Buffalo Blunders: Revisiting Chiefs’ Miscues Vs Bills

In the AFC Divisional Round, the Kansas City Chiefs will once again get a rematch against a team they faced in the 2021 regular season. Unlike the Steelers last week in the Wild Card round, there is not an opportunity to go to 2-0 on the season against this week’s opponent. The Chiefs will actually have revenge on their mind as they get set to host the Buffalo Bills.

Seemingly nothing went right on that Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium when Kansas City first took on Buffalo this season. Patrick Mahomes was flustered. The offense could not stop from turning the ball over multiple times. Defensively, Josh Allen and Co. made Kansas City look absolutely helpless on all three levels of the defense. To make matters worse, the beatdown dragged on even longer, due to the halftime rain delay. It was simply a miserable night for the Chiefs.

What were the primary reasons or miscues that caused such a horrid Kansas City performance? We will revisit some of the top points that stood out, while also listing how the Chiefs have worked to improve in those specific areas over the course of the season.

Mahomes Playing Pressured/Flustered

Looking back at this game, the best description for Mahomes’ play would be that he was just off. The quarterback had one of the worst statistical games of his early NFL career. Moreover, the film and underlying factors helped back that up. Here were a few top issues that stood out when Mahomes struggled against Buffalo.

Poor pocket presence

Early in the season, Mahomes was still working to gel with his new look offensive line. Four new starters did well to keep him upright throughout most of the year. But early on, the timing between their collective pass sets and the passer’s drop backs was clearly different. Mahomes was showing happy feet in the pocket. At the same time, he was trying to make too many throws off either his back foot, or with a jagged stance. The Chiefs were used to him making plays work, regardless of the footwork. Lacking pocket presence arguably hurt him more mentally than any other errors that occurred in this contest against the Bills. Noticeably, that carried over to future weeks in the early portion of the season.

Missed reads/throws

Without a clear throwing base in the pocket, the passes were all over the place from Mahomes against the Bills. We saw him miss high, wide and low with pass attempts. Largely, you can tell if Mahomes is locked in, based on his ball placement. That ball placement was not pinpoint on that night. Many throws were where Buffalo defenders could still get a hand on it. Outside of the ball placement, Mahomes struggled that evening with anticipation, timing and indecision with his release angles during passes.

Elsewhere, the failure to read coverages made for a long, miserable night. We saw Mahomes stick too long to his primary read. There were many occasions where the quarterback struggled to work through progressions. Many plays actually resulted in pass catchers being open in the flats or outside the numbers down the field more than once, to boot. He just failed to find them. More importantly, Mahomes was often late in seeing extra/shaded defenders in coverage. He usually anticipates that so well. Buffalo disguised lurking defenders so well, and was in the right place at the right time on seemingly every single snap.

Lack of trust/miscommunication

At this point in the season, Mahomes did not feel as comfortable when he was not throwing to either Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce. The Bills were highly aware of this. Buffalo worked to double cover both players when possible. Or, the opposing defense limited their chances to run after the catch. Mahomes was still in the feeling out process with some pass catchers, rather than letting them try to create if an opportunity was available. The Chiefs high octane offense came limited very quickly once that occurred. Mahomes was simply not in sync with many of his pass catchers against the Bills.

Failure to test Buffalo deep

This resulted mostly because of the other issues that we have presented. On the night, Mahomes finished with measly numbers in categories like yards per pass attempt (5.04), adjusted yards per pass attempt (4.11) and yards per completion (4.2). Too many throws were at or behind the line of scrimmage. Furthermore, many of Mahomes’ passes were not testing the Bills defense beyond the sticks. The results were not great when the Kansas City QB did throw the ball beyond 10 yards down the field (7 of 15 passing, or a completion percentage of 46.6 percent).

How Has This Changed?

Overall, it was still an admirable season for Mahomes, after he finished strong. This was just one blip that seemed larger than it really was. Was that due to the opponent in the Bills? Possibly. But, the focus and attention to detail that Mahomes has shown to rectifying these types of issues has grown week after week.

In the pocket, he has begun to adjust his drop backs. The depth he is getting has altered based on what the defensive front or secondary is showing him in pre-snap. From there, the footwork and navigation of the pocket has been a lot more subtle. Mahomes is also not as hesitant to step up or out of the pocket and make a play. Early in the season, he appeared to feel like a prisoner in the pocket during certain sequences.

On the other hand, the growth he has shown in reading defenses is highly critical during this current playoff run. Teams had been sticking to one coverage across the board when playing Mahomes and the Chiefs (two-high shells). Ironically, he has begun to defeat that look so often, that now it is the one of the worst looks to show against Kansas City’s offense. Mahomes has started to force throws less and is taking what the defense is giving him more often. His ball placement has been nearly perfect during the last month or so. Finally, the trust he has gained in receivers not named Hill or Kelce has shown just how much this offense can flourish at a rapid pace. Byron Pringle, Mecole Hardman and even Demarcus Robinson are enjoying productive stretches currently.

Turnover Battle

This game was skewed in the Bills’ favor from a turnover perspective. Kansas City’s offense turned it over a whopping four times. Meanwhile, the Buffalo offense did not commit a single turnover. Finishing a game with a turnover margin of -4 will not lead to any success in the NFL, regardless of who the opponent is.

