Perhaps the overall records aren’t what we expected when we initially saw that the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs would meet in Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. That said, the fact remains that this
matchup is still among the biggest in the NFL this season.
Over the course of this decade, the Bills-Chiefs rivalry has produced some classic games. Buffalo has managed to find success against the Chiefs in the regular season, but in the playoffs, it’s been Kansas City that has been perfect.Will the pattern hold this year? The Chiefs and the Bills seem to be two teams heading in opposite directions of late, as the Chiefs are now 5-3 after an 0-2 start while Buffalo is 5-2 after a 4-0 start.
Both teams won in convincing fashion last week, as Kansas City downed the Marcus Mariota-led Washington Commanders 28-7, and the Bills trounced the Andy Dalton-led Carolina Panthers 40-9. Both teams are looking up in their respective divisional standings, as the Bills trail the New England Patriots in the AFC East and the Chiefs trail both the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.
Buffalo would benefit tremendously from a victory this weekend, as it would increase their playoff odds in a big way. In order to come out victorious, they’ll need their top players to perform to their standard. It’s impossible to narrow this list to just five players, but that’s the task, so feel free to share your key players for Buffalo in the comments below.
Here are our five Bills to watch this week.
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QB Josh Allen
This is a safe place, Bills fans, so we can be honest: Allen’s stats, while still fantastic (he’s completed 68% of his passes, thrown 12 touchdowns against four interceptions, and is averaging 223 passing yards and 347 rushing yards per game), don’t tell the whole story of what has been a rough couple of weeks for the reigning MVP.
Allen has looked indecisive, flustered, “off,” whatever you want to call it, and he’s been so as far back as the Bills’ victory over the New Orleans Saints. We can chalk it up to scheme, a hidden injury, a slump, or whatever else we’d like, but we know that the version of Allen that has to appear on Sunday in order for Buffalo to win is a version that we haven’t seen since the Bills beat the Miami Dolphins — or, if you’re of the mindset that Superhero Josh is the only way Buffalo beats Kansas City, since Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Allen I want to see on Sunday is the one who goes through his progressions confidently, throws the ball quickly and crisply, and who takes what the defense gives him. He’s been there for stretches, but he hasn’t really been there for a whole game in a bit this season.
A Steve Spagnuolo defense usually isn’t a cure-all game for quarterbacking ills, but Allen has performed at a high level against this defense before. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady needs to scheme some easy looks early in the game, whether via crossing routes, rub-routes, or play-action shots that allow Allen to establish some rhythm quickly.
RB James Cook
What else will help keep the passing game on point? Another fantastic performance from James Cook, who has arguably been the team MVP to this point of the season. He was otherworldly last week against a strong Carolina Panthers run defense, amassing 216 rushing yards in the blowout victory.
Cook is going to see plenty of touches on Sunday, as the game plan is almost certainly going to involve two things: Keeping Patrick Mahomes off the field via long, sustained possessions, and rushing Mahomes with four pass-rushers to keep him uncomfortable while maintaining coverage integrity (more on that point below). If Brady wants to reach into his bag of tricks and scheme ways for Cook to catch passes, that would be a welcome addition to what has been a frustratingly inconsistent Buffalo offense.
The Chiefs usually use a spy on Allen, and it will likely either be Nick Bolton or Leo Chenal. That takes a player out of coverage, which means that a running back could find space on check-release routes, swing passes, angle routes, or wheel routes out of the backfield. The Bills want to limit Cook’s touches, but in a game this big, they can’t worry about a future that might not exist unless they handle business in the present. The Bills need to let James Cook whip up a Sunday special.
WR Keon Coleman
Does Coleman have to lead the team in receiving this weekend in order for it to be a successful endeavor for him and for the team? No, he doesn’t. The one thing Coleman has to do is be a factor in the game. He can’t spend the evening smothered like a pit master’s rack of ribs, allowing the Chiefs to use one man to take him out while they bracket Buffalo’s top option in wideout Khalil Shakir.
Whether you think Coleman’s issues this season have stemmed from a lack of imagination in the scheme or a lack of talent (count me among the former, for the record), it’s clear that the Bills need him. He’s on the field more than any other receiver because he’s a strong blocker in the run game, but his main job is catching passes. Brady has to find ways to scheme him looks in ways that don’t merely involve 50/50 balls thrown 25 yards downfield to the back shoulder.
Coleman is good on in-breakers in the short-to-intermediate range of the field, and I’d argue he’s better at winning on those types of routes than he is on the deep shots he’s used for most in Buffalo’s offense. If Coleman can secure five of either eight or nine targets for 50 yards on the night, it should provide enough threat where the Bills’ other options should be able to find space.
DE Michael Hoecht
Hoecht was an absolute menace last week, terrorizing friend of the franchise Andy Dalton in his first game back from a PED suspension. Hoecht had 1.5 sacks, three tackles, and a forced fumble on the afternoon, and before we pooh-pooh the performance as happening against a backup quarterback and a weak team, let’s consider Carolina’s pass blocking for a moment. Coming into the game against Buffalo, their quarterbacks had been sacked a total of 12 times in seven games.
Buffalo sacked Dalton seven times last Sunday, and Hoecht was a tremendous part of the reason why. He can be lined up all over the field, and he can do a variety of things that can confuse an offensive line. Maybe the Bills will line him up in the A-Gap on obvious passing downs. Perhaps they’ll line him up as a three-tech defensive tackle on 3rd & Long. Maybe he’ll slot in across from Greg Rousseau or Joey Bosa.
Whatever they do, he brings a certain nasty to the defensive front, and that attitude is going to go a long way towards this Buffalo defense regaining its mojo. Trying to a stop a Chiefs offense that has found its footing after a rough start is going to take a great effort from the defensive line, and Hoecht is going to play a big part in the game plan this week.
CB Maxwell Hairston
I don’t want to put too much on the rookie, but he’s going to play a big role on Sunday. Buffalo signaled a change in how they want to play defense when they drafted Hairston, as he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of their other corners, who are more cerebral players suited for zone. Christian Benford can play both man and zone, but he doesn’t have the speed to keep up with the league’s fastest receivers… players like Xavier Worthy, for example.
Hairston has the speed, the toughness, and the ball skills to make a difference. He was able to work in on defense last week, making one solid tackle in his NFL debut. Whereas he split time nearly evenly with Tre’Davious White last week, I expect that Hairston will take the lion’s share of the snaps, if not all of them, this week across from Benford. If he plays well, then the Bills actually do match up quite well against Kansas City’s pass-catchers across the board.
Hairston would take Worthy, Benford would take Rashee Rice, Taron Johnson would mix it up with JuJu Smith-Schuster in the slot, and either Cole Bishop or Jordan Poyer could take Travis Kelce. Hairston is, as the kids would say, a “low-key” X-factor for this matchup and for the remainder of the season. This will be a big test for the rookie, but if he answers the bell, it will be a big boost for the Bills’ defense.
