Arrowhead Report

Chiefs-Bills Live Game Thread

Kansas City Chiefs visit Buffalo Bills in midseason AFC showdown.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets ready to throw a pass as Kansas City's Chris Jones heads for him during first half action against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, Nov.17, 2024.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets ready to throw a pass as Kansas City's Chris Jones heads for him during first half action against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, Nov.17, 2024. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- To see the live game thread, see below...

First quarter

  • Chiefs are now 7-2 on the opening coin toss. They love to defer, trying to double-up on scoring drives before and after halftime. Josh Allen gets the ball first.
  • Bills penalized on opening kickoff but still drive down field. Bolton diagnoses Cook run for 4-yard loss, but on next play, initial third-and-long, Drue Tranquill loses footing in coverage, gives up 23-yard touchdown. Allen on drive: 6 of 6, 52 yards, TD. James Cook, 5-27.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 1 – Josh Allen to Dalton Kincaid, 23-yard touchdown on opening drive. Drue Tranquill lost his footing in coverage. Drive: 11 plays, 84 yards, 7:00. Bills 7, Chiefs 0, 8:00, first quarter.
  • Chiefs go three-and-out on opening drive.
  • Kansas City stops Chiefs on third-and-7 and Buffalo elects to go on fourth-and-2. Bryan Cook breaks up Josh Allen’s fourth-down pass. Chiefs ball.
  • Chiefs bounced back well defensively with Cook’s clutch fourth-down stop, and offensively. Used Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Brashard Smith to get into first-and-goal from 3.
  • Kareem Hunt now 18 of 20 (90 percent) on converting third- or fourth-and-1.
  • End of first quarter: Bills 7, Chiefs 0.

Second quarter

  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 2 – On first play of quarter, with Mahomes split out wide, Rice takes Wildcat option (same play from last week) and scores from 3 yards out. First rushing TD of Rice’s career. Bills 7, Chiefs 7, 14:56 second quarter. Drive: seven plays, 52 yards, 4:21.
  • Ashton Gillotte helps George Karlaftis sack Allen on third-and-3. Key stop for Chiefs. Bills penalized on ensuing punt for personal-foul facemask. First-and-10, Chiefs, at their own 37-yard line.
  • Christian Benford sacks Mahomes on corner blitz off left edge, but on next play, Mahomes finds Rice for 24 yards.
  • Joey Bosa spoils Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s first carry, loss of 2 yards, beating Jawaan Taylor. Mahomes misses Gray, and third-and-12 pass to Worthy short of line to gain. Reid sends FG team on field. Chiefs have scored 10 unanswered since Bryan Cook’s fourth-down pass breakup.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 3 – Harrison Butker’s 46-yard field goal is good. Chiefs 10, Bills 7, 9:27 second quarter. Drive: seven plays, 36 yards, 3:20.
  • On first down, Allen looks to run but draws in spy Nick Bolton, flips ball over his head for 18 yards to Dawes. Then, on second-and-13, Allen finds Kincaid in the left flat for 47 yards. Huge play sets up 3-yard Ty Johnson touchdown.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 4 – Ty Johnson untouched behind block of guard, 3 yard touchdown. Bills re-take lead. Buffalo 14, Kansas City 10, 6:39, second quarter. Drive: five plays, 70 yards, 2:48.
  • Tyquan Thornton returns kickoff 32 yards to Chiefs’ 40, his second big return of day. Jawaan Taylor called for another illegal formation on third down. Chiefs line up for fourth-and-3 from Buffalo 39, but Bills have to call timeout. On fourth-down pass, Cole Bishop appeared to hit Rashee Rice a tad early but no flag. Incomplete/turnover on downs.
  • Dawson Knox sneaks behind Chiefs’ secondary, Josh Allen finds him off play-action pass for 30 yards to Chiefs’ 3-yard line. Reggie Gilliam gives Allen a nudge on 1-yard touchdown run.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 5 – Josh Allen 1-yard touchdown run. Bills 21, Chiefs 10, 1:33 second quarter. Drive: seven plays, 60 yards, 2:39.
  • Fantastic route by Hollywood Brown. Mahomes finds him for 40 yards, inches shy of touchdown. Then, huge stop by Bills (Rousseau and Poyer) to hold Hunt for no gain. Mahomes incomplete on third down. Chiefs settle for field goal after three plays from 1.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 6 – Harrison Butker 19-yard field goal. Bills 21, Chiefs 13, 0:03 second quarter. Drive: seven plays, 66 yards, 1:30.
  • HALFTIME: Chiefs trail for only second time at halftime this season, Bills 21, Chiefs 13. Cole Bishop hit Travis Kelce pretty hard there in end zone. Tight end went to locker room before halftime with athletic trainers.