In this contest against Buffalo, Mahomes finished with two interceptions. The look of each of those picks were consistent with how most of his interceptions visually appeared during the 2021 season. A tremendous play of defensive awareness and anticipation by rookie defensive end Gregory Rousseau led to a tipped ball and Rousseau came down with his own pass deflection. The length and instincts of the Miami (Florida) product left Mahomes speechless. On the other interception, Mahomes’ pass catcher did not help him out. Hill had the ball for at least a couple of steps, and it deflected off of his hands and into the waiting arms of poised safety Micah Hyde. Hyde wound up returning it for a 26 yard touchdown.

Beyond that, the two fumbles by Kansas City felt highly laughable and avoidable at the same time. Pringle fumbled an early kick return. Late in the game, a snap from center Creed Humphrey slipped when going back to Mahomes and it bounced off the quarterbacks’ legs.

How Has This Changed?

The turnovers were happening at a pretty high clip for Kansas City to open the season. Through their first seven games, the Chiefs had 17 offensive turnovers. That was one of the major reasons as to why they had started 3-4. Additionally, it was the most turnovers we had seen with Mahomes as Chiefs starting quarterback in such a short span.

In the last 10 games of the season, Kansas City’s offense committed only eight turnovers, including five games without a single one. Better focus on not forcing throws, better focus on securing the catch and better focus on ball security in space has led to more production and less carelessness with the ball or crippling giveaways.

Lastly, the turnover differential finished way more respectable than it was to begin the season. The Chiefs defense could not generate as much takeaways earlier in the season. Their offensive turnovers put that defensive unit in a bind. Eventually, the Kansas City defense became more refreshed and even carried the load for a bit. They finished the season with 29 takeaways, turning the Chiefs’ turnover differential into a positive to end the year (+4). Kansas City’s defense forced at least one takeaway in 10 straight games from Week 6-16 and in 11 of the final 12 regular season games.

Lack Of Pass Rush Against Allen

This game did not feature any pressure from the Chiefs pass rush in the backfield. Buffalo blockers did well to wall Kansas City defenders to the outside of the pocket. Coincidentally, the Chiefs were not as eager to use extra pressure. There was no spy on Allen and he had all the time in the world without more than four opponents attempting to pressure him.

In this early season contest against the Bills, the KC defense was without Chris Jones upfront. This was also a time in the season where he was still playing some defensive end snaps as well. With Jones nursing a wrist injury, it left Frank Clark and plenty of rotational pieces chances to carry the load. That never transpired as a pass rush, however.

The Chiefs finished the game with no sacks on Allen. In addition, Kansas City only mustered three pressures (one each from Nick Bolton, Daniel Sorensen and Mike Danna) and two hurries on the night. All of this allowed for Allen to work his magic with his legs both in and out of the pocket. 

How Has This Changed?

The sacks have not always resulted for Kansas City’s defense, where they finished the season ranking 30th or third lowest in the league. What was constant for the Chiefs pass rush? Seemingly everything else was consistent throughout the duration of the season. Steve Spagnuolo’s group finished the year ranked in the top seven in the NFL in categories like hurry rate (3rd), pressure rate (5th) and quarterbacks knockdown rate (7th).

Moving Jones exclusively back to defensive tackle has only made him more comfortable. The acquisition of Melvin Ingram at the trade deadline has given the Chiefs a more powerful and explosive pass rusher coming off the edge. All in all, Clark’s greatest performances as a member of this team have come during the playoffs. Do not be surprised if his counter moves and presence in space catch Allen off guard from time to time on Sunday. Consequently, we know Spagnuolo will not hesitate to run twists, stunts or bring extra pressure if the opportunity exists.

Explosive Plays Allowed

The most frustrating part of the Chiefs defense in the season’s first matchup against the Bills was how many yards were picked up on every play. Allen only had 15 completions in the evening. Though, he finished with a whopping 21 yards per completion, 12.12 yards per pass attempt and 14.42 adjusted yards per pass attempt. Every completion felt like it was either beyond the sticks or over the head of every Kansas City defender in sight. To add to that, Kansas City missed tackles in space and Buffalo pass catchers displayed tremendous situational awareness in the open field.

Even in the running game, Allen had 59 rushing yards on 11 carries with one rushing touchdown. He is a big bodied quarterback and is not afraid to impose his will into the shoulder or chest of defenders. Allen also understands the beneficiary rules that apply to quarterbacks in today’s NFL. If you do not feel like sliding, you are just as well to attempt to run opponents over and possibly get a penalty call.

What is funny or weird looking back on this first meeting against the Bills, the Chiefs actually finished well on third down defense. Buffalo’s third down efficiency in that game was 5/11 or 45.45 percent. However, the context surrounding game script and situational moments paint a brighter picture. Kansas City rarely got the Bills into daunting, longer downs and distances that they had to convert in.

How Has This Changed?

Kansas City has focused on limiting yards on first and second down more consistently. Stacking the box or crowding the line of scrimmage with extra defenders has been more intentional. Whereas with coverages, we have seen the Chiefs disguise what they are running a lot more. This is absolutely necessary against a quarterback who is as hot as Allen is right now. To make matters worse, Allen’s rushing ability is going to be a relentless part of Buffalo’s attack. Getting the Bills into longer downs and distances on third or fourth down helps to lessen that option for Allen.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs playoff articles throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.