When it comes to the postseason, the Kansas City Chiefs basically own the Buffalo Bills. They’re 4-0 against Buffalo in the playoffs, but they still have a problem with quarterback Josh Allen, who has guided the Bills to a 4-1 mark in their most recent regular-season meetings.
The rest of the league has this same problem, but for the Chiefs it’s different. They're one of the few teams that knows how to beat the Bills, they just haven’t been able to stop Allen when it matters most in a lot of those regular season games.
Jesse Allen of The Athletic used last year’s 30-21 Chiefs loss against the Bills as an example of how this often works. On a pivotal fourth-and-2, Allen embarked on a 26-yard touchdown run, and defensive linemen Chris Jones and George Karlaftis watched the play on the stadium scoreboard from the bench after it happened.
“I went too low,” Jones said to Karlaftis, in a clip that was shown on ESPN’s “The Kingdom” series. “You went too high, I went too low.”
That happens a lot, and there are multiple reasons why. Allen managed to squeeze past the diving Karlaftis, who actually touched the ball, Karlaftis said to Jones, and he also broke three other tackles during the touchdown run.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gets the special task of game-planning for Allen, and he knows that lane discipline is a critical factor.
“He has just a real keen sense of finding that little seam,” Spagnuolo said of Allen. “And if he gets past the four or five that you’re bringing in, that’s where he’s really dangerous.”
The stats show just how dangerous Allen is when he faces the Chiefs, regardless of where or when the games happen. He may be 0-4 in the postseason, but in nine games against Kansas City his per-game stats are 23 for 37 passing for 256 yards with 2.1 touchdowns, 0.4 interceptions and 54.1 rushing yards, according to Newell.
The Chiefs know they’ll be facing a running back as well as a quarterback when they line up opposite Allen today. Everyone on defense has to be in the right place at the right time, and on every single play.
“Everybody’s got to be a cohesive unit,” Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal said. “Because one guy steps wrong there, or one guy comes off coverage for one second, and (Allen’s) gonna make us pay for it.”
Kansas City won’t be able to stop Allen today, and there are some things the Chiefs can do, according to Jones.
“I don’t think there’s a way of stopping Josh Allen,” Jones said, “but there’s definitely ways that we can find to slow him down or be effective towards him in getting an advantage on their offense.”