19 January 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a wide load.
Literally.
At 6 foot 5 inches, 237 pounds, Allen is strong enough to throw a ball more than 60 yards, run through defenders, and run past them.
And the Bills will need all of Allen’s best play to show up to defeat the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional game.
“I mean, he’s a warrior,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “You look at the plays he made last time we played them; he was going out of bounds and ended up throwing a 40-yarder running out of bounds off his back leg. He’s tough to bring down, a couple of times we had him wrapped up, and he still got rid of the ball. His competitiveness within his game, he can make any throw.”
Chiefs-Bills has become what some call the new Tom Brady-Peyton Manning rivalry with Josh Allen and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
The rivalry is tied with both QBs getting three wins apiece for their respective teams.
The Bills and Allen have regular season wins over the Chiefs in each of the last two years, including this season in Week 14 when a Kadarius Toney penalty erased a potential game-winning touchdown.
The Chiefs’ last regular season win over the Bills came in 2020 in Orchard Park with no fans because of COVID-19 protocols. KC boasts two wins over the Bills in the 2020 AFC Championship and the famous 2021 Divisional round “13 seconds” game where the Chiefs need only that amount of time to tie the game for overtime.
The Chiefs’ elite defense goes into Buffalo knowing all of that history and pushing it aside, fully focused on the game ahead on Sunday.
“Great competitor, real good football player,” head coach Andy Reid said. “Has a knack for making plays when they need plays – not that he doesn’t the other times – when they need one, he’s willing to step up there. I think he’s a good kid and handles things the right way from what I’ve been told.”
“He also has talent around him, (Bills WR) Stefon Diggs, (Bills WR) Gabe Davis, (Bills RB James) Cook, who has become a vital part of their offense later on here. I think they have been playing really well together,” Jones said.
In the last matchup in Week 14, Allen recorded 23-of-42 for 233 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Cook was the key for the Bills to get a win at Arrowhead, garnering 141 total yards (58 rushing yards, 83 receiving yards) with a receiving touchdown to go with it and leading the Bills in rushing and receiving.
In the Bills’ Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen tallied 203 passing yards with three touchdowns through the air, 74 rushing yards and another TD on the ground in a game where the Bills had their way the majority of the game.
Allen’s ability to scramble and take advantage of defenders who anticipate him sliding is one of the traits that make him so dynamic.
For a defense that’s second in the league in points per game and yards per play, this matchup presents a second chance at righting a loss that would have potentially put this game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“We talk about killing the engine all the time, and when you have powerful runners like Josh, even Cook can turn the legs, you gotta go low,” linebacker Drue Tranquill said. “Gotta stop that engine.”