Chiefs show they’re more than just Patrick Mahomes, running to a soggy win over the Bills
The Chiefs rolled up 245 rushing yards, 161 of them by rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Reid never has been known for his commitment to the running game and the Chiefs have had to patch together their offensive line, especially after right tackle Mitchell Schwartz exited the game with a back injury. No matter. On this evening of soggy and difficult conditions, Reid went with what worked.
The Chiefs’ rushing yards, along with their 46 rushing attempts, were the most ever in a game for a Reid-coached NFL team. Mahomes said the defensive tactics by the Bills dictated the Chiefs’ offensive approach.
“It’s kind of similar to what we’ve been seeing the last few games,” Mahomes told Fox after the game. “They’re playing coverage deep. They playing over the top on Tyreek [Hill] and some of these other fast guys that we have. And if teams are going to do that, we’ve got to run the football. And so the offensive line took it upon themselves to go out there to run the ball. I mean, obviously Clyde played a heck of game.”
The rain gathered on his face shield and Reid fumed when the officials wouldn’t accommodate his third-quarter request for a measurement following a twirling, third-down scramble by Mahomes that ended close to the first-down marker.
“I’ve never seen Andy that mad,” analyst Troy Aikman said on the broadcast by Fox and the NFL Network.
Reid called a timeout and the Chiefs followed with a 13-yard touchdown run by Darrel Williams on the fourth-and-inches play.
“Mad Andy Reid is a beast!” former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, now an NFL analyst for ESPN, wrote on Twitter.
Mahomes contributed a pair of first-half touchdown passes to tight end Travis Kelce. Overall, he connected on 21 of 26 throws for 225 yards. Kicker Harrison Butker missed an extra point but provided a pair of fourth-quarter field goals. The Chiefs bounced back from their defeat eight days earlier to the Las Vegas Raiders and upped their record to 5-1.
“Staying steady and staying with the run game, staying with the short passing game,” Mahomes said. “Obviously you know my nature. I want to throw it deep every time. We want to go down and throw these long touchdowns. But if teams are going to play us like this, we’ve got to show that we can run the football. If we play like this, then they come up and then we’ll throw it. So it was just find a way to win a football game.”
Edwards-Helaire soon will have a prominent veteran to complement him in the Chiefs’ running back mix, with Le’Veon Bell going through the NFL’s protocols for joining a new team. He signed with the Chiefs after being released last week by the New York Jets.
This rescheduled game was the Chiefs’ third Monday game of the season, only one of which was originally scheduled for a Monday.
“Third one,” Mahomes said. “We’re ready for it any time, any place.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen struggled with his passing accuracy Monday in a 14-for-27, 122-yard outing. He has reverted lately to his previous inconsistencies after showing great progress as a pocket passer in the season’s early stages. Allen did throw two touchdown passes, one to Stefon Diggs and another to Cole Beasley.
“I’ve got to do a better job,” Allen said in a postgame video news conference. “It’s plain and simple.”
Beasley’s touchdown got the Bills to within 23-17 with 6:34 remaining. But a fumble seemingly lost by Edwards-Helaire was overturned by an instant replay review on which he was ruled down by contact, with his knee on the turf. And Mahomes bought time before finding wide receiver Byron Pringle for a 37-yard completion on a third-and-12 play, setting up Butker’s clinching field goal just after the two-minute warning.
October 19, 2020 at 8:08 PM EDT
Chiefs hang on for 26-17 win over Bills in Buffalo
By Mark Maske
Andy Reid showed his temper and the Kansas City Chiefs displayed their versatility on a rainy evening in Buffalo. Reid stuck to the running game and the defending Super Bowl champs made it work, rebounding from their first loss of the season to beat the Bills, 26-17, in the opener to an unplanned NFL Monday doubleheader.
The Chiefs rolled up 245 rushing yards, 161 of them by rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Reid never has been known for his commitment to the running game and the Chiefs have had to patch together their offensive line, especially after right tackle Mitchell Schwartz exited Monday with a back injury. No matter. On this evening of wet and difficult conditions, Reid went with what worked.
The rain fogged his face shield and Reid fumed when the officials wouldn’t accommodate his third-quarter request for a measurement following a twirling, third-down scramble by quarterback Patrick Mahomes that ended close to the first-down marker.
