It’s a clash of familiar faces Monday afternoon at Orchard Park. And the Chiefs and Bills have more than a few things in common these days.
Back in Week 3 on a Monday night at Baltimore, the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs handled the Ravens, 34-20, in a game not as close as the final score may indicate. It was the latest victory by head coach Andy Reid over former Philadelphia Eagles’ assistant John Harbaugh.
Now for only the second time, Reid and current Buffalo Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott will collide head to head. Three years ago during his first season in Orchard Park, the latter led his club to a 16-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. It was a pivotal win for a club that reached the playoff that year and it was the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 1999.
Of course, the duo goes back more than 20 years to 1999. Reid was hired to be the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and McDermott had his first NFL job with the franchised based in the City of Brotherly Love. He would stay with Reid and work his way up the ranks, taking over as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2009 and holding that position for two seasons. In 2011, he was off to Carolina where he ran the defense for Ron Rivera for six seasons before being hired by the Bills to be their latest sideline leader.
Reid’s tenure with the Birds would end after the 2012 campaign. He took over the Chiefs in 2013, has posted seven straight winning campaigns, reached the playoff six times and led the franchise to a victory in Super Bowl LIV. His resume speaks for itself.
But this week, the clubs have more than just their coaching ties in common. Both the Chiefs and Bills, each of which opened the year at 4-0, are coming off their first losses of the season in which the clubs gave up 40 and 42 points in losses to the Raiders and Titans, respectively. In fact, Kansas City saw its 13-game winning streak come to an end and at home no less. And barring a tie, one of these first-place clubs is about to drop its second game in a row. It’s safe to say that both defenses need to play much better to avoid another setback.
Let the battle of wits between the longest-tenured current head coach in the NFL and the former assistant who has led the Bills to two playoff appearances in three years begin.
