5 biggest storylines to watch in Bills' Week 11 clash with Chiefs
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The Buffalo Bills have won five straight games but face their toughest opponent of the 2024 campaign thus far when the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs come to town for Week 11. The focus will be on the two quarterbacks who are always in the NFL MVP discussion, but that's just the tip of the iceberg for this Sunday's showdown in Orchard Park. With that, here are five storylines to watch for when the back-to-back Super Bowl champions come to Western New York.
Top of the AFC
Mathematically, nothing will be decided on Sunday regardless of who wins. However, sports math tells you a lot can be decided on Sunday. If the Bills win, they are one loss behind the Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC with the head-to-head advantage. A Bills loss, and they are three losses behind Kansas City, with the conference foe having the head-to-head over Buffalo and Baltimore. A Chiefs win this weekend would go a long way in securing them a first-round postseason bye.
Related: Chiefs will rely on undrafted rookie kicker in AFC showdown vs. Bills
Chapter VIII
This storyline should be prefaced with the following: wins are not a quarterback stat. Now that we have that out of the way, all the talk leading up to the game will be about Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes. Regardless of their stats, the game's winner will get bonus points in the MVP race. Tony Romo is going to annoyingly gush about both guys during the CBS broadcast. All that said, these are arguably the two best humans at playing quarterback right now, so enjoy!
Defensive Showdown
All the headlines, graphics, and advertisements promoting this game will highlight the quarterback duel, but the bout could be decided by Sean McDermott vs. Mahomes (Chiefs' offense) and Steve Spagnuolo vs. Josh Allen (Bills' offense). Both teams are top ten in scoring defense and top five in second-half scoring defense.
We Are Not Worthy
It's a bummer that Keon Coleman won't be available for the Bills on Sunday due to a wrist injury he suffered in the win over the Miami Dolphins a couple of weeks ago. Even without his presence in the game, the Bills trading the pick Kansas City used to select wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and the Bills moving back to take Coleman will be discussed. If Worthy has a good game, you'll hear about it. If he doesn't, you'll hear about it.
Related: WATCH: Bills LB Matt Milano takes first practice reps after offseason injury
Tough Stretch
If you've followed along to my storylines this season, you've seen me talk ad nauseam about the Bills' opportunities to take advantage of a weak middle part of their schedule. That's exactly what they did, going from 3-2 to 8-2 with their five-game winning streak. That's over now. The Bills start a rough five weeks where they host the Chiefs, benefit from a bye week, host the 49ers, visit the Rams, and visit the Lions. Then things lighten up again, finishing with the Patriots, Jets, and Patriots again.
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