“I’ve never seen Andy that mad,” analyst Troy Aikman said on the broadcast by Fox and the NFL Network.
Reid called a timeout and the Chiefs followed with a 13-yard touchdown run by Darrel Williams on the fourth-and-inches play.
“Mad Andy Reid is a beast!” former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, now an NFL analyst for ESPN, wrote on Twitter.
Mahomes contributed a pair of first-half touchdown passes to tight end Travis Kelce. He connected on 21 of 26 throws for 225 yards. Kicker Harrison Butker missed an extra point but provided a pair of fourth-quarter field goals.
The Chiefs bounced back from their defeat eight days earlier to the Las Vegas Raiders and upped their record to 5-1. It was the Chiefs’ fourth 200-yard rushing game in Reid’s eight-season tenure as their coach. The Chiefs’ 46 rushing attempts were the most in a game for a Reid-coached NFL team.
This rescheduled game was the Chiefs’ third Monday game of the season, only one of which was originally scheduled for a Monday. The Bills suffered their second straight loss after a 4-0 start. They lost last week to the Tennessee Titans in the first NFL game on a Tuesday in 10 years.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen struggled with his passing accuracy. He did throw two touchdown passes, one to Stefon Diggs and another to fellow wide receiver Cole Beasley.
Beasley’s touchdown got the Bills to within 23-17 with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining. But a fumble lost by Edwards-Helaire was overturned by an instant replay review on which he was ruled down by contact, with his knee on the turf. And Mahomes bought time before finding wide receiver Byron Pringle for a 37-yard completion on a third-and-12 play, setting up Butker’s clinching field goal just after the two-minute warning. (Final score: Chiefs 26, Bills 17)
October 19, 2020 at 7:56 PM EDT
Chiefs endure fumble scare, get insurance field goal
By Mark Maske
Kicker Harrison Butker probably sealed the outcome with a 30-yard field goal for the Chiefs. Rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire lost a fumble early in the drive. But that was overturned via an instant replay review that showed Edwards-Helaire was down by contact before losing the ball, with his knee on the turf. Patrick Mahomes bought time and found wide receiver Byron Pringle for a 37-yard gain on a third-and-12 play. (Chiefs 26, Bills 17, 1:56 left in the fourth quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 7:37 PM EDT
Bills get closer on Josh Allen’s touchdown pass to Cole Beasley
By Mark Maske
The Bills aren’t done yet. Josh Allen threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cole Beasley. Buffalo is back in the game but needs a stop on defense. (Chiefs 23, Bills 17, 6:34 left in the fourth quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 7:28 PM EDT
Chiefs add to lead with field goal
By Mark Maske
The Chiefs continued to stick with the run and got a 37-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. The Kansas City drive was aided by two personal fouls on the Bills. (Chiefs 23, Bills 10, 9:07 left in the fourth quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 7:15 PM EDT
Chiefs use running game to pad lead with fourth-down touchdown
By Mark Maske
Chiefs Coach Andy Reid isn’t exactly known for sticking with the running game. But that’s what he’s doing on this rainy night in Buffalo, and the Chiefs are making it work. Running back Darrel Williams ran for a 13-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-inches play.
That came after Reid called a timeout, apparently upset that the officials did not accommodate his request for a measurement following a twirling move on a scramble by Patrick Mahomes. “I’ve never seen Andy that mad,” analyst Troy Aikman said on the broadcast by Fox and the NFL Network. The Chiefs have 213 rushing yards, 138 of them by rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire. It’s only the fourth 200-yard rushing performance by the Chiefs with Reid as their coach. (Chiefs 20, Bills 10, 1:18 left in the third quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 6:38 PM EDT
Chiefs lead Bills at halftime despite sloppy final sequence
By Mark Maske
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to tight end Travis Kelce covering 11 and 12 yards. But the Chiefs missed an extra point and had a sloppy sequence at the end of the half. Kelce lost a fumble with the Chiefs trying to get into position for a field goal.
