No 13-second magic this time as Chiefs lose to Buffalo Bills. Here’s how it played out

The Chiefs and Bills provided another marquee meeting of AFC powerhouses in a Week 6 showdown Sunday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

In a game that saw six lead changes, Bills quarterback Josh Allen made sure his team would come out on top when he connected with tight end Dawson Knox for a 14-yard touchdown. That put the Bills up 24-20 late in the fourth quarter and held as the final score.

Bills cornerback Taron Johnson sealed it when he picked off Patrick Mahomes’ errant throw with less than a minute remaining.

“We have a game like this, it’s right there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I mean, it’s two good teams playing each other. The smallest of things can get you off-course and the other team can beat you.”

Sunday’s showdown was a battle of AFC superiority, with two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks — Mahomes and Allen — on display. It didn’t disappoint, as the two gunslingers went at it and led their respectively potent offenses up and down the field.

Mahomes completed 25 of 40 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers, but his favoritewere wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who hauled in five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Travis Kelce, who totaled eight catches for 108 yards.

Smith-Schuster caught his first touchdown pass as a member of the Chiefs and fellow KC receiver Mecole Hardman contributed three catches for 42 yards and a TD.

“It’s a great feeling to run in that end zone in this uniform and in this atmosphere,” Smith-Schuster said. “Scoring touchdowns here is what I came to do.”

Allen kept pace with Mahomes, completing 27 of 40 passes for 329 yards, three touchdowns and a 117.6 passer rating. His favorite targets were receivers Stefon Diggs, who torched the Chiefs with 10 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown, and Gabe Davis, who had three receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.

The Bills quarterback added 27 yards rushing on 12 carries, helping Buffalo gain 443 yards of offense.

“You had a chance to see two of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League and they put on a display of good football,” Reid said.

But for all the second-half drama, this contest had an odd feel to it to it. From the jump, it was unlike previous games between the two AFC juggernauts — a series of shootouts that produced 241 combined points in the teams’ four most recent games (including two postseason games).

The Chiefs and Bills traded turnovers on their respective opening drives. Allen fumbled at the Chiefs’ 17-yard line. Mahomes returned the favor with an interception into the end zone from the Bills’ 9 after targeting Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was defended by Bills rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam.

“I was trying to put it at that one spot that receiver could get it, no one else could get it, that high point in the back part of the end zone,” Mahomes said. “We got our hands on it, but they made a great play. We can’t make those mistakes, because if you look at it, that’s three points, and the end of the game we’re going for a field goal instead of a touchdown.

“I always believe in my guys and try to make those throws and give them a chance. But their guy made a play at a big point of the game.”

Buffalo got on the board first with Tyler Bass’ 39-yard field goal on the Bills’ second possession. That drive featured Allen connecting with Diggs for a 31-yard gain.

Mahomes responded on the ensuing possession with two big plays. On the first, he connected with Kelce for a 25-yard gain. On the second, well, it was pure Mahomes magic.

Facing a third-and-10 on the Bills’ 42, Mahomes scrambled to his right and exited the pocket to escape pressure. He then gave a pump-fake and turned back to his left before spotting Smith-Schuster on the left side of the field. Mahomes threw a dart to Smith-Schuster, who spun away from three defenders and broke free down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown.

That play gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead.

“JuJu is strong and he’s getting more familiar with the offense every week,” Reid said. “That’ll help us as we go forward. You got to see the strength and the speed combination, and I was happy for him.”

The Bills threatened to take the lead on their next possession, marching in 11 plays to the Chiefs’ 3-yard line. But Allen’s fourth-down pass didn’t connect — Buffalo receiver Isaiah McKenzie was open in the end zone — and the Bills turned it over on downs.

Buffalo would eventually retake the lead late in the second quarter after the Chiefs failed to take advantage of Tommy Townsend’s 56-yard punt, which pinned the Bills at their own 4-yard line.

With the Bills facing third-and-13 at their own 1, Allen connected with Davis for an 18-yard gain. Four plays and 99 yards later, Allen found Davis again, this time for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Bills a 10-7 lead in the waning moments of the first half.

