sequel with Darryl Talley to celebrate our second straight division title.

"We still needed to make another video to hype up our wild-card matchup, and Associate Producer Andrew Meyer, who was tasked with producing and editing it, thought Lorenzo Alexander would both do an excellent job and be easy to reach and work with on short notice.

"Once we won last weekend, we needed to think of who the fans would want to hear from before this incredibly high-stakes revenge matchup with the Chiefs. Who better than the man who gave us all an adrenaline rush when he emerged as one of the most passionate pre-game speech artists in the league when the Bills ended the drought in 2017? His 'We Live in the deep water' speech became a rallying cry for a generation of Bills fans who had never experienced, or could barely remember, the thrill of the 90’s Bills.

"He had also narrated the second season of our behind-the-scenes series 'Embedded' in 2019, so I thought he might be willing to do it if I asked nicely. (laughs)

"Kyle is in Louisiana, and while Lorenzo has recording equipment at his house, when I asked Kyle if he maybe had a microphone attached to a computer for a podcast or interview he may have been asked to do during quarantine, he quipped, 'Sorry, all my podcasting equipment is still in the mail.' His sense of humor has not changed.

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"When we recorded 'Embedded,' he was back in Louisiana by the time we wrote the scripts for the last two episodes, so we sent him to a local radio station, Red Peach Radio in Ruston, to the record his VO. We debated letting him record this one on his phone, but ultimately decided Red Peach was the right move. When I asked him if he would mind driving over there again, he jokingly responded, 'No good deed goes unpunished.' He cracks me up.

"But he’s so great to work with, and agreed to drive over. We set it up for 12:15 on Thursday, which was perfect because it was sandwiched between two interviews scheduled. Of course, I totally forgot about the existence of the Central time zone, so I ended up pulled over on some side street in Lockport, directing the VO with Josh on a three-way FaceTime with Kyle. Kyle delivered it in his classic dry tone and Southern drawl, just as we expected. The voice is authentically him. We didn’t think he needed to be yelling through the whole thing because just hearing his voice would get fans excited. And he’s not the type to fake emotion.

"Kyle couldn’t have been more generous with his time, and it was great to connect with him again. He is missed around here!

"This week’s video was edited by Josh Pohlman, and he had I went back and forth for more than a day about the script. He is one of our newer AP’s, so he’d never met or worked with Kyle before. The voiceover session took a little under 30 minutes.

"Josh completed the edit in about 48 hours. He did a great job assembling it together in a short period of time and also putting his own creative fingerprint on it. Since he didn’t work here in 2017, he watched a bunch of Kyle’s old speeches to get himself in the right headspace."

KANSAS CITY – The Buffalo Bills are making a change along their defensive line Sunday. 

Defensive end Efe Obada is active for the Bills for their divisional playoff game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, while defensive tackle Vernon Butler Jr. will be a healthy inactive. 

Obada did not play in the Bills' 47-17 victory over the New England Patriots in the wild-card round, while Butler played 23 snaps. Obada has been dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of the Week 18 game against the Jets.

"He's kind of day-to-day right now, so we'll see how he progresses as the week goes on," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said of Obada at the start of the week. "Be great to get him back, but we'll see. Hopefully, he'll make it back."

The Bills did not list any players on their final injury report, so in addition to Butler, the other six inactive players are all healthy. That list includes running back Matt Breida, wide receiver Marquez Stevenson, tight end Tommy Sweeney, offensive tackle Bobby Hart, cornerback Nick McCloud and safety Josh Thomas. McCloud and Thomas were called up to the active roster from the practice squad Saturday.