Nothing boring about 9-0 Chiefs – can Bills end their unbeaten run?

BBC Sport columnist banner featuring Phoebe Schecter

2 hours ago

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Former Buffalo Bills assistant coach Phoebe Schecter is an NFL pundit and plays for Great Britain’s flag football team.

The Kansas City Chiefs came into the 2024 season hoping to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.

They have started the season with a 9-0 record for just the third time in franchise history – but that only tells half the story.

If you look back as far as week one, almost every week something’s happened so they’ve somehow avoided defeat. They just seem to find a way to win all the time.

Look at this run:

Week one: If it wasn’t for Isaiah Likely’s toe being out of the end zone, the Chiefs would have lost against the Ravens.
Week two: Against the Bengals, the Chiefs’ win probability was 15.5% in the fourth quarter, before Harrison Butker won it with a field goal as time expired.
Week three: The defence stepped up against the Falcons and forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter, deep in Chiefs territory.
Week four: Against the Chargers, the Chiefs never led until the final six minutes, with the defence again stepping up.
Week nine: The Chiefs won in overtime, when in hindsight maybe the Buccaneers should have gone for two points rather than kicking the point after their late touchdown.
Last week: The Broncos had a 35-yard field goal to win it, yet the Chiefs became just the third team in 10 seasons to win on a blocked field goal.

These are not small stats that the Chiefs are putting together.

Including the post-season, the Chiefs have 15 straight wins – the longest streak since the Packers in 2010-11. If they beat the Buffalo Bills on the road on Sunday, it will be a franchise record of 12 straight regular season wins.

People may want to see the ‘Patrick Mahomes magic’ but it hasn’t been pretty, it hasn’t been flashy. It’s mainly down to their defence, which has now held 30 straight opponents under 28 points. That’s crazy.

I know a lot of people are bored of seeing the Chiefs win, but I’m not. How can you get bored of watching quarterback Mahomes lead a game-winning drive in overtime? Or watching a linebacker (Leo Chenal) pull off a block to win the game?

They’ve had so many injuries – Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore – but they’re still setting records. That’s what’s so incredible.

They brought back veteran running back Kareem Hunt and traded for veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He was phenomenal with the Texans, but then it was a struggle with the Cardinals and the Titans.

But just imagine joining a team where, for the first time in your career, you actually have the opportunity to win a Super Bowl. That would inspire you. And who wouldn’t want to play with a quarterback like Mahomes? You can already see that they’re on the same page.

The Chiefs needed a deep threat and ‘DHop’ was a guy you could see making an immediate impact. He’s a game-changer. His arrival’s also allowed Travis Kelce to get some momentum as, previously, opponents kept double-teaming him.

It’s exciting to think that this team just continues to do it, it’s unheard of. But none of it matters if they don’t win another Super Bowl and get that ‘three-peat’.

The Chiefs know how to play in the post-season, that’s when they’re so dangerous, and they will probably meet the Bills again in the play-offs.

The Chiefs have won all three of their play-off meetings since Mahomes and Josh Allen have been their quarterbacks and the games are always exciting. It’s two of the sport’s best quarterbacks going at it.

If it wasn’t for Mahomes, I feel like Allen would be the guy we’re all talking about in terms of the magic he brings and the madness that ensues around him.

The Bills are now 8-2 after winning their past five, which is what makes Sunday’s game so exciting. It’s a huge game for the Bills to see if they can compete with the Chiefs and see what they can gather against a familiar foe, because next time they meet, that’s when the Bills really have to win.

I’m sure the message for the Bills this week has been “we have to take care of the football, and when Mahomes turns the ball over, which he has been doing, we have to capitalise”.

Lions also ‘find a way’ to cement contender status

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff also turned the ball over a lot last Sunday, throwing a career-high five interceptions against the Texans.

Yet like the Chiefs, they also found a way, coming back from 16 points down to win with a field goal as time expired.

The Lions are now 8-1 for the first time since 1954, which is kind of mad. In the past, Goff would have done that and probably not overcome it.

Now because of the belief he has in himself, and the team and the coach have in him, he goes right back out there and leads them back.

The defence also stepped up, which you need in moments like that when your offence is struggling.

It took every element – offence, defence, special teams – to pull it together and overcome such a rollercoaster. That’s what makes me think they can be a Super Bowl contender.