Editor’s note: As we head into Sunday’s Divisional round playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, we welcome Corey Giacovelli of Buffalo Rumblings— our sister SBNation site covering the Buffalo Bills — for Five Questions with the Enemy.
1) Who are the real Bills? The team that lost to the Jaguars — or the team that destroyed the Patriots?
The team that made a statement against the Patriots, for sure. Yes, this team had a bad loss to the Jaguars — but it made them stronger. Buffalo is also getting hot at the right time and it started in the second half against the Bucs. Since then, the offense has been firing on all cylinders and the defense is still playing consistent — like they have had all year. I believe that most teams suffer at least one bad loss every year; look at the thumping the Titans put on the Chiefs. The important thing is how you bounce back after that gut punch — which in both of these instances, have been very good for both teams.
2) How have the Bills coped defensively without Tre’ White?
I had my doubts when Tre went down with his injury. but the defense has not missed a beat while he has been gone. For one, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are playing at an elite level at safety, preventing the big plays over the top of the defense. From there, cornerback Levi Wallace has truly stepped up his game in the absence of White — which is nice, because Wallace is playing for a new contract. Since the injury. only Tom Brady has had an efficient day passing against this defense — which is nothing to be ashamed of at all.
3) I’ve likened the Bills to the 2019 Chiefs. Do you see similarities in both teams’ journeys to this point?
The one similarity I can see in the two football teams is the rise of their franchise quarterback. 2019 was the year that Mahomes was able to put the league on notice — and bringing home that Super Bowl put the exclamation point on that season. Now, we are seeing Josh Allen trying to do the same. However, the big difference is the defense. In 2019, the Chiefs defense was giving up almost 350 yards per game. Buffalo is giving up 272 yards per game this season which is good for No. 1 in the league. I know that offense has been driving the league the last couple of seasons. but eventually the defense is going to have to make a stop.
4) Josh Allen looks unstoppable at the moment. How should Steve Spagnuolo try and slow him down?
Josh Allen is at one of the points now where you can only hope to contain him because the task of stopping him seems to be too big. I will say that there is a weakness that I have not seen mentioned by the media leading up to this game: making Allen run to his left. We saw it in the Titans game. When Allen scrambles left, he is not able to make some of the superhuman throws because he is a right-handed quarterback. This would be able to turn him into a one-dimensional player because you would not have to worry about him throwing the ball for a crazy gain. Other than that, he does make 1-2 throws a game that have a decent chance of being intercepted; when that opportunity comes, you have to make the play.
5) How does this one play out? Score prediction?
This is going to be a tight game — at least, I hope that it is. Both offenses should have no problem putting points on the board. It is going to come down to which defense is going to make that one big play. Because of that, I am going with Buffalo 30-24.
Be sure to check out the answers I gave to their questions by clicking here.
