The Buffalo Bills on Monday night were handed an outstanding chance to make their move in the AFC playoff picture. “I want to show my gratitude to them (with) my play on the field, and for them to pick me up when no one wanted me, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity”.
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Here are the five things to watch for. The team’s head coach, Paul Brown, and offensive coordinator (and future San Francisco 49ers head coach) Bill Walsh were faced with a challenge, as quarterback Virgil Carter was a smart player with a weak arm. The Texans are tied with the Indianapolis Colts at 5-5, but the Colts hold the tiebreaker because they won the first matchup back in Week 5.
The Patriots have a big lead in the AFC East after winning over the Bills and they basically have the division title locked up after improving to 10-0 this season.
Alex Smith completed 20 passes on 25 attempts for over 250 yards in his team’s win over the Chargers, and he was able to limit mistakes. It’s been a month since the Chiefs played a home game in front of their fans at their own stadium so consider this a public service announcement for those of you having trouble remembering what it was like to cheer for the Chiefs in person.
“You better be up in this league for every opponent that comes in”, Reid said. Buffalo has not made the playoffs since 1999.
The Oakland Raiders and New York Jets are also in the mix. In their last three games alone they’ve won by 35, 16 and 30 points.
After an incredibly poor 1-5 start to the 2015 season, just about everybody counted the Kansas City Chiefs out of the playoff hunt, and rightfully so. “They have a great defense for us to really prepare for and we need to do what needs to be done to go out there and get a “W”. He was telling me he was going to play.
This means Alex Carrington and Corbin Bryant will continue to contribute, while putting a ton of pressure on Jerry Hughes, the teams top rusher in this one, to get constant pressure on quarterback Alex Smith. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston have led the strong pass rush, with Derrick Johnson and Dontari Poe regaining their 2013 form. The ground game has been surprisingly effective despite losing Charles, as Charcandrick West (373 yards, three TDs) has excelled since taking over the starting role while rookie Spencer Ware rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns last week.
“Arrowhead is going to be extremely loud”, said Bills tight end Matthew Mulligan.
The Bills are headed into an environment they know will be electric on Sunday. Under Walsh’s tutelage, the Bengals operated a short-passing game that was effective in those run-heavy days of the NFL.
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A similar game plan will be needed to be used for Kelce to keep him and the rest of the Kansas City offense in check this afternoon. The Chiefs also have been opportunistic, forcing at least one turnover in six straight contests with a total of 15 takeaways over that stretch.
