Buffalo Bills put Mahomes in a spin – and get the win over the Chiefs.
For the fifth season in a row, the Buffalo Bills defeat the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs 28-21 at Highmark stadium and improve to 6-2 on the season.
Does this game matter? Yes. Of course it does.
In four of the last five seasons, the Bills’ season has ended at the hands of this very same opponent.
Everyone in Buffalo will know that winning against the Chiefs in January is more important than the result in the regular season – but claiming the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Chiefs, if our records are level, could mean all the difference.
Heading into the Buffalo bye week in Week 7, the Bills sat at 4-2 and the Bills Mafia were beside themselves with how both sides of the ball were playing. The offense had seen the run game stunted and the passing game felt disjointed.
Whereas the Buffalo defense was at sixes and sevens – conceding rushing yards at a historic rate.
So, Bills fans, how are we feeling now at the mid-season point? Are we staring into the abyss, or are things looking up?
Hall of Fame? More like House of Horrors
Against the Carolina Panthers, the Bills got to the quarterback in a big way with seven sacks of Andy Dalton.
It is no secret that the formula for success against the Chiefs is to disrupt their star player – you only need to go back and watch last year’s Super Bowl to see that manifest.
The Chiefs were missing three of their starting offensive linemen this week and it really showed.
Patrick Mahomes was pressured on 39.5% of his 34 pass attempts. He completed only 15 of those passes for his career low in pass completion – 44%.
He was rattled time and again by the Bills who got 11 quarterback Hits, with three resulting in a sack.
On Halloween weekend – it was a Nightmare in Orchard Park for Mahomes.
Career day for Josh Allen – is the MVP back?
As HuddleUK host Philip Marsh likes to remind everyone on every podcast – I do like my statistics, but I am also aware when the ‘eye-test’ is telling me something different.
Many fans feel like Josh has taken a step back this season – and I would agree.
He was the NFL MVP last year, so are we being unrealistic in our expectations for him? He surely cannot continue at that level for the rest of his career. It is going to fluctuate.
The stats do not suggest he has regressed particularly by the midway point, but anyone who has watched the Bills’ passing game can see it feels out of sync.
Not in Week 9, however, as Allen looked great once again – completing 23 of 26 passes for one touchdown and a further two rushing touchdowns whilst sneaking over at the goal line.
The real story here is that Allen now has the most rushing touchdowns (79) of any non-running back all time – regular season and playoffs. With these two latest touchdowns, he moved clear of Cam Newton’s 77.
He is now only two behind Bills legendary running back, and Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas (81).
Old dogs and new tricks
There are some Buffalo Bills that are due their flowers this week.
The first, belongs to Maxwell Hairston, the Bills 2025 first round draft pick. He made his debut against the Panthers in Week 8 (44% snaps) but his ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment will certainly be snagging an interception of Patrick Mahomes in his second career start.
One particularly pleasing highlight was how quiet he kept the speedy Xavier Worthy all night – that is why we went and drafted him.
Maxwell Hairston in his SECOND CAREER GAME:
– 1 Pass Deflection
– 1 Interception
– Held Worthy to 12 YardsWE FOUND OURSELVES A STAR 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VOd2H7uSRD
— BillsOnReal (@BillsOnReal) November 3, 2025
The second is for Cole Bishop, who the Bills spent a 2024 second round draft pick on. He was touted as the replacement for Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde – big shoes to fill.
He had a quiet rookie season and has then started his second year being a key player in a poor Bills defense – so it has not gone to plan.
That was, until Week 9. He was everywhere – leading the Bills in tackles along the way.
Part of his turnaround can be attributed to our third bouquet – which goes to Jordan Poyer.
The All-Pro is back – playing in both the Carolina and the Kansas City games with more than 60% of snaps in both.
He knows Sean McDermott’s system inside and out and can help develop Bishop through effective communication and on-field guidance.
Many people would look at the Bills giving significant snaps to a 34-year-old Safety off the practice squad as a concern. However, his intangibles and experience are highly valuable to this Bills defense and will help settle things for the remainder of the season.
Injuries piling up
It is not all sunshine and rainbows – the Bills defense suffered another season-ending injury this week.
Michael Hoecht, fresh off his PED suspension, ruptured his Achilles in Week 9.
This is devastating for the player, who was playing like he was shot out of a cannon since he came into the lineup. He had two sacks, a forced fumble and one tackle for loss through less than two games.
He was clearly a very versatile talent that McDermott was keen to deploy in this defense and he will leave a big void to be filled.
This injury comes off the back of Ed Oliver’s season ending injury in Week 8. A torn bicep for Oliver will make this a season to forget after he had already missed time with a foot injury.
Safety Taylor Rapp has not been good this season, but he too has moved to IR and will not play again in 2025. That has opened the door for Jordan Poyer to take on a starting role opposite Cole Bishop, as already discussed.
If there is any risk for the Bills’ quest for a sixth consecutive division title – it is the injuries on the defense, preventing them from getting into a groove down the stretch.
Week 10 and beyond
The Bills visit the Miami Dolphins in Week 10.
Since we last played them, the Dolphins season has nosedived like… well, a pod of bottlenose dolphins I suppose?
They have since lost Tyreek Hill to injury for the season, fired their General Manager Chris Grier and traded away edge rusher Jaelen Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles at the trade deadline.
The Bills will hope for a more comfortable win this time around against their division foe.
