To get the Kansas City Chiefs back into the Victory Column after their first defeat in eleven months, coach Andy Reid turned his game book upside down against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
For the second time in Patrick Mahomes ’37 career start, the Chiefs ran the ball more than it passed. You were rewarded with a 26-17 win for the change.
The Chiefs rushed for 245 yards on Monday, the most since 2012. Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire led the way with 161 yards.
Kansas City (5-1) also had 46 rushes, according to ESPN Stats & Information Research, which was equated for most attempts by a team Reid-coached in the regular or postseason. (Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons before coaching the Chiefs in 2013.)
Mahomes was still efficient, going 21 of 26 with two touchdown passes to Travis Kelce in the first half. But Mahomes threw only 225 yards on a rainy night in Buffalo (4-2).
But days after veteran Le’Veon Bell signed on to create an offensive spark, the running game was the star even without Bell. He won’t be able to come to the Chiefs until later this week because of the COVID-19 test protocols.
The Chiefs played most of the game without two offensive linemen. Guard Kelechi Osemele has torn a tendon in each knee last week, while Tackle Mitchell Schwartz was eliminated from the game in the first half with a back injury.
The Chiefs led a significant portion of last week’s game against the Raiders, but Mahomes still fell 46 times with 43 passes and three sacks. Chiefs running backs only had 11 carry, 10 of which went to Edwards-Helaire.
The loss to the Raiders broke the Chiefs’ 13-game winning streak, including the playoffs and Super Bowl LIV.
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