Are you more optimistic against KC this year than in prior playoff years?

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Anything can happen but I have watched a lot of Chiefs games this year and that team just does not scare me at all. They look very mediocre a lot of of the time and I think the bills will get the job done. 

[longtimebillsfan]

15 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Last year, I was somewhat confident but still nervous.  The previous two meetings I was a nervous wreck and wasn’t too optimistic, I think hopeful is the best word.

 

The game next week, I am really comfortable right now.  It could change closer to game day but for this Ravens game, I immediately was nervous after beating Denver.  Baltimore’s offense was just very scary to me.

 

KC, I feel really good right now.

 

What about you guys?

Good post.

 

I believe that KC's defense is more vulnerable than what the Bills delt with against the Ravens.

 

Our defense is vulnerable against the pass.

 

I look for a shoot out like in 2020.  The difference could be the Bills ability to run the ball, dominate time of possession, and keep Mohome on the bench.

 

I have more hope the Bills could win on Sunday, but I would say I am confident.

Edited 11 hours ago by longtimebillsfan

[T master]

I'm very confident but i'm not stupid enough to think that the 2 time super bowl champions are going to make this a easy game in any way shape or form .

 

They are the 2 time SB champs for a reason and for  them it seems as if they have another gear when it comes to the play offs which is the reason why they are the champs ! That and the fact that they are now healthy and brought back some players that like the Bills could make a difference .

 

But I'll also bet that the Chiefs are in no way taking the Bills for granted either, they know as well as we do and all the teams that the Bills have beaten to get to this game that the Bills aren't going to make it easy on them either and they are 1 game up on them for this season .

[Big Turk]

This team is an amoeba. It can play any style fo game you want to play and win on offense.

 

Ball control with short passes? Sure.

 

Air it out and let Allen go off? Sure.

 

Somewhere in between? Sure.

[finn]

1 hour ago, Dr. K said:

I'll feel better if they can keep Kelce from being open in the middle of the field without any defender within five yards of him. 

Mahomes is do dependent on him you got to wonder if it's worth assigning, say, Elam to shadow him the entire game. 

[GunnerBill]

One thing for certain, I am FAR more confident than last time we went there in an AFC championship Game in 2020. At that time I still felt we were a level below Kansas City in terms of talent but also in terms of Josh's maturity and the overall experience and mentality of our team. 

 

This time this Bills team is battle hardened and experienced. It has been on the field with these guys and gone toe to toe with them, beaten them, lost close games to them, there is no inferiority complex when we take the field on Sunday which there was in 2020. 

 

We are going to have to play a great game to win, no question. But the Bills are ready for this. I just hope and pray it's finally out turn to get one. 

1 minute ago, finn said:

Mahomes is do dependent on him you got to wonder if it's worth assigning, say, Elam to shadow him the entire game. 

 

Crikey, no!

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

One thing for certain, I am FAR more confident than last time we went there in an AFC championship Game in 2020. At that time I still felt we were a level below Kansas City in terms of talent but also in terms of Josh's maturity and the overall experience and mentality of our team. 

 

This time this Bills team is battle hardened and experienced. It has been on the field with these guys and gone toe to toe with them, beaten them, lost close games to them, there is no inferiority complex when we take the field on Sunday which there was in 2020. 

 

We are going to have to play a great game to win, no question. But the Bills are ready for this. I just hope and pray it's finally out turn to get one. 

 

Crikey, no!

We are ready no doubt.

 

This is the grizzled version of the 2020 squad.  
 

I think Milano is gonna be spying/delayed rushing Mahomes just like he did Lamar. Especially if the pass rush stinks. 

[MJS]

I am more confident. The Ravens were a harder matchup for me. After beating them, I feel like the Bills have shown that they are capable of beating anyone, and that they have a very high floor.

 

And I think had the Ravens won, they would have gone on to beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs are solid all around, but not scary in any single way. They are tough to beat, still. But they are battle hardened just like the Bills, and extremely clutch.

Edited 11 hours ago by MJS

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 hour ago, Dr. K said:

I'll feel better if they can keep Kelce from being open in the middle of the field without any defender within five yards of him. 

They’ll do a better job in that dept than Houston did imo…Baltimore was tough cuz they’ve got two really good TEs.  Noah gray ain’t a slouch at all but I don’t think that duo is Andrews/likely level at this stage of kelces career despite Andrews kind of blowing the game 🤣. Bills chiefs is essentially a division game at this point I don’t think Houston had as much intel 

[mjt328]

3 hours ago, SaulGoodman said:

I'd say this year's roster is definitely better than '22 or '23. Much better receiving corps than either team, and much better defense than '22. 

 

No way.

 

Their offense was #15 in the NFL in scoring this season.  That is easily the worst they have been with Patrick Mahomes under center.

After losing Tyreek Hill, they weren't as explosive.  But they were still very efficient with Travis Kelce in his prime.

