Revenge might be best served in the playoffs, but the Buffalo Bills are in position to score a few points toward redemption when they welcome the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Bills (8-2) appear to be the greatest impediment standing in the way of the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs becoming the first NFL team to go undefeated in the regular season since the New England Patriots in 2007.

History and hyperbole are plentiful as the Chiefs (9-0) land in Buffalo for what is being framed as the marquee game of Week 11 and potentially of the 2024 regular season.

Based on recent matchups between these rivals, the final minutes are likely to be worth the wait yet again in this storybook series. The Chiefs have come from behind eight times this season, while the Bills have won three times when trailing at the half.

It’s just the fifth time since 1970 that NFL teams with eight or more wins meet in Week 11 or sooner. The home team won each of the previous four matchups.

Kansas City is attempting to become the first team to go undefeated in a 17-game regular season.

It’s tough to discern where the momentum stands, even with the Chiefs entering the game undefeated.

Kansas City needed a last-second blocked field goal to knock off the Denver Broncos last week, sparking quarterback Patrick Mahomes to send a warning to his teammates.

“I mean, you’re playing the best,” he said of rival quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills. “The best of the best. That’s what you want in this league. I’ve been able to go up against Josh a multitude of times, and every single game it seems like it comes down to the very end. He is a guy that competes and has that fire. I think you can see that fire that he plays with and that kind of goes through his entire team.”

Buffalo, which has won five straight games, has won the past three regular-season meetings in the series, all of which were played in Kansas City. The Bills, however, can still tap into the revenge factor. The Chiefs knocked the Bills out of the playoffs last year with a 27-24 win in the divisional round in Buffalo in January.

Despite owning good individual stats against Kansas City, Allen is focusing on the bottom line.

“I know we haven’t beat them in the playoffs,” he said on Wednesday. “So that’s the only thing that really matters.”

The matchup features two of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL in Mahomes, a two-time MVP, and the decorated but overshadowed Allen.

Their offenses have been getting the job done in different ways. Although Mahomes has just three more touchdowns (12) than interceptions, Kansas City hangs onto the ball thanks to a league-leading 52% third-down conversion rate.

The Bills are tied for third in points per game (29) — the Chiefs average 24.3 — and Allen didn’t throw two picks in a game until a win over the Indianapolis Colts last week.

Buffalo leads the NFL in turnover margin at plus-13. The Bills also have a respectable defense of their own. The group is allowing just 19.3 points per game and has 19 takeaways, the latter figure ranking second in the league.

Red-zone defense figures to be paramount against a Chiefs offense that keys off Mahomes’ dynamic decision-making and threat to run or unleash brazen throws.

Buffalo allows touchdowns on just 47.2% of red-zone incursions (eighth in the NFL), while the Chiefs have scored 53.6% of the time (13th) they have been inside the 20-yard line.

The Kansas City defense, meanwhile, allows just 17.9 points per game (tied for fifth best) and is fourth in yards allowed (289.9).

“I think they do a great job switching the looks that they’re giving,” Allen said. “Obviously, we know Chris Jones is a game-wrecker, one of the best if not the best interior D linemen in the game right now. You pair that up with some of their DBs and linebackers and they’re flying all over the field. We’re going to have our hands full.”

Allen is tied for fourth in the NFL with 17 touchdown passes. All four of his interceptions this season have come in the past three games.

“He’s doing a great job with the ball,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s using everybody, and he’s not forcing anything in there, obviously, so I think he’s doing great with his decision-making.”