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Week 14: Bills vs. Chiefs
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Sunday, Dec. 13th
1:00pm ET
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In a battle of two of the league bottom dwellers the Bills head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. Both teams are struggling on both sides of the ball and are the bottom two teams when it comes to converting third downs. This game could be either a real snooze fest or fun to watch like last year's shootout between the two teams.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Matchup: |
Buffalo (4-8) vs. Kansas City (3-9) |
Place: |
Arrowhead Stadium |
Television: |
CBS |
Announcers: |
Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein |
Spread: |
Chiefs by 1
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Series: |
Bills lead 22-17-1 (Bills 2-1 in playoffs) |
Streak: |
Bills Won 2 |
Last Meeting: |
Bills 54-31 in Kansas City (2008) |
Chiefs Offense: |
Rush (24th); Pass (29th); overall (30th) |
Chiefs Defense: |
Rush (27th); Pass (28th); overall (31st) |
Bills Offense: |
Rush (19th); Pass (28th); overall (29th) |
Bills Defense: |
Rush (32nd); Pass (4th); overall (23rd) |
INJURY UPDATE
Kirk Chambers suffered an ankle injury against the Jets and may miss this week's game as well. Chris Draft injured his neck but he should also be ready to go this week. John McCargo (calf) and Terrence McGee are practicing fully and should play on Sunday. Demetrius Bell (knee) and Justin Jenkins are sidelined with knee injuries. Ashton Youboty (ankle) may make it back this week he has been sidelined with a high ankle sprain. Jairus Byrd remains limited during the week but likely will play. Eric Wood, Seth McKinney, Keith Ellison, Derek Fine, Kawika Mitchell, Marcus Buggs, Leodis McKelvin, Derek Schouman, and Brad Butler are among the 14 players who are out for the season.
The Chiefs are short at running back as Kolby Smith has been placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Dantrell Savage missed last week's game with an ankle injury but is fine and will play on Sunday. DE Wallace Gilberry is limited with a back injury.
Check out our Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
DT Marcus Stroud vs. RB Jamaal Charles: Stroud has struggled in clogging up the middle recently which has helped teams beat the Bills on the ground in the middle. Charles has played very well since taking over the starting job and is averaging a whopping 4.8 yards per carry.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. S Mike Brown: Fitzpatrick looks to regain the form he had before the loss to the Jets. He has to watch out for Brown who can beat him as he leads the team with three interceptions to go along with his two sacks. Fitzpatrick needs to account for him on every play even running plays since Brown is second on the team in tackles.
WR Terrell Owens vs. CB Brandon Flowers: T.O. will be looking for a bounce back day against the veteran Flowers. Owens has played better with Fitzpatrick at quarterback but struggled last week. Look for him to make some big plays against a weak pass secondary led by Flowers.
S Jairus Byrd vs. QB Matt Cassel: Byrd is getting healthier by the week and may be ready to get back to his big play ability from the middle of the season. If he can get an early interception it may send Cassel into a tailspin as he has struggled mightily recently especially last week.
RBs Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch vs. LB Demorrio Williams: Jackson and Lynch keep battling for the starting job which should bring out the best in both players when they are in the game. Lynch had his best game of the year in limited action against the Jets. If he breaks off a long run or two he may gain more playing time. Jackson is probably the best offensive player on the team. Williams leads the Chiefs in tackles and he's always around the ball carrier.
LT Jonathan Scott vs. OLB Tambia Hali: Scott will likely start on the left side again with Bell still hurt. Scott is better suited for the right side and will have to watch Hali coming from the edge. He has 6½ sacks on the season.
GAME PLAN
When The Bills Have The Ball: The Bills can try to attack the Chiefs either on the ground or in the air. They should try to run the ball often to help out the weak offensive line. If they have success running the ball the defense can stay fresh and there would be less pressure on Fitzpatrick
When The Chiefs Have The Ball: Look for them to get the confidence back for Cassel who was benched last week. They will likely go with a conservative game plan of short passes mixed in with numerous misdirection running plays to take advantage of the Bills weak defense in the ground game. Teams have beaten the Bills with the misdirection for big plays when someone loses their gap responsibility.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
This game could go either way it will likely come down to which team wants to keep playing this year and which team wants to pack it in. I think both teams will try their best and come out and play hard. Last year's contest in Arrowhead was a wild one and I expect this one to be wild as well. This game can either be a snooze fest or an exciting game between two poor teams. I pick the exciting option with the Bills pulling out a win:
Bills 31, Chiefs 28
Season Prediction Record: (6-6)
Season Record Against The Spread: (6-6)
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