Chiefs hold off Bills 30-22 for 5th straight win

CBS analyst Rich Gannon and play-by-play man Kevin Harlan were up to every challenge during the Buffalo Bills’ 30-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night.

There were nowhere near that many fans who braved the elements to watch the Chiefs pick up their fifth straight win after a 1-5 start.

The injuries started when left guard Jeff Allen came out of the game with a sprained left ankle. Tackle Eric Fisher went down in the second quarter because of what was termed a neck sprain.

Center Mitch Morse left the game after suffering an apparent concussion. “We’ve got to put them away”.

PASSING OFFENSE: A. It was a productive passing day for quarterback Alex Smith, as he threw for two touchdowns, no interceptions and averaged 8.5 yards per attempt.

Criticized QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, two to Brandon Marshall, and the Jets defence played like it did in September in making Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill look awful until garbage time.

However, the Smith-Maclin combination was to bring Kansas City back into the game as the wideout beat man coverage down the sideline to record a 41-yard touchdown. When a reporter asked if Reid, a former offensive lineman himself, would have been ready to suit up and play if needed, Reid smiled and said, “No. I think we would have had to forfeit at that point!”

– Tyrod Taylor couldn’t have played much better in the first half. Taylor finished 21-of-38 for 291 yards and three touchdowns and running back LeSean McCoy surpassed 10,000 yards from scrimmage for his career as he totaled 70 yards on the ground and 31 via the air. Watkins was having his way with RCB Sean Smith.

On Sunday, the Chiefs needed Smith and he came through. “You’re talking about a Pro Bowl player”. Ware didn’t even begin the season on the Chiefs’ active roster, but Jamaal Charles’ ACL tear opened up a spot. The offense couldn’t make anything happen and Santos was good on a 49-yard field goal.

One of the plays Ryan didn’t challenge was a 37-yard reception made by Jeremy Maclin that set up the Chiefs for a short touchdown run on the very next play.

Jeremy Maclin had nine receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown, and Cairo Santos hit three field goals for the Chiefs (6-5), who also now own the tiebreaker over the Bills.

The game developed unlike anything Maclin envisioned, and that could eventually be a great thing for the Chiefs. That combination kept clicking at the start of the third quarter, setting up a 15-yard connection between Smith and tight end Travis Kelce in the end zone. The two-pointer failed. If the Bills had just gone for one point they would just have needed a touchdown and an extra point late in the fourth quarter to tie at 30-30.

The Chiefs said after the game that it was a knee sprain, which sounds like good news. It was pure insanity to stop throwing Watkins’ way in the second half.

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan looks at the scoreboard during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015.

“It was a tough loss to say the least”, said Ryan of his now 5-6 Bills.

Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston was scheduled to undergo MRI test Monday to determine the severity of his left knee injury sustained in Sunday’s 30-22 victory over the Bills. “With Jamal going down and then Charcandrick going down, our whole team is filled with people that prepare like they are the guy, so when the time comes they’re able to step in”.