Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) @ Buffalo Bills (5-2)
Sunday, November 2, 4:25 PM ET
The biggest matchup on the NFL schedule in Week 9 is your annual preview of the AFC Championship Game. The Kansas City Chiefs are traveling on the road to face off against the Buffalo Bills, and both teams have shown a little bit of vulnerability at different times this year.
The Bills have struggled defensively at times this season, and they’re hoping the additions they made in free agency that finally were eligible to play this past week (Michael Hoecht, Larry Ogunjobi) can make a massive impact. Especially with Ed Oliver now out with an injury, those guys are going to need to have huge games.
Patrick Mahomes has played exceptionally well over the majority of the last month, and after two years of seemingly being dragged down by his playmakers, the Chiefs have a full complement of weapons for him to spread the ball to.
That could be bad news in this game for a Buffalo defense that has not been able to stop many teams so far this season.
When you get these two teams together, you expect the fireworks. You expect late-game heroics. You expect both Mahomes and Josh Allen to play the best version of their respective games.
The Chiefs opened as 1.5-point road favorites, and I could see them staying hot on the road, getting one against their bitter AFC rivals here in the middle of the season. No matter what happens, there will be “see you in January” vibes at the end.
Prediction: Chiefs win 32-31