Laddie Morse
This is the game so many fans have been waiting for: Bills Mafia fans and Chiefs Kingdom fans alike. Buffalo Bills fans think that for some reason it’s their turn to move on. Kansas City Chiefs fans beg to differ.
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The Injury Reports
Let’s begin with the Chiefs players who are OUT for this game. That would include:
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For the Chiefs the loss of Derrick Nnadi may hurt he run defense a little bit but I’m not worried that Steve Spagnuolo can make up the difference with other players. In fact, the Chiefs may be better off. The loss of WR Skyy Moore is no loss at all as is the loss of Kadarius Toney. The Chiefs have already figured out a way to move on without Toney being available. If he’s unavailable for this playoff game, which he is, so be it. The loss of Wanya Morris would only come into play if Donovan Smith can’t go — which he can — and if Joe Thuney was simultaneously injured, which is highly unlikely. The Chiefs have published other possible player who may be OUT as well:
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Hopefully Charles Omenihu can play in this game. If he can’t go, it will hurt the Chiefs front seven. Willie Gay would be in that same department.
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For the Bills, the loss of WR Gabe Davis is perhaps their biggest loss. He makes opposing defenses play honest. Meaning, they can’t slack off of Stephon diggs when he is in the game. Since he won’t be playing in this one, I have not doubt that K.C. will be able to easily handle the Bills wideouts. Same with Christian Benford only to a much lesser degree. The other two losses for the bIlls are defensive backfield players which make whatever the Chiefs do in the passing game much more reliable. The Bills have four other players who are Questionable including: LB Terrel Bernard, CB Rasul Douglas, CB Taron Johnson, and Punter Sam Martin.
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Highmark Weather
The weather at Highmark Stadium where the Bills play, has been a big issue over the last week. Last weekend, prior to the Steelers-Bills game, the weather was so bad, that their game had to be rescheduled and delayed. The Game Time is set for 5:30 PM CST and here’s a look:
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What this doesn’t show is that 24 hours before game time, it will have snowed. Consequently, if the Chiefs and Bills play on a snowy field it could certainly effect the outcome. Fortunately for the Chiefs, they have a great bad-weather QB and the other players on the team are excellent in bad weather situations as well. So… no worries? Exactly.
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The Matchups
Chiefs Offense vs the Bills Defense
From FOX Sports comes this top ten list of NFL Defenses in the 2023 season based upon Yards Per Game Allowed:
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With the Bills defense hobbling a bit, with players missing and some playing injured, the Chiefs offense should continue to hela and get better and better. In the meantime, the Chiefs defense, which is ranked second overall giving up only 289.8 yard per game, should have a heyday. That is, if Josh Allen doesn’t spoil their party.
Here’s the way the Offenses compare:
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The Bills have averaged 23.4 yard per game more than K.C. according to FOX Sports.com and that works out to 5.8 yards per quarter. The tables are kind of flipped here — from defense to offense — but with the Bills Offense hurting at the moment with WR Gabe Davis not being able to go, it will be a much better opportunity for the Chiefs defense to step up and keep them to a lower average.
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With K.C. having to travel to Buffalo for this game, it may be understadable that the odsmakers have the Bills as 2.5 point favorites. However, the Chiefs may just win this one going away.
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My Prediction: Chiefs 32, Bills 17.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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