Bills’ Von Miller admits he’s a ‘Chief hater,’ but there’s one former player he admired

The Rams were enjoying their flight home from Florida in January following a divisional playoff win over the Buccaneers, and like much of the country, the players were watching the AFC postseason contest in Kansas City.

As linebacker Von Miller told reporters in Buffalo this week, it appeared the Bills were on their way to beating the Chiefs when Rams players lost the game feed on their plane.

“We land and I’m thinking the Bills won and then the Bills lost. ... It was one of the greatest games ever played,” said Miller, who spent his first nine-plus seasons with the Broncos. “Of course I wanted the Bills to win. I was in the division so I’m just naturally a hater. I’m just naturally a Chief hater, like I’m not afraid to say it. I’m just naturally a hater. I wanted them to lose but they pulled it off. And yeah, it was a great game for the ages.

“Whenever they’re getting ready to put Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the Hall of Fame,that game and of course, games throughout these upcoming years, will be the games they talked about. And it’s just an honor and a privilege to be a part of it on the Bills side this time.”

Miller admitted that his animosity toward the Chiefs carried over to this past Monday’s game as he was rooting for the Raiders win at Arrowhead Stadium. Ditto for the Chiefs’ “Thursday Night Football” game last month against the Chargers.

Those are also both teams Miller faced in the AFC West before his trade to the Rams in November. But his loathing of the Chiefs is stronger, and it’s because of how they dominated Denver.

Miller noted that the Chiefs haven’t lost to the Broncos since 2015.

“It doesn’t look like the Kansas City Chiefs team that I played when I was in Denver, but it’s still the same style,” said Miller, who signed with the Bills in March as a free agent. “Andy Reid, Eric Bieniemy, they’ve done a great job for so many years. I can sit here and talk about the Kansas City Chiefs all day. Like I just got so much history with those guys, so much respect for Patrick Mahomes, especially.

“Texas guy, we got the same financial advisor, so no matter what I do, I could just never get away from Patrick Mahomes. He’s always running away and throwing left-handed passes on me, on and off the football field. So I got a lot of respect for all those guys. It’s gonna be a tough game.”

A Derrick Thomas fan

Despite despising the Chiefs, Miller said his favorite player of all-time wore red and gold: Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas.

Whenever he’s in Kansas City as he will be Sunday with the Bills, Miller makes a point of paying tribute to Thomas, who had 126 1/2 sacks in his 11 seasons with the Chiefs before his untimely death in 2000.

“I molded my game to him and he was the reason why I wore 58 in Denver,” Miller said. “Every time I’m on that field and I’m warming up, I look for that 58 that’s on the Ring of Honor and just give ... him a moment of silence and give him my energy, because I want to continue to try to play the game the way he played it.

“Arrowhead Stadium has always been a special place for me and they got a tough team like they usually do.”

Miller was traded by the Broncos last season before they had played the Chiefs, and he missed the 2020 season because of an ankle injury. So this will be his first time back in Kansas City since Dec. 15, 2019.

But Miller hasn’t forgoten the energy Chiefs fans bring.

“Arrowhead Stadium is one of those stadiums that make our league great. It is a hallmark in our league. It’s just one of those traditionally tough places to play,” Miller said.

“You realize that you’re in the NFL when you go to Arrowhead Stadium, and this is what NFL football is all about. “