For the first month of the season, the Buffalo Bills looked every bit like the juggernaut we thought they’d be, and Josh Allen continued where he left off last year. They were then handed two consecutive losses. Questions started getting tossed around about whether this Buffalo team can sustain real competition and whether Josh Allen is trying to play superhero too often.

In the Chiefs-Bills match Preview on Buffalo’s official YouTube channel, NFL Analyst Greg Cosell said the unsaid about Josh Allen’s season so far. “I will say this, and I think you guys would agree. Josh has been a little overreactive the last couple of games,” Cosell said. He believes that Allen is trying to play ‘Superman’ at all times.

Many might agree with Cosell on this accord. If you’ve watched Allen lately, you know what Cosell means. A quarterback pressing, trying to do everything, and forcing the game instead of letting it come to him. Over the last three weeks, the numbers have dipped: a QBR of 52.2 and 17.6 in Weeks 5 and 6, five touchdowns against three interceptions during that stretch.

But the numbers can only tell so much. Allen just doesn’t look as comfortable this year. The confidence we saw last year has turned into something closer to indecision. He’s trying to play savior ball, and it’s hard to blame him when you look at what’s around him.

This receiving corps isn’t exactly keeping defensive coordinators up at night. Khalil Shakir has been the most productive of the group, but he’s a complementary piece, not a WR1. Rookie Keon Coleman (267 receiving yards, 2 TDs) hasn’t taken that second-year leap the team hoped for, and his effort got called out by legendary Steve Smith.

The front office doesn’t seem eager to shake things up, either. Don’t expect a splash move for a receiver before the trade deadline. So, it’s probably on Allen again to pull this group out of the mud and make it look functional against Kansas City this weekend.

Ex-Bills star downplays the Chiefs rivalry

The Sean McDermott–Brandon Beane–Josh Allen era has been, by most measures, a success. Since 2019, Buffalo’s made the playoffs every single year. They have an MVP quarterback and a defense good enough to take them there. The only thing that’s missing is a defining postseason moment. Especially against Andy Reid.

You can dress it up however you want, but the truth is, the Chiefs have gotten the better of the Bills when it matters most. In the last four playoff meetings, the Buffalo side did not have a single win.  With the Chiefs having the upper hand almost every time, a former Buffalo Bills star is wondering if this is even a rivalry anymore.

And according to Ex-Bills player Ross Tucker, it would only start to feel like a real rivalry when Josh Allen can beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. He drew the perfect parallel. “The Colts would win the regular season matchup sometimes, but then in the playoffs, when it mattered, New England would just always find a way to get it done,” he said.

“I thought maybe that would be the case with the Bills in the postseason last year. I thought it was a great opportunity. They weren’t able to do it, and on some token, do you know the Bills have beaten the Chiefs in the regular season every year but one, and then the Chiefs beat the Bills in the playoffs?” he added.

You can win 17 games in the regular season, but if you can’t do it in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. For the Bills to get the respect they deserve, they need a good playoff run. They are set to play the Chiefs on Sunday. Can the Bills defeat the Chiefs this time?