Buffalo Bills revert back to Tyrod, head to Missouri to face the Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills are set to get back on track as they take their 5-5 record to Arrowhead to play the also struggling Kansas City Chiefs.

The Occasion: Buffalo Bills (5-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) – Week 12 2017 NFL Season

Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Tyrod Taylor

All is back to normal at One Bills Drive. The Nathan Peterman experiment failed and the Buffalo Bills will go back to Tyrod Taylor.

The decision to go with Taylor is finally something pretty much all Bills fans can agree with.

After Peterman threw five picks in a half, he was the laughing-stock of the league last week.

Taylor played excellent last week in clean-up duty, but it was him not starting that proved just how valuable his skill set is to the Bills.

“T-Mobile” will make his first start since the Saints game where the Bills only had the ball for 20 minutes.

I fully expect Tyrod to have a chip on his shoulder and even more motivation to get the job done in what is a very tough stadium to play in.

Shady

LeSean McCoy did rack up over 100 yards last week, but as the season winds down I will be watching for two things:

His quest for 10,000 career rushing yards
Getting over 1,000 yards for this season.

He sits at 709 for this season, meaning he needs just 291 more yards this year.

For his career, he sits at 9,663 meaning he needs just 337 more to reach his personal goal of 10K.

Kansas City allows about 129 rushing yards a game. Shady is very capable of getting close to his personal goal of 10K, and something I am rooting for in over 1,000 on the year.

He will likely reach both by year’s end, but the Chiefs provide a big chance for him to cushion the gaps.

Playoff Implications?

It seems like every time the Bills play the Chiefs, both teams are in a playoff race.

Well, naturally, that is the case this year too.

As awful as the Bills have been the last three weeks (maybe historically bad?), they still have a chance to make the playoffs. They are tied for the last Wild Card spot record-wise.

I took to my favorite place in the entire world (Twitter) and asked The Bills Mafia if they think the Bills will make the playoffs if they beat the Chiefs. Here are the results:

If the bills beat the chiefs do they make the playoffs?
— JJ (@billsshoutsong) November 22, 2017

I love how there is still optimism left in the fan base. Personally agreeing with the results of the poll, a road conference win to get themselves back over .500 would put them in the fast lane to that last playoff spot.

“Defense Wins Championships”

The Bills shouldn’t for a second think that the defense they put out there the last three weeks can even keep up with a struggling Chiefs offense.

Buffalo’s defense used to force turnovers, minimize passing TDs, and held teams under 20 points, and looked elite.

Then, they played the Jets, Saints, and Chargers, giving up 34, 47, and 54 points, respectively.

I’m not really sure how things got so bad so quick. Once they stopped forcing turnovers, it exposed how bad the defense was. It’ll be a tough task to get back to the +/- turnover margin they were at before, but they need to do something.

The run defense has huge gaps, they have a hard time covering, they miss tackles now, and they are a hot mess.

Coach McDermott is a defensive guy and with Tyrod back out there, the team morale is hopefully better than last week.

The defense needs to get back on track or the Bills are screwed.

Injuries and Other Notes

With the Bills, it has always been a “when it rains it pours” sequence of events. They start off hot and everyone is healthy and the fans get pumped.

Then it rains.

The team struggles and all the fun players to watch get injured (or benched) then the team starts losing and the fans go back to “maybe next year”.

Well, Buffalo’s injury report reads as follows:

More from Empire Writes Back

Mike Tolbert, Kelvin Benjamin, Cordy Glenn, and John Miller are all OUT.

Charles Clay, Deonte Thompson, and Jordan Matthews are all QUESTIONABLE.

That is almost literally their entire offense!

Tyrod will be back and ready but will have minimal blocking and passing targets.

It should be interesting or depressing to watch depending on the mood I’m in.

These AFC teams have a long history playing each other, with the Bills having the upper hand 25-21-1. However, the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” league and the Chiefs have won the last three matchups.

Buffalo’s last win against the Chiefs was in 2011 in KC.

Are the Bills due for a win?

For Sure

Arrowhead will be loud and both teams NEED a win this week.

Bold Prediction

23-20 Buffalo Bills take the win in what will be a great game.

Next: Buffalo Bills: Kelvin Benjamin won’t improve Buffalo’s offense

Final Thoughts

Next week, the Buffalo Bills will begin a three-game homestand with a tough divisional matchup against the mighty New England Patriots and the ageless Tom Brady.

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