Everybody knows that the Kansas City Chiefs offense can beat you in a multitude of ways. Though very rarely, is that with an established rushing attack. The Buffalo Bills defense looked completely stunned by this, and struggled to win any battles in the trenches. Focusing on those couple of highlights and more, we will look back on the Kansas City victory with our game recap. What stood out for both teams? Let’s get it started.
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Clyde the Glyde
Was it due to rainy weather? Or, did the Chiefs simply want to get the run game more involved? Either way, the Kansas City game plan was clear, in continuing to pound the rock. In fact, they set a record for most rushing attempts (46) for an Andy Reid coached team. It was also the Chiefs’ highest rushing total under Reid, since he came to Kansas City.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire turned things on and never slowed down. His hard nosed running style, mixed with the effective slipperiness that he has is just a rare combination. Bills defenders were bouncing off of him, whether they came in low or high. To boot, CEH was used in much more creative ways than the last couple of weeks. The Chiefs did well to mix in reverse motions, leading to many one on one opportunities for Clyde in the open field. Simple handoffs up the middle were also finally abandoned. Edwards-Helaire finished his strong night with 161 rushing yards on 26 carries, good for 6.2 yards per carry. How will defenses feel when you have to stop both he, and eventually Le’Veon Bell in this attack?
New Guys, New Results
The Kansas City offensive line was shook up against the Bills, following previous disappointments the last two weeks. Losing Kelechi Osemele to injury was also a major blow. Coach Reid has historically never hesitated to change his blocking unit, if it is warranted. Entering the season, the Chiefs interior offensive line was a noticeable weakness. Thankfully, things changed for the better Monday night.
Daniel Kilgore replaced Austin Reiter at center, and he was determined to stake his claim. Elsewhere, Nick Allegretti and Andrew Wylie were impressive. Combination blocks left huge holes to run through for the backs. Overall, the interior blew Buffalo out of the water. On many occasions, the Bills defensive line was pushed back a good three to five yards. Mike Remmers also dominated, having to fill in for an injured veteran standout in Mitchell Schwartz. Finally, Eric Fisher only allowed one pressure. An offensive line that was coming under fire, performed exceptionally.
Which Is It?
Josh Allen never looked comfortable in this contest. Whether it was the weather or constant pressure that the Chiefs defense brought, the quarterback was shaky. Throws were off target. In addition, he appeared to be indecisive all night long. Not only was this the case in the pocket, but Allen was also hesitant on when to improvise. That is usually not the case.
So this begs the question, as to what kind of quarterback Allen is going to be moving forward. Do we see him rebound and dominate like he did the first four weeks? Or, is Allen going to be as awful or inconsistent as the last two contests? He is likely somewhere in between, but that cannot be considered good for Buffalo. They currently only hold a one game lead in the AFC East. And, there are many tough games left on the schedule, like Pittsburgh, New England (twice), Arizona, San Francisco and Seattle.
Master of Disguise
The Chiefs were very deceptive with their defensive play calls in this one. We mentioned the pressure giving Allen fits. The Bills offensive line also had to be aware of where the pressure was coming from. We saw defensive backs like Tyrann Mathieu, Rashad Fenton and others come in from wider angles. The NASCAR pass rush style appeared to cause confusion for Buffalo’s blocking unit. Furthermore, it was clearly difficult for Allen to recognize coverages on a good handful of plays. Is it man coverage? Cover 2? Steve Spagnuolo‘s made a career off of this deception in pre-snap, and it paid off in a big way. This is especially true in this game for players like Frank Clark, Chris Jones, Damien Wilson and Juan Thornhill, just to name a few.
Be on the lookout for more Kansas City Chiefs articles throughout the week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
