December 9, 2023
By Fred Liggett
sports.lstribune08@gmail.com
It’s December and this AFC matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills is getting the star treatment as expected by fans. The Chiefs and Bills meet again at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium where a number of highly entertaining regular season and post season games have recently been played.
The stakes are pretty high for both teams who come into this one off from losses to NFC teams. The Chiefs enter at 8-4 after a primetime loss at Green Bay and the Bills arrive at 6-6 after a tough loss by just three to the Eagles. Time for both teams to get well and soon as the AFC playoffs begin in just one month. Three of the four losses this season for the Chiefs have come to the hands of an NFC team. Chiefs fans will be pleased to know that no more NFC teams are on the schedule until Super Bowl 58 should they make it. Another helpful note is three of the final five regular season games will be at home in Kansas City. The Chiefs are ready to finish with a flourish.
As mentioned earlier these two perennial playoff teams are getting the star treatment thanks to CBS. CBS is sending its number one crew of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson to cover all the Chiefs/Bills fun. The last meeting between the Bills and Chiefs was fun as the Bills walked out of KC with a 24-20 regular season win. Expect this one to be just as close thanks to both teams desperate for a win and statistically things are pretty similar. Chiefs QB Mahomes has 3,127 yards compared to Bills QB Allen having 3,214. The Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco leads the way with 779 yards, Bills rushing leader James Cook is right behind him at 731.
A number of injury concerns popped up for the Chiefs after last Sunday’s trip to Wisconsin. Wednesday’s practice saw the Chiefs only missing two players. The injury list includes McKinnon, Tranquil, Donovan Smith, Bryan Cook and Isiah Pacheco. LB Nick Bolton remains inactive but did practice and is a possible return for Sunday’s big game.
Both teams are desperate for a victory to aid their AFC playoff picture. Chiefs do enjoy a two game lead in the AFC West Division but sit a game back from the Ravens in the AFC as of press time. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is 6-3 vs the Bills while in KC and QB Mahomes is 3-2 lifetime vs Buffalo. The stakes are high for this one and everyone on and off the field knows it. Expect a close hard hitting game between two teams that have grown to know each other well. At the end of the day the Chiefs who rarely lose two in a row don’t do it here either taking a narrow victory at home. That’s What I REID Into It for this week.
