Chiefs’ Anthony Hitchens thinks AFC Championship Game will be decided in the trenches
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 300 or more yards in nine games this season, and his season-low was 122 passing yards during a game in October.
The Bills’ opponent that day? The Chiefs, who won 26-17 in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Despite keeping Allen to a season-low in passing yards, Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens says his team believes it will face a challenge in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
Hitchens was on the “Behind the Mask” podcast with Takeo Spikes and Tutan Reyes and was asked about the threats the Bills present.
“I mean Josh Allen, that’s enough right there,” Hitchens said. “He’s having a crazy year, got better every year. Like I literally admire players like that, that just continue to get better. Doesn’t matter the coaching situations or the head coaches or your team is winning or losing, you just got better. So, yeah, he’s gonna throw the ball, everyone knows that, 40 times a game. So we’ve got our hands full with that.
“And then they just keep you balanced with the running game. Not to say they can’t run it, but they keep you balanced and keep you honest. But let’s not fool ourselves that their best player isn’t the quarterback. They’re going to mix in some runs, keep you honest, but I mean our hands are full every week. There’s only four teams left. It’s going to be good ball from here on out.”
Stefon Diggs, the NFL’s leader in receiving yards this season, was held to 46 yards in eight catches against the Chiefs, but he had a touchdown.
Hitchens expects the Bills to make it a priority to get Diggs the ball.
“We played him early in the year, and we did some things to take him away,” Hitchens said. “But ... teams just try to take players away, they’re still going to get them touches — screens, reverses, jet sweeps, so he’s going to get his touches. We just can’t give up a 60-yard bomb or make four people missing and go for 80. So between him, then you still got Cole Beasley in the slot. I play with him in Dallas, so I know all about him.”
Hitchens, who spent four seasons with the Cowboys before joining the Chiefs in 2018, had four tackles and a tackle for loss in the AFC Divisional playoff win against the Browns.
A team captain for the postseason, Hitchens said he believes the game will be won in the trenches.
“They’ve created a good formula for what they want, and keep you honest with the run and pass, but I think it’s gonna come down to our D line versus the O line in the passing game,” Hitchens said. “We’ve got two of the best rushers in the league in Chris (Jones) and Frank (Clark) and put them on opposite sides and let him go.
“So yeah, I mean, I like our odds in this game, and we’ve got to go back to work. ... There’s nothing else to it. It’s just work. People that work hard, good things happen to them.”
