Plays That Defined 2021: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City

Welcome to Plays That Defined 2021! This ain’t your usual game recap. Here’s what to do. Pretend you’ve just written a novel and it’s time to select the cover art. You want a single picture that tells the reader what it’s all about, right? That’s the deal here. Vote for the play that best tells the “story” of this game. Which GIF is the best “cover art” for...

Week 5: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City

Off to a hot start, the Buffalo Bills looked to take down the shockingly mediocre Kansas City Chiefs With barbecue-tinged blood in the water, Buffalo looked to avenge their season-ending loss from the prior season. The teams went back-and-forth in the first half. After the break, Buffalo pulled ahead in convincing fashion.

61-yard pass to Stefon Diggs (Q2, 4:55)

A major factor in this victory (and many others) was the incredible day from Josh Allen. 315 yards. Over 12 yards per attempt. Over 21 yards per completion. You’re looking at the longest pass of the season for Josh Allen. There’s no better way to highlight the efficient day Allen and company had through the air than Stefon Diggs hauling in this 61-yard pass.

Dawson Knox’s 53-yard touchdown (Q2, 1:12)

That efficient day from Allen was distributed across the team. Dawson Knox ended the game with the most yards (117). About half of those came on this long touchdown pass to extend the Buffalo lead. Emmanuel Sanders had the most touchdowns (two of three through the air).

Micah Hyde’s pick six (Q3, 7:12)

It was a four turnover day, as the defense terrorized Patrick Mahomes. Despite 54 passing attempts, Mahomes didn’t even break the 300 mark (272). Five yards per attempt and 8.2 per completion are a stark contrast to Allen’s day. Micah Hyde snatched this from the deflection, did a sweet spin move, and contributed to the pile on. Greg Rousseau intercepted Mahomes on the next drive.

Darrel Williams’s nine-yard run (Q3, 4:55)

Sometimes a good illustration comes from an unexpected subplot. The only bright spot on the stat sheet for KC was its run game at 5.2 YPC. This was mostly inflated due to Mahomes’s scrambles and five runs by Darrel Williams. At 7.6 YPC, Mahomes’s running stats look good, but it was in exchange for his usual lethality in the air. Williams’s change of pace from a pure statistical perspective seemed to have worked (5.2 YPC). This nine-yard play looks good, right? With so few runs though, the efficiency couldn’t translate to volume.

Tre’Davious White’s fumble recovery (Q4. 3:38)

With the two teams running neck-and-neck in many areas during the season, it was a bit of a shock to see the Bills run away with this game. Sometimes a lucky break or two can swing the scales drastically out of whack. Buffalo took advantage of these breaks, like Tre’Davious White coming up with this fumble to keep Kansas City in the dust.

It’s voting time!