Over the past five years or so, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs have developed one of the most electrifying rivalries in the National Football League. The Bills usually get the best of Kansas City in the regular season, but the Chiefs have gotten the last laugh every single time when it matters the most.
Also, with two superstar quarterbacks leading the way and the never-ending debates and comparisons between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, those Chiefs-Bills matchups have become instant classics.
That's why even the tiniest thing can only add even more fuel to this fire. Considering that, the Bills' decision to sign veteran DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson may have given Andy Reid's team even more motivation to take down the Bills when they meet again next season.
CJ Gardner-Johnson and the Chiefs Have a Complicated History
Gardner-Johnson is known as one of the fiercest trash-talkers in football. He already has a history with the Chiefs, and more specifically with Travis Kelce. Following the Philadelphia Eagles' blowout win in Super Bowl LIX, Gardner-Johnson mocked Kelce's relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift and mentioned his ex-girlfriend on social media.
In retaliation, Chiefs supporters and the thousands of Taylor Swift fans flooded Gardner-Johnson's mom's restaurant with negative reviews. There's definitely no love lost here, and neither party has forgotten about that.
Gardner-Johnson is an incendiary player. He's rubbed people the wrong way for years, even in his own locker room. So, there are no guarantees he will still be on the Bills when they face the Chiefs. But if he is, he's going to be someone to look out for.
While he's coming off a somewhat down year with the Chicago Bears, Gardner-Johnson is a hard-hitting defensive back with a knack for getting under the skin of opponents. He's likely to go after Kelce to try to get him out of the game as early as possible.
The Chiefs are looking to get back to the mountaintop after missing the playoffs for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. They know they have to beat the best to be the best. Even if they have never lost any sleep about losing to the Bills in the regular season, because they know that getting it done in the playoffs is the only thing that matters, the Chiefs are a team that'll have to make a statement every week next season.
Opposing fans and pundits are counting them out, and crushing a Super Bowl contender like the Bills gives them a chance to prove them wrong. If that also happens to hurt Gardner-Johnson's ego, that's just an added benefit.