The game of the year was as good as advertised with the Buffalo Bills recording a 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. It had everything we could have imagined and wanted… and then a whole lot more.
As expected, there were genuine moments of brilliance from the quarterbacks, Buffalo's Josh Allen and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes. But what made this game so fascinating and enthralling was that there were periods of time where both defenses stood up and stepped to the fore.
Allen got hot just before halftime and went on an MVP-level tear after the break, finishing the game with 329 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His game-winning strike covering 14 yards to Dawson Knox with 1:04 remaining almost had smoke coming out of the back of the ball. That pigskin was humming.
Earlier on that game-winning drive, Allen had sneaked for a first down on fourth and inches, made some key connections to Stefon Diggs and box-jumped a Kansas City defender trying to knock him down on another breath-taking, shake-your-head run.
It was a great fightback from Allen because there were a lot of times in this contest where Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sent pressure on blitzes and Buffalo were scrambling to make plays. But when the Chiefs suffered key injuries at cornerback, Allen smelled blood in the water and started targeting Diggs more and more. His star receiver ended the day with 10 receptions for 148 yards and one touchdown.
Mahomes also had some logic-defying moments of pure brilliance. There were several plays where he would scramble around, evade pressure, extend the play and give Buffalo's defensive backs nightmares.
But, ultimately, this game ended with a Bills win because their defense came up huge when it mattered the most. Von Miller was brought on board with a $120 million contract in the offseason for exactly this kind of showdown with the Chiefs. With 51 seconds remaining, Miller pressured Mahomes and threw off his timing, resulting in Terron Johnson's game-sealing interception.
Two-time Super Bowl champion Miller, who came into last night's contest with 111 ½ career sacks, was brilliant all night long. He recorded two vital sacks and the pressure on that vital turnover.
Buffalo have been careful in their use of the 33-year-old defender in the early stages of the season, but not on Sunday night. Every time I watched a Chiefs' offensive play, Miller was on the field… and in the backfield. He can rest in the coming weeks. This huge stage is why he was brought to Buffalo.
And as we begin to think about how the rest of this NFL season will unfold, would anyone bet against seeing these two teams meet again in the AFC playoffs? This just seemed like the starter with the main course to come in January.
Allen vs Mahomes is the new Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady, albeit a way more athletic and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants version. I cannot wait to see them face off again in January. It's going to be even more epic than last night because there will be no tomorrow.
Bring it on.
Who's Hot…
The New York Jets… That was a statement win if ever there was one as the New York Jets marched into Lambeau Field, stuck it to the home side and left with a 27-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers. That now gives Robert Saleh's men three wins in a row and his young players continue to shine. Rookie running back Breece Hall gained 116 rushing yards and scored a touchdown on the ground as New York rumbled for 179 yards. That ground attack meant Zach Wilson only needed 10 completions for 110 yards. Quinnen Williams was a stud with two sacks, Sauce Gardner continues to shine at cornerback and rookie defensive lineman Michael Clemons blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. There's something building with the green half of New York city.
The New York Giants… The blue half of the Big Apple is doing even better than the Jets with the Giants improving to 5-1 with Sunday's come-from-behind 24-20 win over Baltimore. I cannot say enough good things about the coaching job being done by Brian Daboll right now. He is changing a culture in New York and that has been evident the last two weeks. The Giants trailed Green Bay by two touchdowns in London but found a way to win and they were down 20-10 with 12:54 remaining on Sunday after Mark Andrews scored for Baltimore. They didn't blink. The defense took its game up another level, Daniel Jones threw a touchdown pass to Daniel Bellinger and Saquon Barkley, who else, scored the game-winner. After years of mediocrity, an all-New York Super Bowl could at least be a conversation now. Such talk would have been ridiculous in the summer.
Matt Ryan… "Come to Indianapolis," they said to Matt Ryan. "You'll get to work behind the league's best offensive line and imagine all those play-action passes coming off the threat of Jonathan Taylor. And don't worry, you won't need to throw it too often because we have JT on the ground." Hmmm… heading into Sunday, Ryan was the most sacked quarterback in the league and Taylor was ruled out once more with his ankle injury. Do you think Ryan ever thought he would be signing on to a team where he would throw 58 passes and they would call just 15 designed runs? But the veteran gunslinger just got on with the job, completing 42 throws for 389 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in a dramatic 34-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that was sealed with Ryan's 32-yard scoring pass to Alec Pierce with 17 seconds remaining. Ryan has his critics, but he is still capable of a day like Sunday where he stole the show, and the game, away from the Jags.
Who's Not…
Tampa Bay's Offense… They have had their share of injuries (who hasn't?) but the Tampa Bay offense has been one of the biggest disappointments of this season, for me. I'm shocked to see Tom Brady, who threw for more than 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns last year, has just eight touchdown passes in six games. He and his offensive teammates could not get going in Sunday's shocking 20-18 loss to Pittsburgh. The Bucs did not find the end zone until their 10th and final drive of the game and even then, they failed on the two-pointer to come out on the losing end. Tampa's first nine drives ended in four field goals and five punts with four three-and-outs. They have now lost three of four after a 2-0 start. Brady can get as annoyed as he likes at his teammates (his sideline meltdown was caught on camera last night), but he is just as much to blame here.
The Miami Dolphins… This is one streaky team. Last year, the Dolphins became the first club in NFL history to lose seven games in a row and then win seven straight in the same season. Under new leadership in Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins have reversed course; recording three straight losses after opening the year 3-0. There are some mitigating factors, of course, most notably losing Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater to concussions before having to turn back to Teddy in Sunday's 24-16 home loss to Minnesota. Getting Tua back will solve a few ills on the offensive side of the ball, but the D is also hurting and gave up too many big plays on Sunday. McDaniel faces the first big challenge of his head coaching career.
