The Kansas City Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is running hot at the right time of the season, but there are ways for the Chiefs defense to douse the flames, or rather, keep them at bay.

Munich – The Buffalo Bills’ offensive engine was running at full speed. No dropout, no shifting error, no overheating. Nearly four hours later, all that was left for Bill Belichick to say at the press conference was that the Bills had rolled over his New England Patriots in every way. A show of power. 47:17. One can speak of a “perfect game” by the Bills. No punt, no turnover, every drive ended with a touchdown.

With a few entries in the record books and a lot of self-confidence in their luggage, Josh Allen and the Bills now take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. But how can the Chiefs defence stop Josh Allen when the offence seems almost unstoppable?

Spagnulo: “Will show a lot of different formations “

“The Bills are a dangerous team with a lot of weapons,” praised defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo, continuing, “We’re going to show a lot of different formations and have to be disciplined.”

With his almost unique throwing ability, Josh Allen already leveraged several defenses. The Patriots paid a heavy price when they tried to go man-to-man against the Bills’ receivers several times. Especially against deep crossing routes, where the pass receiver runs across from one side of the field to the other, the man coverage didn’t hold up.

“Josh Allen can throw the ball anywhere he wants. He’s explosive and gets the ball in tight windows,” Chiefs star Chris Jones said before the game. And it’s not the first time the two teams have met: the Chiefs fell foul of Allen on game five. The quarterback repeatedly punished communication problems in the secondary with deep passes, and also repeatedly provided highlight plays with his improvisational skills.

“Passive” defence

Spagnulo runs an aggressive, blitz-heavy defence. After a shaky start to the season, the defence stabilised over the last few weeks and months. The coordination problems decreased, the defence created more pressure and turnovers.

Against the spectacular Allen, however, an unspectacular gameplan could be the answer. The Bills quarterback doesn’t miss one-on-one situations against secondaries, and with his mobility, he’s good at dodging the blitz and picking up yards on his own or getting the ball off quickly to Cole Beasley or Stefon Diggs.

However, his Achilles’ heel throughout the season proved to be his short passing game. And that was when he had to operate it constantly. On passes between one and ten yards through the air, he has nine touchdowns this season – and seven interceptions.

So the Chiefs might try to go with just four pass rushers while positioning two deep safeties to limit the explosive plays and “invite” Allen to the short passing game. Because, when the gun arm has to aim accurately, scatters can definitely happen.

New personnel situation

In addition, the fact that Juan Thornhill has established himself as a solid safety alongside Tyrann Mathieu should play into the Chiefs’ favor. Earlier in the season (and in Week 5 against the Bills), Head Coach Andy Reid’s team still relied on Dan Sorensen, who allowed over 100 yards in his coverage in the first meeting and failed to prevent big plays several times over the course of the season opener.

Chris Jones, who was forced to rest in the fifth because of a wrist injury, gives the defensive line the star power it needs to apply pressure through the middle, but at the same time warns, “It’s very hard to bring him down. If he goes out of the pocket and creates himself, it can be very dangerous. “

As a runner, Allen averages 6.5 yards rushing and can consistently break tackles thanks to his athleticism and size. Another threat the Chiefs need to be prepared for.

Can the engine be stopped?

It’s clear that Allen and the Bills offense are going to rack up yards. The team’s talent is too good to stop them completely. If the Chiefs play too much “more cautious” coverages, there is also the danger that the already weak run defence will be run into the ground.

But the mixture of “inviting short passing” and variable formations to throw Allen off his game could be a strategy to at least throw sand in the gears.

And where there is sand, the engine can also falter.