The Kansas City Chiefs will look to ride a four-game winning streak into the bye with a marquee clash against the Buffalo Bills coming up this Sunday.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without offensive tackle Josh Simmons (personal) and tailback Isiah Pacheco (knee) on Sunday while offensive guard Trey Smith (back), who missed last week's game, and offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (sick) are listed as "Questionable."
As for Buffalo, starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf), who hasn't played since Week 5, and wide receiver Joshua Palmer (knee/ankle), who last played against Atlanta in Week 6, won't play on Sunday. It's also worth mentioning that Buffalo will be without starting defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who was placed on Injured Reserve this week with a bicep injury. Additionally, the Bills listed starting cornerback Taron Johnson, who was limited in Friday's practice, as "Questionable" due to a groin injury.
The Bills are set to get some players back in their linebacker corps, however, as Matt Milano (pectoral) and Terrel Bernard (ankle) are expected to return after missing time in recent weeks, although they'll be without linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring), who has played well this season.
2. The Bills are running the ball better than any team in football right now.
Buffalo leads the NFL with 1,115 rushing yards this season, which is particularly impressive considering that the Bills – who had their bye in Week 7 – have played one fewer game than most teams.
The Bills are averaging a league-best 164.4 rushing yards-per-game – their highest mark since 1976 – on a league-most 31.6 attempts-per-game, representing a clear commitment to a rushing attack led by tailback James Cook, whose 753 rushing yards rank second in the league.
Cook is coming off his top game of the season, too, in which he rushed for a whopping 216 yards and two touchdowns on just 19 carries. The veteran tailback is averaging exactly six yards-per-attempt, and his 269 yards before contact lead the NFL.
Fortunately, the Chiefs continue to turn in strong performances against opposing running backs this season. No single runner has tallied 100 rushing yards against the Chiefs in a game this year, and looking at the last two weeks, Raiders' tailback Ashton Jeanty and Commanders' tailback Jacory Crosky-Merritt – who have combined to average 4.4 yards-per-carry this season – tallied just 46 combined yards against Kansas City.
If the Chiefs are to win on Sunday, it will begin with another impressive performance against Cook – and it's not just on the defense. The Chiefs' offensive performance – which has piled up 154 points over the last five weeks – has consistently applied pressure to the opposing offense, often forcing teams to abandon the run as the game continued. For example, the Chiefs have only faced 97 rushing attempts since Week 4, the fewest of any team to play five games in that span. That includes games against teams like Baltimore, Detroit and Washington – offenses that want to run the ball – and the Chiefs will aim to force Buffalo into a similar predicament on Sunday.
3. The Chiefs have now scored 28+ points in five consecutive games.
The aforementioned Kansas City offense has tallied 28+ points in five straight games, assembling the longest such streak for any team at any point this season. The Chiefs have outscored their opponents by a mark of 154-75 in that time, and despite a slow start to the year offensively, Kansas City now leads the NFL in a handful of offensive categories. That group includes plays-per-drive (7.0), time of possession-per-drive (3:30) and fewest three-and-outs in the league (11).
Additionally, since Week 4 – when the streak began – the Chiefs lead the league in yards-per-game (415.8), yards-per-drive (43.4) and first downs-per-game (26.4). In that span, quarterback Patrick Mahomes also leads the NFL in passing yards-per-game (286.0), total yards-per-game (317.0) and total touchdowns (16).
Mahomes' 21 total touchdowns for the season lead the league, his 17 passing scores are tied for the league-lead (with Rams' quarterback Matthew Stafford), and only Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert has more passing yards.
It's all to say that the offense has been nothing short of exceptional for over a calendar month now, and it's due to a handful of reasons. First, the combination of the Chiefs' offensive line and Patrick Mahomes' quick release has led to a pressure rate of just 22.6% when Mahomes drops back to pass – the lowest rate in the league.
Interestingly enough, Mahomes – whose 2.61-second average time to throw is the quickest in the NFL – also leads the league with 470 total yards on scrambles in 2025. In other words, even when defenses are forcing Mahomes to hold onto the ball, he's still finding success more often than not.
That overall success is due in part to the Chiefs' slew of weapons on offense, and the numbers back that up. Kansas City is the only team in the NFL to feature eight players with 250+ scrimmage yards. No other team has more than six such players, and that figure doesn't even include wide receiver Rashee Rice, who already has 16 catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns in two games this season.
So, while the Chiefs' lack of a single 100-yard rusher or receiver in a game this season might generally be used as a knock against them, in this case, it might actually be a strength. Last week, for example, five different players recorded double-digit receiving yards while four players tallied double-digit rushing yardage. Kansas City doesn't need a single, dominant performance from any of its skill position players as long as everybody is doing their part, and in many ways, that makes them more dangerous.
Simply put, the Chiefs are spreading the ball around better than any offense in the league, and they'll look to do the same against Buffalo.
4. Buffalo has utilized the short passing game with great success this season.
The Bills' offense this season is built around its running game (as discussed above) and its short passing attack, and to Buffalo's credit, both elements have generally been effective.
For example, Buffalo's leading receiver this season – Khalil Shakir – has 356 receiving yards in 2025, 298 of which have taken place after the catch. That tally marks the second-most of any receiver in the NFL, trailing only the Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase, and represents 84% of his yardage total.
Conversely, the Bills have struggled with their deep passing attack this year. Somewhat shockingly, quarterback Josh Allen owns the lowest passer rating in the NFL this season on throws of at least 20 air yards at just 29.4. Allen is completing just 33.3% of those attempts, tossing three interceptions and zero touchdowns.
With that all being said, Allen is the reigning MVP and remains a dangerous deep-ball thrower at all times, but as currently constructed, the Bills' offense is designed around a short passing attack, so the Chiefs' ability to get off blocks and make sure-tackles will be paramount. Buffalo is counting on turning quick, 2-yard throws into 15-yard gains, and the Chiefs can't let that happen.
5. The Bills' turnover margin – while still solid – isn't the historic tally it was a year ago.
A hallmark of the Bills' overall success last season was their astronomical turnover margin at +24, meaning they forced 24 more takeaways than giveaways they committed themselves. That figure led to a league-most 128 points following takeaways – or 24.4% of the Bills' total points for the season – and a league-leading 29 possessions that began in opponent territory.
That kind of turnover luck obviously made the Bills very difficult to beat, but for what it's worth, Buffalo hasn't assembled that sort of margin in 2025. It's still solid enough at +2, but at this point last year, the Bills were +11.
There's a pretty clear divide, too. In the Bills' two losses this year, which took place in back-to-back games against New England and Atlanta, they committed five giveaways while tallying just one takeaway themselves. In their other five games – all wins – they committed a grand total of one giveaway with seven forced takeaways.
So, it's not rocket science. Whoever wins the turnover battle on Sunday will likely win the game, and in a season of parity, one thing remains certain: When the Chiefs and Bills get together, it's always a game to remember.
