Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs are in familiar territory. For the seventh straight season, all with Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback, the Chiefs will be playing in the AFC Championship Game. For the fourth time in five years, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will be their opponents.
Having Mahomes is obviously the key, but the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 2019 due to changing defensive coordinators. Bob Sutton did a poor job in 2018, and he was replaced by Steve Spagnuolo the following season. With Spagnuolo at the helm, the defense improved massively, leading to three titles in five years.
Andy Reid knows that, as much as he has the best quarterback in the NFL, he needs to keep his defense off the field. Speaking with NFL reporters ahead of Sunday's game against the Bills, Reid stressed the importance of stopping Allen and the offense on third downs:
"One of the things we'll keep working on is you've got to be able to get off the field on third downs. We keep stressing that, Steve [Spagnuolo] does, and so we've got to, you know you've got to be able to take care of those third downs. Especially when you've worked so hard and put yourself in a good position. Listen, Bills do a heck of a job with that. They're a really good football team offensively."
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Chiefs' third-down worries could become a problem against the Bills' offense
Kansas City has once again dominated through the regular season, and they also defeated the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round with a two-possession score. However, stopping third-down conversions has been a bit of a problem for the team during the 2024 season.
On Saturday, the Texans converted on 10 of 17 attempts. During the regular season, when playing against the Bills, Allen's team was successful on 9 out of 15 attempts. Buffalo defeated Kansas City 30-21 in Week 11.
Reid and the Chiefs haven't lost a playoff game since the 2021 season, but to continue their quest of becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls, they can't let the Bills convert so many third downs. Otherwise, they'll fall short of their historic goal.
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