Four reasons why the KC Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl

Reason 2: Hard-Hitting Defense

Man, the defense really came out to play against the Bills, didn’t they? Despite giving up an early field goal, the Kansas City Chiefs defense showed early that they were going to make big hits and big plays. It helped that cornerback Bashaud Breeland also cleared concussion protocol. He had himself a day.

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And it wasn’t just Breeland. Alex Okafor, obviously, got under the Bills’ skin. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens played very well against both the run and in coverage and even collected a hit on Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen.

Speaking of Allen, here’s a stat from Pro Football Focus. Going into the game against the Chiefs, Allen 83.4 PPF against the blitz. His grade on Sunday against the blitz dropped to 45.5.

Reason 3: More Weapons

It helps that the Chiefs are loaded with weapons for Mahomes.

Tight end Travis Kelce continued his dominance while securing a game-high 13 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill hauled in nine of 11 targets for a game-high 172 receiving yards. Young wide receiver Mecole Hardman made up for his punt-return gaffe to catch a touchdown pass and popping off a 50-yard run.

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On the ground, the Chiefs were without Le’Veon Bell, but that didn’t matter. Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned after missing several weeks, and while he only rushed for seven yards, the young playmaker found the end zone one time. Darrel Williams got most of the rushing attempts (13) and gained a total of 52 yards while also scoring a touchdown. Plus, Hardman ripped off the game’s biggest run of the day when he flashed for 50 yards.

The Bills’ offense just couldn’t keep up. Buffalo made an excellent trade before the season began with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who proceeded to lead the NFL in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,535) while catching eight touchdown passes. Even in the Bills’ lackluster win over the Ravens in the Divisional Round, Diggs caught eight passes for over 100 yards and a touchdown.

Against the Chiefs, he caught six passes for 77 yards while the Kansas City secondary kept him out of the end zone. Aside from Diggs, the Bills don’t have many weapons, and one of their other top receivers, Cole Beasley, was evidently playing with a broken leg. (Dude still managed to lead the team in receptions with seven and receiving yards with 88.)

Outside of seven rushing attempts by Allen–a combination of designed plays and scrambles–for 88 yards, the Bills rushed the ball 11 times for 43 yards.

Simply stated, if the Bills want to beat the Chiefs this time next year, they need to surround Allen with more than just Diggs.