Bills hand Chiefs first loss of season as Josh Allen rushes for late TD: Key takeaways

By Joe Buscaglia, Nate Taylor, Tim Graham and RJ Kraft

The 1972 Miami Dolphins can breathe a sigh of relief as the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs are no longer perfect. The Chiefs fell to the Buffalo Bills , 30-21, as Josh Allen got the best of Patrick Mahomes in Buffalo on Sunday.

The loss was the first for the Chiefs since Christmas Day in 2023, stunting a stretch of 15 consecutive wins, including the postseason run to Super Bowl LVIII. Mahomes threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns — his 40th career three-TD game — but also had two interceptions in the loss Sunday.

Allen sealed the Buffalo win with a 26-yard touchdown run on third-and-2 with 2:17 left in regulation. The quarterback totaled over 300 yards in the game, including a team-high 55 rushing yards and a passing touchdown. Running back James Cook added two scores.

Allen improves to 4-1 in the regular season over Mahomes. Buffalo (9-2) is now a half game back of Kansas City (9-1) for the best record in the AFC.

The race for home field in the AFC is on

The result of this game means we have a true race for the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, a three-team sprint — between the Chiefs, the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers — with seven weeks left in the regular season. With a win, the Chiefs would have held a commanding lead in the conference. But after Sunday, the Chiefs no longer have a large margin for error, especially since the Bills will have the tiebreaker in case both teams finish with the same record.

The Chiefs, who are still atop the standings, have critical games coming up against the Los Angeles Chargers , the Houston Texans and the Steelers. The odds of Mahomes winning the league's MVP this year are slim, but he can still lead the Chiefs to achieve the goals they wanted when the regular season started — the AFC's top seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs beat writer

Buffalo cashes in on long drives

Yet again, Buffalo orchestrated long scoring drives to hinder an opponent, but this one means more than most. Steve Spagnuolo's Chiefs defense entered Week 11 ranked fourth in DVOA, a gargantuan factor in Kansas City being so lucky to remain undefeated until Sunday.

The Bills, however, mounted five scoring drives of at least eight plays and 60 yards, ending them with four touchdowns and a field goal. The biggest statements came late. The Bills put together a 10-play, 83-yard possession that put the Bills up two scores with 12:51 to play. After the Chiefs answered with a TD, the Bills didn't flinch, stringing another dozen plays for 70 yards, the last 26 coming on an alternately slick-and-bruising Allen TD run.

Buffalo now has scored on all 16 of its possessions that have gone at least 10 plays, accumulating seven TDs and nine field goals. — Tim Graham, Bills senior writer

Secondary looks shaky for Kansas City

This is the first time since Super Bowl LVII that the Chiefs have surrendered at least 30 points in a game. It took a heroic effort for Allen to snap the 30-game streak for the Chiefs' defense, which has been the better unit on the roster in the past two seasons. Allen was effective and almost flawless in the second half, leading the Bills to two touchdown drives, the second the byproduct of his powerful legs in the open field.

For the Chiefs' defense, the biggest takeaway here is that their secondary looks to be shaky in certain spots against quality competition. Defensive back Nazeeh Johnson struggled in coverage, surrendering two receptions to receiver Amari Cooper that resulted in 55 yards and the 12-yard touchdown reception to receiver Curtis Samuel . As the nickel defender, Chamarri Conner struggled to make open-field tackles and committed a pass interference penalty on a pivotal third-down play that continued the Bills' drive, one that ended in a touchdown. — Taylor

Bills' D comes through in big spots

With questions about their ability to limit explosive plays all year long, the Bills' defense stepped up in huge moments down the stretch of the game. In the second half alone, with the Bills offense unable to get themselves started, the defense came through with two straight possessions that ended in a Chiefs punt. It allowed the offense just enough time to gather to score a keep-away touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.

Then, just to add an exclamation point on the game, linebacker Terrel Bernard picked off Mahomes' final pass of the evening to seal the win. The pass was intended for Kelce, who was woefully quiet all game. Travis Kelce had only two receptions for eight yards. The last time he was held to under 50 yards by the Bills was back in 2017 — before Allen was even drafted. Allen will get the headlines, but the defense is equally deserving of all the accolades for helping the Bills give the Chiefs their first loss of the year. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

(Photo: Timothy T Ludwig/)