Now they aren't explosive, they aren't efficient, and they have been suspect at both tackle positions on the O-Line.

 

I agree the defense has stepped forward as the other side of the ball has gone backwards.  Better than 2022, sure.

But that group was absolutely dominant last year.  This year I think they are just good.  We can absolutely put 30-40 points on them.

 

[hikerprof2]

I feel like we match up better with KC than Baltimore, so we've overcome our major playoff hurdle. The Cheifs will have home field, an issue, and refs tend to bubble-wrap Mahomes.  We may have to adopt some unique rules for our pass rush approach.  We can't play KC like we did Baltimore in the second half of the playoff game-we will have to actually win the game, not just let KC make mistakes. Mahomes handles adversity far better than Jackson. We honestly had a little help from the football Gods last game-lets hope for it again, because it used to be on the side of the Pats and KC. Let's go beat those damn insurance pitchmen.

[Chicken Boo]

The Chiefs are more gritty now than ever.  Should be a good scrap.

 

This is history, folks.  Enjoy the ride.

[3rdand12]

17 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Last year, I was somewhat confident but still nervous.  The previous two meetings I was a nervous wreck and wasn’t too optimistic, I think hopeful is the best word.

 

The game next week, I am really comfortable right now.  It could change closer to game day but for this Ravens game, I immediately was nervous after beating Denver.  Baltimore’s offense was just very scary to me.

 

KC, I feel really good right now.

 

What about you guys?

Of course. Bills have some fine O and D coordinators McD trusts,  and well should

Ravens was a tough game as a playoff game should be. Denver was a very strong showing and showed the Bills were ready and prepared in all aspects

Going to be a great Game !

 This year is a tad different. Lot of growth from Coaching and execution as well

 

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

This question should have been a poll

[3rdand12]

1 hour ago, longtimebillsfan said:

Good post.

 

I believe that KC's defense is more vulnerable than what the Bills delt with against the Ravens.

 

Our defense is vulnerable against the pass.

 

I look for a shoot out like in 2020.  The difference could be the Bills ability to run the ball, dominate time of possession, and keep Mohome on the bench.

 

I have more hope the Bills could win on Sunday, but I would say I am confident.

If Bills can pass rush and remain disciplined as they did with Ravens? Mahomes will struggle

[Autumn]

We are healthy and  coming off a huge win. Still nervous as they are really good 

[SaulGoodman]

57 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

No way.

 

Their offense was #15 in the NFL in scoring this season.  That is easily the worst they have been with Patrick Mahomes under center.

After losing Tyreek Hill, they weren't as explosive.  But they were still very efficient with Travis Kelce in his prime.

Now they aren't explosive, they aren't efficient, and they have been suspect at both tackle positions on the O-Line.

 

I agree the defense has stepped forward as the other side of the ball has gone backwards.  Better than 2022, sure.

But that group was absolutely dominant last year.  This year I think they are just good.  We can absolutely put 30-40 points on them.

 

 

PPG doesn't necessarily tell the story. Not to mention, sitting starters and losing 38-0 dropped them several places. KC's offense ranked highly in success rate, EPA/play, dropback EPA, and others. At one point, they had the highest 3rd down conversion rate in the NFL in years. It hasn't been a very explosive offense, but that doesn't mean it's ineffective. 

 

Adding Hollywood Brown and making a change at LT has made a big difference too. Not to mention the emergence of Worthy. At one point early in the year, their best WR was Smith-Schuster, who was like the 5th option in a bad NE offense last year. And they were really hindered by Kingsley/Morris at LT. 

 

I know I'd much rather go to battle w/ Hollywood/Hopkins/Worthy/Kelce/Smith-Schuster than Smith-Schuster/MVS/Kelce/Toney/Watson. 

 

[KOKBILLS]

I'm always optimistic because if the Bills play their best game they will beat anyone on any given Sunday...

 

However... I think that KC is going to target our Safeties big time with deep throws in this game like we have not seen all year. We have to make them pay for that with INT's... If we play that soft coverage weak-sauce junk and don't get pressure on Mahomes then they better be ready to unleash the beast, because we're going to need a 40 burger out of Josh bare minimum.

 

I think Houston had a great gameplan and executed it very well... They simply could not pass block well enough and Stroud could not avoid the pressure. The Texans ran for 149 yards vs KC and the Bills are the better running team with a running QB... The way McD and Brady love to run they have to think they have the advantage there big time. And if the Bills can bust a couple big runs that may be the difference. 

 

As long as the Bills stay disciplined I see no reason why they don't put up at least 30 points... Probably more. But they have to bring more on Defense than they have brought most of the 2nd half of this year... Especially on 3rd down... And if they want to go conservative, don't do it the way they did last night. Do it with the short passing game much more involved. 😎

 

[finn]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Crikey, no!

😄

[jethro_tull]

YES!