It’s Mahomes vs. Allen, but CBS’ Phil Simms says keep an eye on Chiefs and Bills defenses
.JPG "Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, facing camera, greets Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen at midfield after a Chiefs victory in Orchard Park, N.Y.")
We can’t expect a repeat of the greatest game in NFL history, right?
While it seems unlikely Sunday’s Chiefs-Bills game at Arrowhead Stadium could match the excitement and drama of January’s AFC Divisional playoff contest between the teams, CBS Sports NFL analyst Phil Simms is expecting another sensational battle.
“If they play each other in the postseason when this year is over, I don’t think it’ll be any more emotional or physically (challenging) than this game is gonna be,” Simms said in a phone interview. “I think they’re both gonna be sky high. And I’m sure when the schedule came out, every player on both teams just went, ‘Oh man, Week 6.’
“The players know it is a playoff game. And they’re going to approach it as such. The players will have the same attitude. The stadium — as usual out there — is going to be on fire, and that’s going to fire the players up. They love it. And we’ve got nothing but good players all over the field and there’s the emotions and the physical part of it. This might be better than a playoff game, because they’re not beat up maybe too much yet.”
Simms noted the Chiefs drafted five defensive backs in April and signed safety Justin Reid as a free agent, moves he believes may have been made because KC believes the Bills will remain a threat in the AFC.
In the same vein, knowing they’d lost to the Chiefs in the last two postseasons, Buffalo drafted a pair of cornerbacks and signed or brought back four defensive linemen, along with adding free-agent linebacker Von Miller.
The teams combined for 78 points in January’s playoff meeting and have two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, but Simms is focused on the other side of the ball on Sunday.
“I’m just really curious to see how each defense approaches this game to try to slow the other side down. To me, that’s what it’s all about,” Simms said.
“And I think really the other thing is, I’m interested to see what Kansas City thinks about Von Miller and how they go about watching him in the pass rush and how they go about blocking him. (Will it be) two guys? Is the running back going to help? Are they going to try to get the formation to his side to get somebody there? So that’ll be really interesting to see too.”
Mahomes is spinning it
Simms, who quarterbacked the Giants from 1979 to 1991, was the MVP of Super Bowl XXI, which New York won 39-20 over the Broncos. Simms knows a little something about the quarterback position, and he’s been blown away by Mahomes this season.
Spin rate is often associated with baseball, but Simms noted how Mahomes is spinning the ball this season.
“His accuracy is off the charts right now,” Simms said. “And I judge this too: the speed of the ball, the spirals, the spinning. You can throw that ball as hard as you want and if that ball is really spinning, it’s still easy for the receiver to catch. ... Mahomes is really spinning the ball, gosh. I just think he’s a better player this year physically than he was last year.And that’s not a knock, that’s a compliment because that’s hard to say about Patrick Mahomes. ...
“We get a little numb sometimes what we watch on TV. Oh, he completed a pass, big deal, another pass. And then I watch it (on tape) and just go, ‘Wow, that was a great decision. Oh, he had the move to do this. He slid and he throws a rocket in there.’ The ball doesn’t even look real because it’s not even moving. There’s just a perfect spiral.”
