BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are heading to Kansas City for the playoff matchup of the week in the divisional round as the two teams who met in last year's AFC Championship game meet one round earlier this year.
Last season it was the Chiefs who defeated the Bills in Buffalo in the regular season and then beat them in the AFC Championship game in Kansas City.
This year, it's the Bills trying to beat the Chiefs for a second time this year.
The last time these two teams played was in Week 5 in Kansas City when the Bills dominated the entire game, winning 38-20.
“Let’s keep in mind that these teams are very different today than they were in Week 5,” Locked On Bills podcast host Joe Marino said on Wednesday's show.
Marino broke down what he believes the Bills need to do on both defense and offense in order to advance in the playoffs and it starts with understanding Kansas City's offense, one of the NFL's most high powered with the best weapons and one of the best quarterbacks.
Of Patrick Mahomes’ passing attempts, 14.2% of them are screen plays. That’s the second-highest frequency in the NFL.
"A big narrative with this Chiefs offense early on when they weren't quite successful is teams were giving them this two-high safety look and really flooding the coverage with defenders and playing two-deep safeties," Marino said. "Kansas City’s response has been the quick passing game and the screen game."
SUBSCRIBE to the Locked On Bills podcast, your daily podcast covering all things Buffalo Bills. Free and available on all platforms
When Mahomes is not under pressure, he completes 81% of his passes and a passer rating of 128.6. That is No. 1 in the league for completion percentage and passing rating.
When Mahomes is under pressure, he completes 41.2% of his passes and a passer rating of 79. His completion percentage drops 40%.
"If you want to make Patrick Mahomes a worse quarterback, you have to get pressure on this guy," Marino said on Locked On Bills. "You can’t get pressure on Patrick Mahomes by blitzing him. He destroys the blitz. It is critical that you are able to get pressure on him with four rushers."
Marino's keys on defense for Buffalo
Pressure with four
"The Bills defensive line has to show up," Marino said. "They have to make a difference. Part of that is creating pressure on Patrick Mahomes, but also doing so in a way that contains him in a pocket. You don’t want him escaping to his right. He’s lethal when he does that just like Josh Allen.”
Space the field with seven and stay discipline
"You have got to space the field effectively on defense with Patrick Mahomes and understand the ways in which he likes to manipulate your coverage with how he moves within the pocket and what he does with his eyes," Marino said. "This is one of those weeks where you have to fully embrace that 1/11th mentality. Do your 1/11th and you’re going to take away a lot from them if you can stay disciplined and not come off your coverage landmarks."
Tackle
"It's such a basic thing to say but it’s critical," Marino said. "The screens are coming, the quick passes are coming. Tackle, get these guys on the ground, limit their yards after catch and force them to stack play after play after play against your defense."
Hunt the football
"The Chiefs will turn it over," Marino said. "They have the third-most fumbles this year, they have the ninth-most giveaways and 13.7% of their drives end in a turnover, which is the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. This team has shown a propensity to turnover the football this year. Although to their credit it has improved immensely."
Red Zone Defense
"The Chiefs are going to get yards. They’re going to make plays. But they have been pretty average when it comes to ending drives with touchdowns," Marino said. "Their red zone touchdown percentage is 60.3 which is 14th in the NFL, middle of the pack. This is an important game to force field goals.”
Marino's keys on offense for Buffalo
Run the football
“Run it against these guys. It’s really important in the postseason to be able to run it. The Bills weren’t able to do that last season in the playoffs against Kansas City. Your run game has shown plenty of life this year, continue to work that in.”
Run it with Josh Allen
“Josh Allen’s ability to run should be a major factor in this football game," Marino said. "And the Chiefs haven’t played a ton of running quarterbacks. In fact, the last running quarterback they’ve faced was Josh Allen in Week 5…Josh Allen’s legs and ability to win from a scramble or on designed runs, that’s a challenge the Chiefs haven’t seen for a long time.”
Get everyone involved
“Continue to let everyone involved to put maximum stress on a defense that has holes. Do it all. Josh Allen can put maximum stress on a defense alone because of his skillset. Now you have this full compliment of weapons and a run game. Use it all.”
Josh Allen
“Just let Josh Allen be Josh Allen," Marino said. "He’s one of the best players in the NFL. He’s coming off one of the best performances in NFL history at the QB position. Ride it.”
SUBSCRIBE to the Locked On NFL podcast, a daily podcast covering league-wide news, rumors and more. Free and available on all platforms