Cooper Rush… It's been a great run for the Cowboys backup quarterback, but the wheels finally came off for Cooper Rush on Sunday night as Dallas fell 26-17 to the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. There is no shame in losing a game like this against a top opponent, but we cannot avoid the fact that Rush only threw for 181 yards and was picked three times. Dallas are going to be just fine when it comes to the playoff push, they just need Dak Prescott to return. But if Rush is to head back to the bench, he should still be very proud of going 4-1 and keeping this franchise afloat. It just wasn't his night in Philadelphia.
The Fast Five…
- The most encouraging stat line from Cincinnati's 30-26 win over New Orleans is the fact that Joe Burrow threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns; and Ja'Marr Chase caught seven balls for 132 yards and two scores. Those two have to feature heavily every week for the Bengals to succeed. And they still need to find a way to get Chase downfield – his 60-yard touchdown was aided by some poor New Orleans tackling. He catches too many short passes these days.
- The New England Patriots can take their time nursing quarterback Mac Jones back to health if rookie third-stringer Bailey Zappe plays more games like he did in Sunday's 38-15 defeat of the Cleveland Browns. In a game where head coach Bill Belichick tied George Halas for the second-most wins in NFL history (324), Zappe looked like a 10-year veteran, throwing for 309 yards and two scores. New England are alive once more at 3-3.
- The Los Angeles Rams levelled up their record at 3-3 with a 24-10 over the Carolina Panthers. But that win has not convinced me that LA can defend their Super Bowl crown. They struggled for much of the game against the worst team in the league and Matthew Stafford threw just one touchdown pass and one interception that was returned for a score. LA should trade for some offensive linemen before the end of the month.
- The Seattle Seahawks have quietly moved to 3-3 after Sunday's 19-9 win over the Arizona Cardinals and that is good enough for first place in the crowded and parity-riddled NFC West. While recent good performances have been led by the offense, Seattle stepped up defensively on Sunday with six sacks of Kyler Murray. That said, Kenneth Walker could be fun to watch on offense. The rookie rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown last night.
- Here are two names for the trading block. Cam Akers is on the outs at running back for the Rams. It seems he and head coach Sean McVay have reached a point of no return in their relationship. And surely wide receiver Robbie Anderson is on the way out in Carolina after being sent to the locker room by interim head coach Steve Wilks during Sunday's loss to the Rams. That is not something you see very often in the NFL, that's for sure.
Fact of the Week
Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady all lost on Sunday. This is the first time in NFL history that the last four distinct quarterbacks to win the NFL MVP award all lost on the same day. Rodgers won the MVP award in 2020 and 2021, Jackson in 2019, Mahomes in 2018 and Brady in 2017.
Finish That Sentence
Each week in this spot I ask readers - via Twitter - to randomly send me the start of a sentence and, as we so often did on our NFL UK Live stage show tours, I will finish the sentence with the first thought that comes into my head. Here we go…
From Will Cundall (@willbob15) Rodgers misses Davante like… a dog misses its… tennis ball! The pair were made for each other and it's clear Aaron Rodgers doesn't have the same level of trust with his current receivers as he did with Davante Adams. And the game-breaking presence of Adams is missing across the offense. Rodgers knew this was coming. When I asked him about the departure of Adams in the summer, I expected a standard 30-second response. I got a three-minute tribute to his former teammate. Oh, and by the way, Adams will also miss Rodgers for the rest of this season and his career. He may have decent numbers in the first five games in Las Vegas, but I don't think Adams is currently playing on a contender. The Silver and Black are 1-4 so the pain goes both ways with this divorce.
From Darren (@mackyd78) Watching Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes is like watching… Messi vs Ronaldo, Federer vs Djokovic… add any other greats in the world of sport at your leisure! It's best on best and I'm starting to get the feeling that the Chiefs-Bills rivalry could become like the 49ers-Cowboys in the 1990s. The winner of the NFC Championship Game at that time would have a much easier outing in the ensuing Super Bowl. With respect to the Philadelphia Eagles, whose record and performances cannot be ignored, I feel like Buffalo and Kansas City are the top two favourites for the Super Bowl this year. The AFC Championship Game is going to take on a Super Bowl-like feel this season.
From Finn Reynolds (@FinnReynolds2) The most disappointing team through six weeks is… hard to call because there is so much parity across the league. I really felt like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams would be better than 3-3 so both those clubs are in the conversation. The New Orleans Saints should be better than 2-4 but they have been decimated with injuries. They are disappointing but can straighten things out. The Las Vegas Raiders are a major disappointment at 1-4 but can be dangerous down the stretch with their playmaking talent. Overall, I would say the defending Super Bowl champs. There seems to be a fog of mediocrity hovering over this franchise and their record is the perfect example of that.
Final Thought…
Don't get too excited when your team jumps out to a lead on any given NFL weekend. And don't get too down when your team is in a hole. Very few leads feel safe in this season's version of the NFL. On Sunday, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and the New York Giants all overcame deficits of 10+ points to win in Week 6. The Bengals and Giants were down by 10 and the Colts by 11. There have now been 18 games in 2022 where a team overcame a deficit of 10+ points to win or tie in 2022 (tied for the fourth-most in NFL history through the first six weeks of a season). It's a mad, mad NFL world and that's just one of the reasons we love it so much.
