34 teams have started their respective season with a 9-0 record throughout NFL history. This decade, specifically, only four teams have managed to achieve this feat; the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs being the latest. While 34 teams have managed to win each of their first nine contests, only two have gone the entirety of the season undefeated in the Super Bowl era. Will the AFC West juggernauts join the ’72 Miami Dolphins and ’07 New England Patriots on the list of clubs to finish their regular season without a loss?
The answer to the above question is no, and the Buffalo Bills are the reason why.
Teams have fought in tight battles against the Chiefs all season, but entering Week 11, none had been able to walk away victorious against Kansas City. Seven of the Chiefs’ nine contests ended in a one-score difference, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking Kansas City to overtime in Week 9 and the Denver Broncos unbelievably getting their would-be last-second game-winning field goal kick blocked in Week 10.
All-in-all, none of that is a recipe for sustained success, and Buffalo proved that true with a 30-21 win against the Chiefs in Week 11.
When you take part in so many one-possession games, it’s only natural that some won’t fall your way; even if for no other reason than lack of luck. However, this wasn’t that. Josh Allen and company not only kept up with the Chiefs on Sunday, but they surpassed them en route to a multi-possession win in a game that was over before the two-minute warning came around.
How did the Bills do it?
Buffalo Bills hand AFC West juggernauts, the Kansas City Chiefs, their first loss of the season
Although Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions with under 200 passing yards, Mahomes’ performance was not the determining factor. Entering Week 11, the two-time MVP had thrown at least one interception in each of his first seven contests of the season, finishing south of 200 via passing yardage twice. This didn’t stop Kansas City from continuing to win, however.
In fact, one of the two Chiefs’ wins this season that wasn’t decided by one score was a game where Mahomes threw two interceptions while totaling a season-low 154 passing yards.
Mahomes and the high-powered Kansas City offense is typically the reason why the AFC West juggernauts are successful, but that’s been far from the case this season. As things stand, the Chiefs’ offense ranks 16th in yardage per contest (337.9) and 11th in points per outing (24.0).
The defense, on the other hand, has dominated opponents.
Prior to their game against Buffalo, Kansas City’s defense held opponents to the fifth-least points per contest (17.9) and fourth-least yardage on a weekly basis (289.9). The unit had only allowed one team to score at least 25 points against them, making sure no offense scored more than 25 points in any week.
Josh Allen and the Bills brought a defense that had been playing otherworldly back to earth.
Allen carved Kansas City for 262 passing yards while Buffalo, collectively, gained 104 yards on the ground. For the Chiefs, this marked just the second time a quarterback finished a game with at least 250 yards passing against them this season, and the third time a team managed to total at least 100 yards on the ground.
Perhaps more importantly, Week 11 marked the first game of the ’24 season where Kansas City’s defense didn’t register a single sack.
Buffalo holds Kansas City to zero sacks for the first time this season
As if chasing down Josh Allen wasn’t a difficult enough task for a defense, the Bills come equip with an offensive line that ranked seventh-best heading into Week 11 via Pro Football Focus’ weekly offensive line rankings.
Chiefs’ pass-rushers have faced quarterbacks who dominate with their legs, and they’ve had no problems finding success. Against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, first-team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones got into the sack column. When matched up against Bo Nix in Week 10, who has the seventh-most rushing yards among quarterbacks, linebacker Nick Bolton and cornerback Nazeeh Johnson got to the quarterback and took him down.
No player was able to bring Josh Allen down behind the line of scrimmage, however.
Kansas City shouldn’t feel too bad about this one; no team across the NFL allows less sacks than the Buffalo Bills this year. All the same, not being able to get to Allen is just another negative takeaway from this contest that ultimately contributed to the Chiefs’ first loss of 2024.
The bottom line
In the end, this is a game that the Chiefs need to take to heart if they wish to lift the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in three years. While their defense is a phenomenal asset, and the main reason why they’ve walked away victorious nine-of-10 times this season, great quarterbacks such as Josh Allen are great quarterbacks for a reason. That’s where they’ll need their own great quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, to step up and remind the other side why he’s a three-time Super Bowl winner at the age of only 29.
Mahomes hasn’t been able to do that this go-around. If he’s unable to do it the rest of the way, the AFC West powerhouse from Kansas City can’t expect to beat very many great teams moving forward. As is, they’re fortunate to be looking at a 9-1 record with the way their superstar quarterback has performed through 11 weeks.
*Top Photo: Getty Images