Then the Kansas City defense left Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs completely uncovered for a 15-yard completion. Diggs stepped out of bounds with one second remaining in the half, giving Buffalo rookie kicker Tyler Bass a chance to tie the game with a 52-yard field goal attempt. But Bass missed badly.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran for 33 yards in the half but struggled with his passing accuracy in the difficult conditions. Allen connected on only 6 of 16 passes for 42 yards. He did have a four-yard touchdown pass to Diggs. Bass had an earlier field goal from 48 yards. (Chiefs 13, Bills 10 at halftime)
October 19, 2020 at 6:12 PM EDT
Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, part 2, gives Chiefs another lead
By Mark Maske
The Bills can’t cover Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce when it matters. He caught his second touchdown pass of the evening from Patrick Mahomes, this one covering 12 yards. Mahomes dropped in a perfectly placed pass, and Kelce made the grab and got his feet in bounds in the back left corner of the end zone.
That came after a touchdown run by rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire was nullified by a holding penalty. Kicker Harrison Butker missed the extra point wide right. (Chiefs 13, Bills 10, 4:56 left in the second quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 5:59 PM EDT
Josh Allen’s touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs puts Bills back ahead
By Mark Maske
The Bills moved back in front on a four-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who made a nice catch along the sideline on a low throw. Diggs victimized Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward for the touchdown after drawing a pass interference penalty on Ward to give the Bills a first down on a third-and-10 deep incompletion. Allen had a 13-yard run on the drive. (Bills 10, Chiefs 7, 11:22 left in the second quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 5:41 PM EDT
Patrick Mahomes-to-Travis Kelce touchdown gives Chiefs the lead
By Mark Maske
The Chiefs got their offense revved up on their second drive as Patrick Mahomes threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who juggled the wet football a bit but managed to hold on for the catch and get into the end zone.
Rookie tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a 31-yard run on the drive and Mahomes connected with wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for 22 yards. (Chiefs 7, Bills 3, 3:05 left in the first quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 5:34 PM EDT
Bills move in front with field goal
By Mark Maske
The Bills have the lead after a 48-yard field goal by rookie Tyler Bass on their second possession. Josh Allen is off to a two-for-nine passing start and missed wide-open running back Devin Singletary with a third-and-seven throw to set up the kick.
Allen did get a first down, perhaps aided by a generous spot of the football, with a third-and-nine scramble earlier on the drive. He also had an 11-yard completion to wide receiver Cole Beasley. That came after the officials picked up a flag — on which the Chiefs apparently were going to be called for defensive pass interference in the end zone — on a deep incompletion. (Bills 3, Chiefs 0, 5:42 left in the first quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 5:20 PM EDT
Tough conditions for the passing games
By Mark Maske
It’s a rainy evening in Buffalo and it looks like the conditions will be tough for both offenses and quarterbacks. The Bills punted after three incompletions thrown by Josh Allen on the game’s opening possession. On the last of those throws, the ball bounced off the intended receiver’s face mask. Patrick Mahomes missed on two of his first three throws as the Chiefs reached midfield on their opening possession before the drive stalled and they punted. (Chiefs 0, Bills 0, 10:09 left in the first quarter)
October 19, 2020 at 4:31 PM EDT
What to watch for during Monday night’s Chiefs-Bills matchup
By Mark Maske
The Buffalo Bills can be forgiven if they no longer can keep track of which day it is, amid the NFL’s schedule juggling during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Bills just had a Sunday game played on a Tuesday, and now they’ll have a Thursday game played on a Monday.
The outcome, however, is perfectly fine for NFL viewers. They’ll get to see the Bills face the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday evening in Buffalo. That rescheduled game, to be televised nationally by Fox and the NFL Network beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern time, is the first half of an unplanned Monday doubleheader that culminates with the regularly scheduled game between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.
The Bills-Chiefs game is an intriguing matchup of teams with identical 4-1 records. Each is coming off its first loss. The Chiefs were upset at home by the Las Vegas Raiders, 40-32, eight days ago. There’s no cause for alarm yet for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champs. The Chiefs, after all, had won 13 straight games before the defeat to the Raiders, including last season’s AFC playoffs and Super Bowl.
But a second straight loss? That would be another matter entirely. And the Bills are more than capable of making it happen.
The Bills started the season 4-0 but lost at Tennessee, 42-16, on Tuesday night. Quarterback Josh Allen, after making great strides as a passer in the season’s early stages, reverted to his previous inconsistencies with two interceptions against the Titans. He can’t have such gaffes Monday if he and the Bills are going to keep pace with Mahomes and the champs.
