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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Kansas City Chiefs arrive in Buffalo on Sunday to face the Bills, carrying a 5-3 record and one of the highest-powered offenses in the NFL.
The Chiefs average 26.8 points per game, the seventh most in the league, 378.3 total yards per game (fifth most), and they lead the NFL in first downs (189).
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is playing some of the best football of his career, ranking second in passing yards (2,099) and tied for the league lead in touchdowns (17), along with just four interceptions, a 67% completion rate, and a 76.6 QBR.
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Still, while the offense has been firing on all cylinders, former NFL coach Steve Mariucci points to another factor behind why this might be the best Chiefs team of the Mahomes era.
"With Mahomes, it's third and 14, and I think he's going to convert every time. He's just a highlight reel, right?" Mariucci said on 'NFL GameDay Morning.' "It's not just about Patrick Mahomes in this offense that's pretty darn good. This is the best defense that the Chiefs have had since Mahomes has been there. This is the second-best (scoring defense) in the National Football League; they only give up 16.4 points a game and total offense, 277. This is the best defense that he's played with."
"He won't have to score as many points and be Houdini," Mariucci added. "And you know what, they're just hitting their stride right now."
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To Mariucci's point, Kansas City's defense is allowing just 16.4 points per game, behind only the Houston Texans at 14.7, and they're allowing the third-fewest passing yards (177.8 per game) and fourth-fewest total yards (277.8 per game).
They also rank first in QB hurries (9), third in total air yards (680), and third in average depth of target (6.8); advanced metrics that go beyond sacks and turnovers.
Those defensive numbers compress the margin Mahomes must cover with heroics and make the Chiefs less one-man dependent than in some recent seasons.
The Chiefs are also just now starting to get healthy, with star wide receiver Rashee Rice having returned from his six-game suspension and second-year speedster Xavier Worthy back after missing two games earlier in the year with a shoulder injury.
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Buffalo enters Sunday's contest at 5-2 on the year, averaging 382.9 total yards per game (third-most in the NFL), including a league-high 164.4 rushing yards, and scoring 29.6 points per game (third in the NFL), led by QB Josh Allen and RB James Cook.
The game is being treated as a rematch of last season’s AFC title tilt and is priced as a near pick’em with Kansas City a narrow 2.5-point road favorite.
For years, the Chiefs have been defined by Mahomes' improvisational magic, but if the defense keeps performing and the receiving room stays healthy, Kansas City becomes an even more balanced Super Bowl contender.
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