Chiefs News 11/3: Josh Allen had all the answers to the Chiefs blitzes

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Chiefs vs. Bills score, analysis: Josh Allen outduels Patrick Mahomes | CBS Sports

Josh Allen not phased by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s blitz schemes

Kansas City blitzed Allen on 30% of

his dropbacks, per TruMedia, in Week 9, tied for the 11th-highest rate in the NFL. However, Allen thrived when Spags turned up the heat: he completed all eight of his throws against the blitz on Sunday for 61 yards, 7.6 yards per pass attempt. Early in his career, Allen could be temporarily thrown off course by Spagnuolo’s complex blitz schemes, but in his eighth NFL season, he knows exactly what to do when the pressure is on.

NFL Week 9 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday’s 12 games | NFLcom

Next Gen Stats Insight for Chiefs-Bills (via NFL Pro): Patrick Mahomes’ 40-yard pass to Hollywood Brown down to the Buffalo 1-yard line traveled an air distance of 47.5 yards. The Bills held the Chiefs to a field goal.

NFL Research: Josh Allen has 47 career games with one or more passing TDs and one or more rushing TDs, which is the most in NFL history.

Patrick Mahomes struggles as Bills snap Chiefs’ winning streak: Takeaways | The Athletic

More travels ahead?

Though the Chiefs have played excellently over the past month, their 5-4 record could make a future playoff path difficult.

Kansas City already trailed the Denver Broncos in the AFC West coming into the week, and it now finds itself two games back. The Chiefs have a much tougher schedule ahead than the Bills (6-2), so even catching them in the AFC standings without the head-to-head tiebreaker might be a long shot.

The bottom line: Kansas City might be the NFL’s best team (sportsbooks think so at this point), but four early losses mean a potential path back to the Super Bowl is looking more likely to be a road that mostly doesn’t go through Arrowhead Stadium. — Newell

NFL Week 9 Recap: Immediate fantasy football takeaways from Sunday’s games | PFF

Chiefs adjust without Isiah Pacheco: The Chiefs’ lead running back didn’t practice all week due to a knee injury.

Pacheco had played just over 50% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps this season, including being the primary running back on early downs. Kareem Hunt played 39% of the offensive snaps as the primary back in short-yardage and third-down situations. Seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith played 17% the offensive of snaps, often lined up as a receiver or in two-back sets.

2025 NFL Week 9 Winners and Losers and Top Takeaways | Bleacher Report

Chiefs Takeaway: Kansas City Might Need to Panic Now

It would be silly to write off Kansas City at 5-4, and an Andy Reid-coached team probably isn’t going to outright panic. However, this loss leaves the Chiefs with no room for error.

The 6-3 Chargers and 7-2 Broncos will remain ahead of Kansas City in the standings even through the Chiefs’ Week 10 bye. Coming out of the bye, Reid’s team will have to face the Broncos in Denver.

Around the NFL

Seahawks’ Sam Darnold throws 4 first-half TDs in blowout win | ESPN

At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.

He didn’t know it until someone told him — a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.

“Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said after the 38-14 victory. “It was pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”

By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 — and boosted their quarterback’s MVP odds in the process.

Sean McDermott confirms DE Michael Hoecht’s season-ending torn Achilles | NBC Sports

Bills coach Sean McDermott confirmed that defensive end Michael Hoecht tore his Achilles on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a big loss,” McDermott said, via Katherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News.

Hoecht was injured on a non-contact play as his right leg gave out as he pushed off at the snap with 14:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. McDermott said Hoecht waved off the cart to stay on the sideline to watch the finish with his teammates.

Bears deliver final punch in wild shootout win over Bengals | ESPN

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has frequently stated that he feels calmest when games are on the line. The former No. 1 pick has gone as far to say his heart rate drops when the pressure to deliver is at its highest.

That’s the opposite of how Bears safety Kevin Byard felt in the waning moments of Chicago’s stunning 47-42 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

“It’s like taking years off my life,” Byard said. “It’s super special. This is the greatest game, greatest sport in the world, just the emotions up and down. For the fans that stayed, they definitely got their money’s worth.”

After the Bengals scored two touchdowns in a 49-second span to erase Chicago’s 14-point lead, the Bears pulled off their fifth win of the season when Williams delivered a 58-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Colston Loveland with 17 seconds remaining.

Jaguars’ Cam Little Sets New NFL Record With 68-yard Field Goal | FOX Sports

History was made at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, when Jaguars kicker Cam Little easily made a 68-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half of their matchup against the Raiders. The kick cut the Raiders’ lead to 6-3 at the time.

Little’s historic FG sparked a great team celebration, but the best reaction may have been Jaguars head coach Liam Coen describing his emotions over the play during his post-game press conference.

“I ran right on the field as soon as he hit it and started running off [to] the sideline, ran right at him, I mean, it was like we won the Super Bowl,” Coen said. “It was what ignited us, that confidence from him, from a guy that’s been struggling. Man, that was a really special moment for our team, for Cam himself, for our whole group of guys.”

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels suffers serious left elbow injury late in loss to Seahawks | NFL.com

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome left arm injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Daniels suffered the injury when he was sacked by Seahawks defender Drake Thomasand was awkwardly slung to the ground.

It was immediately clear the serious nature of the injury, and Daniels’ arm was quickly put into an air cast.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters after the game that Daniels’ injury was to his left elbow and that he would provide an update on Daniels’ status once he knew more.

The Commanders (3-6) trailed the Seahawks, 38-7, at the time of the injury. Quinn said that there was not a conversation about pulling Daniels from the blowout loss, but he understands that it would have made sense in “hindsight.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Even after loss, Chris Jones thinks the Chiefs will see the Bills again

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning streak ended at three games with a 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. After the final whistle, defensive tackle Chris Jones was upfront about the defense’s role in the disappointing defeat — and what work may be in store for him and his teammates during the team’s Week 10 bye.

“There were a lot of missed tackles,” he acknowledged. “Usually, we’ve been doing a really, really good job of getting the tackle, wrapping them up, and solidifying the play. Today, we had a couple of broken tackles, which led to bigger runs… We gave up a few open throws, whether it was miscommunication or just being out of plays. There’s a lot of errors and key components that we can fix on our end. We’ve got a week off to get some guys healthy, look over this game, correct some errors and get back to it.”

With Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching, there has been speculation that the defensive line might look a bit different after the week off. But Jones believes the talent it needs is already on the roster.

“I don’t think we need to make any drastic changes,” he remarked. “I feel like we have the guys to do it. I think it’s more about being detailed in our work, looking at ourselves in the mirror and holding each other accountable. We’ve got a lot of great guys in this room who take a lot of accountability for their play and their responsibility. So I’m quite sure this week they’re going to get their bodies healthy, focus on their detail work, and come back ready to play better.”