Chiefs' Steve Spagnuolo says Bills offense presents new challenges since Week 14
Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knows that he and his defense have a big challenge awaiting them in Orchard Park, New York. He's not expecting the same team that the Chiefs saw back in Week 14 of the regular season, which was a team good enough to get a three-point victory over K.C. […]
Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knows that he and his defense have a big challenge awaiting them in Orchard Park, New York.
He's not expecting the same team that the Chiefs saw back in Week 14 of the regular season, which was a team good enough to get a three-point victory over K.C. on their home turf. He knows the challenge that Bills QB Josh Allen presents as a passer and a runner, especially at his size. How the rest of the offense has evolved around Allen this season is what has Steve Spagnuolo concerned heading into Sunday night.
"To me, they’ve become really challenging," Spagnuolo said on Thursday. "The run game now is surfacing with (James) Cook. They’ve got both their tight ends now (Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid). I think tight ends are hard to take out of the game, you know, in some regards, it might be we can wipe one out, but these two tight ends and having the two of them. And then you throw the quarterback in there like you're talking about, it just makes them extremely difficult to defend. We’ve just got to be on point in the things that we do and we're going to need all 11 guys wherever the ball ends up wherever they go. It sounds simple, but it's hard to do."
Since facing the Chiefs in Week 14, second-year RB James Cook is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 92 rushes. He's only got in the end zone once on the ground since then, but he's also proved to be quite elusive after the catch in the passing game, averaging 5.9 yards per reception.
As for the tight end duo, Knox has appeared in three games since returning from injured reserve and has often been used as a red zone target, boasting five receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns in that span. Kincaid has developed quite nicely in his rookie season and is racking up the chunk-yardage plays. In the same three-game span, Kincaid has averaged 16.4 yards per reception on over a dozen catches.
The Chiefs' defense will have their hands full for certain, but they've already proven they can contain most NFL offenses this season. They've yet to allow a team to score 30 or more points on the year, and they'll look to keep that streak alive en route to another AFC Championship Game appearance.
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