Third quarter

  • Cole Bishop makes another critical defensive play, breaking up third-down pass on Chiefs’ opening drive of second half to force punt.
  • Designed run by Allen on third down goes for 11 yards, but Chiefs stiffen. Big third-down stop by Bolton to force punt.
  • Mahomes gets good protection on third-and-9, sees Kelce at last minute for 28 yards. Humongous play. However, on second-and-6 from Chiefs’ 44, officials fail to see a tipped pass at line of scrimmage and flag Mahomes for intentional grounding. Replays clearly showed his pass would’ve been in the area of a receiver if pass wasn’t tipped. Officials won’t allow replay review. Mahomes sacked on next play. Chiefs punt again.
  • Allen hits Shakir on shallow crossing route for 20, then Elijah Moore holds on for a 28-yard reception inside the red zone. Allen dives in from 1-yard out.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 7 – Josh Allen 1-yard touchdown, second rushing score of day. Bills 28, Chiefs 13, 1:34, third quarter. Drive: Eight plays, 74 yards, 3:57.
  • Mahomes taking lots of hits, but escapes third-and-10 hole, hits Hollywood Brown deep down left sideline. Chiefs driving in two-score game.
  • END OF THIRD QUARTER: Bills 28, Chiefs 13.

Fourth quarter

  • Mahomes literally played out of his shoe on that fourth-and-17 pass to Rice for 28 yards. Chiefs turned Joey Bosa loose, then reset the pocket. Rice was wide open.
  • SCORING UPDATE NO. 8 -- Good misdirection in backfield, fake handoff to Rice in motion and Hunt plows in on fourth-down touchdown from 2 yards out. Great block by Kingsley Suamataia. Then, perfect throw from Mahomes to Kelce, who sticks the catch a yard inside the goal line for critical two-point conversion. Chiefs within one score, 28-21, 11:32 fourth quarter. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 5:02.
  • Injury update: Jawaan Taylor, ankle, questionable.
  • James Cook now over 100 yards. Including postseason, the Chiefs had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 27 straight games (Lamar Jackson in 2024 opener), the league’s longest active streak. The last time a RB topped 100 on Chiefs was 34 games ago, Zamir White on Christmas Day '23.
  • Key defensive sequence there for Chiefs. Great play by Trent McDuffie to stuff Cook, then Leo Chenal sacks Josh Allen to force punt.
  • TURNOVER: Mahomes finds Kelce for big first down but Chiefs have to burn timeout due to miscommunication. Then, Joey Bosa pressure helps create Maxwell Hairston interception. Bills ball.
  • Bills final drive comes down to Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal, which bounces off right upright, no good. Mahomes has ball with no timeouts and 22 seconds, at Bills’ 42-yard line.
  • Mahomes can’t hit Tyquan Thornton in end zone (Bishop breaks up another pass). Mahomes’ final pass with three seconds left falls incomplete.
  • FINAL SCORE: Bills 28, Chiefs 21.
andy rei
Nov 2, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaks with the referees during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

When you’ve played in seven consecutive AFC championships, it’s OK to talk about playoffs in the middle of the season.

“This is one of those matchups where this game could be a huge deciding factor of seeding for playoffs,” Chris Jones said Thursday.

Leave it to the Chiefs’ All-Pro defensive tackle to realize the gravity of Sunday’s game in Buffalo. If those playoffs began today, the Chiefs would barely be in the postseason – as the AFC’s seventh and final seed.

Kansas City also already has two conference losses, and that AFC record will go a long way toward determining who gets in and who stays home in January.

Toss in the Chiefs’ schedule after they return from their Week 10 bye – at Denver (5-2) on Nov. 16, home against Indianapolis (7-1) on Nov. 23 and at Dallas (3-4-1) on a short week Nov. 27 – and Sunday’s game at Buffalo becomes even more important.

But before kickoff, how about a few appetizers…

Recommended stories you may have missed this week:

trent mcduffi
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) makes a catch for a first down against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
patrick mahomes, kareem hun
Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) speaks with Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (29) during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Zak Gilbert
ZAK GILBERT

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office. He now serves as the Kansas City Chiefs Beat Writer On SI

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