The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have developed the best current rivalry in the NFL, with plenty of fireworks on display between the teams. In recent history, the Bills have had the upper hand in the regular season showings. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have yet to fall to the Bills in the playoffs when Patrick Mahomes faces Josh Allen.
This Sunday’s game will be like any matchup between Kansas City and Buffalo. The stakes are going to be massive, which means any slip-up could feel like a gut punch. Additionally, being able to start quickly may be the ultimate key for either side. That is especially true given how each offense can respond quickly.
Even with the usual pomp and circumstance of a Chiefs-Bills meeting, there is an added wrinkle in the stakes this time around. You could argue that both teams still have a legitimate shot at getting the number one seed in the AFC playoffs. They are built to pull it off if it all falls right. That is generally what the winner has a clear shot at when these two teams square off.
However, both K.C. and Buffalo find themselves in combative division races. The pressure to come out on top in the AFC West or AFC East is a fresher challenge for each of the Chiefs and the Bills this season.
Chiefs, Bills juggling tough stretches inside of tight division races
For the Bills, they are trying to leapfrog an upstart New England Patriots team that already beat them in Buffalo. The Patriots also have the gift of a weaker schedule based on last year’s results. Meanwhile, the Bills still have more tough games coming up after their date with the Chiefs.
Teams currently with winning records like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia still await on Buffalo’s schedule. Not to mention, the Bills may need to desperately avoid a sweep by the Patriots in New England in mid-December.
As for the Chiefs, they are trying to keep a streak of division titles alive. Kansas City entered this season having won nine consecutive AFC West titles. While fending off the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos, K.C. is entering a crucial stretch in its schedule. After seeing the Bills, the Chiefs still play the Broncos, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Dallas Cowboys in November.
The entire AFC is a muddy mess
The AFC has usually been more dominant at the top of the conference compared to the NFC in the last handful of years. That is not the case this season, though. Overall, this year’s AFC field is going to be more intriguing to see who gets in as a wild card. Whereas in the NFC, there appears to be a pretty significant gap between the current field and the ones on the outside looking in.
The AFC is simply going to be a wonky mess as the season gets deeper. It will truly put teams that have routinely made the playoffs on the AFC side in a corner. Once again, the stakes are still heightened for Chiefs versus Bills. But with their division races heating up, a win inside the conference may take on a different meaning after Sunday.