The Buffalo Bills are coming off a statement win over Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in week five. But what makes the franchise around quarterback Josh Allen so strong right now?

Munich – It was less than ten months ago that the Buffalo Bills suffered a bitter defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the battle for a place in the Super Bowl, the team around quarterback superstar Patrick Mahomes dominated the AFC Championship Game and gave the Bills no chance in an unchallenged 38:24 victory.

In the Sunday Night Game of week five, a rematch of the game took place – with the opposite outcome. Buffalo won 38-20, and away from home at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

While the Bills lead the AFC East with a record of 4-1, the Chiefs are in last place in the AFC West with two wins and three losses.

But how did it come about that the Bills are now so strong after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the season? What makes the team, which is already listed as one of the top favourites for the Super Bowl by betting companies, so special?

Sovereign quarterback

Quarterback Josh Allen has been a bench this season. The playmaker already has nearly 1,400 passing yards after week five, with twelve touchdowns to just two interceptions.

And he is also contributing well in the running game. He has put almost 200 yards and two touchdowns on the scoreboard so far. The 25-year-old hardly makes any mistakes and is already being talked about as an MVP candidate.

Score and prevent big plays

The Bills are doing one thing really well right now: the franchise is making big plays, but hardly allowing any.

Chiefs quarterback Mahomes completed only two passes of at least 20 yards in the entire game. “That’s what we try to do every week,” explained safety Micah Hyde. At the same time, playmaker Allen keeps getting really long passes to his teammates. Against the Chiefs, for example, he completed one touchdown pass of 53 yards and one of 35 yards.

Strong receiving corps

Receivers play an important role for the Bills. While Stefon Diggs has yet to set off any fireworks this season with just one touchdown, his fellow receivers are stepping in. Emmanuel Sanders scored two touchdowns against the Chiefs and already has four this season.

Even more convincing, however, is the team’s secret weapon: tight end Dawson Knox. Five touchdowns in five games, 117 receiving yards against the Chiefs. “Josh (Allen) trusts him to make plays, and he’s made plays, and that’s how they grow together,” head coach Sean McDermott enthused.

Takeaways without end

In week five the franchise confirmed the trend from the previous weeks. A fumble recovery in each of halves one and two, as well as two interceptions after the break, continued to add to the team’s takeaway account.

The Bills have won the right of attack 15 times in the first five games through a turnover, more often than any other team. The Dallas Cowboys are in second place in this statistic with eleven.

The right attitude

A 38:20 win against former champion Kansas City is actually a remarkable success – but the players didn’t want to know anything about high flights of fancy after the game. Instead, they analysed and put their away win into the right context. “I think our win is being made into a bigger deal than it actually is. We’re in week five,” Allen stated.

He continued, “Four wins don’t get you into the playoffs. We got one win. That’s our goal every week.”

And for that, the morale has to be right. The second half of the game had to be postponed for more than an hour and ten minutes because of a thunderstorm around the stadium.

No problem for the Bills. “We come out on the field and stay strong even after a long thunderstorm interruption. I’m proud of the way our team handled the situation,” the quarterback stressed.

Similarly, receiver Sanders expressed, “We’ll enjoy it on the flight back. I’ve already enjoyed our win here, though. You can tell by my voice, I lost it yelling. But at the same time, it’s not like we won the Super Bowl. It’s week five. We’ve got to get back to work.”

After all, the next challenge awaits in week six with the Tennessee Titans.