But in a situation reminiscent of last season’s AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead, where the Chiefs needed just 13 seconds to get into field-goal range, the Chiefs had 12 seconds after the kickoff to drive into range for a field-goal attempt.

That was clearly too much time to give Mahomes. He connected first with running back Jerrick McKinnon for 19 yards and then to Kelce for 9. There was 1 second left at that point, and Butker calmly drilled a 62-yard field goal to tie it at 10 at halftime.

The Bills held a slight edge in most key statistical categories through the first half, most notably total yards of offense (281-217) and third-down efficiency — the visitors converted three of six attempts on third down. But the Chiefs clamped down in the second half, and the Bills went 4-of-11 on third-down attempts overall for the game.

The Chiefs (4-2) have one more game before their in-season bye week (no game Oct. 30). The Bills improved to a 5-1 and gained the all-important tiebreaker over the Chiefs for the conference’s No. 1 seed, should it come to that.

“I hope to see them again soon,” Smith-Schuster said.

Reid indicated there are lessons to be learned from this loss.

“There’s some good things we can take out of this game, as tough as it is, with our young guys and how they stepped up and competed,” he said. “We had too many mistakes when it was all said and done. They had a few less ones than what we did, but it’s good to learn from this and it can benefit you down the road if you handle it right.

“I think this team, we’ll definitely do that.”

Here’s what else stood out Sunday afternoon:

PATCHWORK SECONDARY DID ITS BEST

The Chiefs were shorthanded heading into the game at the cornerback position.

Rashad Fenton was inactive with a hamstring injury, and the Chiefs elected to not activate rookie Trent McDuffie from injured reserve. That left the big task of defending Diggs and Davis to L’Jarius Sneed and a pair of rookies: Jaylon Watson and Joshua Williams.

Diggs and Davis each had a big game, but Reid came away satisfied with Watson’s and Williams’ effort.

“We had some nicks and bruises and some guys stepped up like that,” Reid said.

Watson finished the game with six tackles, while Williams chipped in with nine tackles and a pass defensed.

WYLIE BEAT TWICE

The Chiefs’ offensive line needed to control the Bills’ pass rush, but they couldn’t hold down the one player they’d given their biggest priority.

Von Miller was a one-man wrecking crew, recording two sacks on Mahomes after beating right tackle Andrew Wylie with a spin move and a speed rush in the game. Miller finished with four tackles, two sacks and two quarterback hits, but Mahomes believed his protection was adequate.

“I thought our offensive line did a pretty good job, for the most part,” Mahomes said. “They had the one at the end of the game where I held the ball too long and he sacked me.

“He had the one spin move, I mean, that’s like the patented Von Miller spin that he’s going to bring out once or twice a game — he’s kind of mastered that. It happens. At the end of the day, how do we respond? I thought the guys responded well.”

BOMBS AWAY

Chiefs punter Townsend had himself a fine game in spite of the Chiefs’ loss. He punted three times for 173 yards, averaging a healthy 57.7 yards per attempt to help flip field position in a hotly contest game. The third-year pro entered the game averaging a net of 48.7 yards per punt, No. 1 in the league.

BUTKER GOOD FROM DOWNTOWN

Kicker Matthew Wright set a new team record in Week 5 with a 59-yard field goal against Las Vegas while filling in for Harrison Butker, who was out with a left-ankle sprain.

Wright’s record lasted exactly six days.

Butker returned to action Sunday for the first time since Week 1 and drilled a 62-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. He knew it was good right away, turning his back while the ball was still in the air.

Butker made two field goals and two extra-point kicks Sunday. He missed a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter.

“He’s an amazing kicker,” Reid said. “It was good to have him back out there.”

INJURIES

Safety Justin Reid briefly left the game in the first quarter to get his right ankle re-taped. He returned shortly after. There were no other injuries of note for the Chiefs, as confirmed later by their coach.

“We had no injuries today,” Reid said.

NOT SUITED UP

Cornerback Rashad Fenton (hamstring), rookie safety Bryan Cook (concussion), running back Ronald Jones, quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth, defensive end Joshua Kaindoh and rookie offensive lineman Darian Kinnard were inactive Sunday.

UP NEXT

The Chiefs are on the road in Week 7 to take on the San Francisco 49ers (3-3) at Levi’s Stadium.