Kansas City Chiefs take on Buffalo Bills in AFC Championship rematch. Who wins?
The football world is set for a tantalizing treat, as two AFC titans square off in a highly-anticipated bout on Sunday night.
The contenders: the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. The venue: Arrowhead Stadium. The stakes: about as high as they could possibly be.
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It's a battle that has AFC Championship written all over it, perhaps because it's the same exact matchup that comprised that game last season (right down to the home stadium). Both teams have similar aspirations of returning to the conference finale this season.
And many believe that these two will be the ones competing to represent their conference in Super Bowl LVI. That makes this an incredibly important affair for both sides. Revenge vendettas, bragging rights, and strategic advantages are all in play.
So who wins?
Nick Wright believes the Chiefs will come away victorious.
"I err on the side of, ‘They played twice last year and neither was competitive,'" Wright stated on Friday's episode of "First Things First."
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"The first game the Bills were like, ‘We’re not gonna let you throw the ball.' So the Chiefs ran it 46 times for 250 yards. Second game, Bills were like, ‘Alright, that strategy didn’t work,' so they played the run. Hill and Kelce had 290 yards on 22 catches. The Chiefs offense this year only turns the ball over or scores a TD. That's it. No one has stopped the offense. They've only stopped themselves. Do I think the Bills' defense is ready? I do not."
Michael Vick knows a thing or two about high-powered offenses. He also picked the Chiefs to win, arguing that Patrick Mahome and crew would be too much to handle for Buffalo.
"They win 70% of their games at home, and it's hard to win in Kansas City when you see all that red and the crowd is bearing down on you. Last week, I feel like Andy Reid, Mahomes and the offense really found their groove down in Philadelphia. When Josh Allen comes into that building, he knows what he's getting into. It is AFC Championship 2.0, and he's going to have to do everything in his power on the offensive side of the ball for the Buffalo Bills to win this game. I just don't see it happening."
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Kevin Wildes, though, just couldn't get past Kansas City's defensive woes.
"When I see a team with the second-worst defense, which is trending towards a historically bad defense, I say, 'You know what – not great,'" Wildes said.
"When I see the lowly Eagles run the ball up and down the field and have Jalen Hurts combine for 434 yards through the air and on the ground, I think, 'You know what – not good.’ The Eagles are a terrible team, and you let Jalen Hurts cook you up all over the place. Josh Allen might be better than all [the QBs the Chiefs have faced this year.]"
Offensive firepower will undoubtedly be abundant as two of the league's most deadly regimes square off. And while the analysts differed in their verbal dissertations, each shared the same sentiment on what will be the ultimate decisive factor: Defense.
Kansas City and Buffalo will face off Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
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