The Kansas City Chiefs are sitting at home on Sunday afternoon as they prepare for Monday’s game against the Washington Commanders. But one of the things they likely saw while flipping on the TV was the Buffalo Bills’ 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The result wasn’t surprising as the Panthers were battling an AFC powerhouse with Bryce Young sidelined with an ankle injury. But what the Bills did has some merit as Kansas City prepares to travel to Buffalo in Week 9.
With that in mind, the Chiefs probably weren’t keen on what happened late in Sunday’s game and with Buffalo pulling its starters late in the second half, it could leave Kansas City at a big disadvantage going into next week’s showdown.
Bills’ Extra Rest Could Give Them a Major Edge Over the Chiefs
The Bills came into Sunday’s game looking to erase the memory of back-to-back losses heading into their bye week. With a week off to assess what went wrong, the Bills looked like the best version of themselves, with James Cook running for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Josh Allen throwing for 163 yards and a TD.
After taking a 19-3 lead into the half, the Bills hit the gas in the third quarter using a 54-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Khalil Shakir, a 21-yard touchdown run by Cook and a one-yard touchdown plunge by Allen to take a 40-3 lead. The large margin allowed the Bills to get their heavy hitters off the field and gave them the advantage of not playing a full game.
This means the Bills haven’t played a full game since their 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 13. That number will increase to 20 days when the Chiefs land in Buffalo six days off Monday’s game against the Commanders.
Going into one of the toughest environments in the NFL was always going to be a challenge. But it’s an even bigger one when the Chiefs are coming off short rest while the Bills have been able to maximize their rest over the past three weeks.
If Kansas City can take care of business on Monday night, it may benefit them to pull their starters ahead of next week’s game and attempt to level the playing field in one of their biggest games of the season.