Two Bills Drive

‘You’ll hear it a lot from football fans outside of Kansas City: “ABC. Anyone but the Chiefs.” The Chiefs are in their seventh straight AFC Championship game and if they advance, it would be their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years. If you’re thinking it’s time for someone else to get a chance to play on the biggest stage in American sports, you’re not alone.’

‘Josh Allen had a better 2024 regular season than did Patrick Mahomes. He averaged more yards per attempt, threw for more touchdowns and fewer interceptions, took fewer sacks, created more explosive plays and added more expected points per dropback, via TruMedia. And yet … there is no possible way that one can say any other QB in this league is better than Mahomes. Not given what we know about Mahomes, what he’s capable of, what he does on a weekly basis in the playoffs and even what he’s done against this specific Bills team.’

‘Counting the playoffs, Cook has had 15% of his runs go for zero or negative yards, the 11th-lowest rate among the 46 running backs with 100-plus carries. Fascinatingly, nine of the 10 backs with a lower rate in that advanced stat also had a lower percentage of eight-plus defenders in the box on their respective runs this season. The only back with a lower rate of runs that have gone for no gain or lost yardage and a higher stacked-box rate is Derrick Henry.’

‘While Allen wasn’t nearly as prolific as, say, Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson in the MVP race, there’s a reason he’s drawn plenty of support for the NFL’s top individual honor: Not only has the Bills’ leader remained dynamic as a dual threat, ranking second only to Jalen Hurts in rushing scores, but he’s significantly cut down on untimely turnovers, enjoying his most efficient run since 2020, when — not coincidentally — he also led Buffalo to an AFC Championship clash against the Chiefs.’