Chiefs vs. Bills: NFL Week 14 Preview and Predictions
One of the biggest games of the Kansas City Chiefs' 2023-24 season is here. It's under different circumstances than many expected entering the year, yet Week 14 is still shaping up to be a pivotal matchup against the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Coming off their bye week, Sean McDermott's Buffalo squad sits at 6-6 and is pretty much playing for its season on Sunday afternoon. Kansas City, on the other hand, still projects to make the playoffs comfortably but is on the outside looking in as far as the race for the AFC's top seed is concerned. A win propels the Chiefs squarely back into the race, whereas a loss could lead to Patrick Mahomes having to play on the road in the postseason.
The Chiefs are the hosts for this one, also being favored ever so slightly in Week 14. Patrick Mahomes and company will be on a mission to play a clean, tuned-up brand of football on offense, with Steve Spagnuolo's defense also looking to bounce back. Can Andy Reid's group overcome the Bills' blend of determination and talent in the late afternoon slate? We'll soon find out.
How will Sunday's game unfold? The Arrowhead Report crew makes their predictions.
Joshua Brisco: What a bizarre showdown of two very good football teams with terrible vibes. I am willing to accept that absolutely anything could happen in this game. The Chiefs should be able to take advantage of Buffalo’s injured and underwhelming defense, but the KC offense has sputtered in bad spots all year. I haven’t lost faith in the KC D, but I expect Josh Allen to do some light Captain America cosplay at some point. The Chiefs need this game for the No. 1 seed, but Buffalo needs it for the playoffs. Flip a coin and get ready for something weird.
Prediction: Chiefs 23, Bills 21
Jordan Foote: Both teams desperately need this win, albeit for different reasons. If the Chiefs fail to take care of business at home, they'll find themselves facing a serious uphill battle to gain the AFC's No. 1 seed come playoff time. If Buffalo loses, Josh Allen and company aren't playing postseason football in January. The Chiefs enter this game banged up and reeling just a bit, which could be a massive boost if they overcome adversity and win. I'm expecting the win streak to start next week, however, as the Bills need this one more and are still a very talented team. Buffalo steals a win on the road, leading to some uncomfortable conversations about Kansas City for the next handful of days.
Prediction: Bills 27, Chiefs 23
Mark Van Sickle: The Bills have had the Chiefs’ number in the regular season the last few times at Arrowhead, but this year’s matchup feels different than what we’ve become accustomed to. The Bills are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture and the Chiefs haven’t looked like the Chiefs of recent years past. Despite that, it should make for a fun matchup. We still have Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes leading both teams which means things could get crazy at any given moment, whether that be big touchdown passes or interceptions. Ultimately, I think the Chiefs and their defense come up on the plus side of the turnover battle and come out on top this week.
Prediction: Chiefs 23, Bills 20
Zack Eisen: The Chiefs are in a precarious spot for the first time in the regular season during the early portion of the Mahomes era. This is the earliest they are at risk of falling out of the race for the one-seed in the AFC. They currently sit at the three-seed, but a loss would put them two games back with four to play. It doesn’t help that they have a desperate Bills team coming to Arrowhead this week, who always treat Kansas City as their Super Bowl. It has to be a big bounce-back week for the Chiefs’ defense to win this game. Without Isiah Pacheco on offense, Mahomes will have even more pressure on him to carry the underwhelming supporting cast.
Prediction: Chiefs 21, Bills 13
Conner Christopherson: I call this game the bad vibes game. The bad vibes for both teams are different, but the statement remains the same: the Chiefs and Bills are not feeling good heading into a must-win matchup. On the Chiefs' side, the offense continues to flounder in ways they did not in previous years. On defense, the injuries and linebacker play specifically have stunted a great season by the defense a bit. Maybe I’m naive, but in an absolute must-win game to stay in the race for the one-seed, I see the Chiefs getting up for this game. If they don’t, then this truly is not the same old Chiefs. Time to suit up or shush up.
Prediction: Chiefs 26, Bills 24
Marlow Ferguson Jr.: For a Chiefs offense that has struggled to find any semblance of consistent rhythm, it’ll be interesting to see how they manage the temporary absence of Isiah Pacheco. Week 14 offers yet another instance in which they’re dealing with a team facing a must-win situation in Buffalo. The last time the Chiefs lost two consecutive games at Arrowhead? Week 5 of 2021 … against the Bills. There feels like a real possibility for both teams to come out on top in this matchup of superstar quarterbacks. Kansas City remains the class of the NFL, but in this prediction, we’ll take the more desperate of the two at this point in time.
Prediction: Bills 26, Chiefs 23
