Chiefs-Bills matchup features coaches with long-lasting bond of mutual respect
(AP) — In Kansas City this week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid answered a question about his Bills counterpart Sean McDermott by noting they’re both redheads. In Buffalo, McDermott mentioned the kick he gets out of Reid saying “great googly-moogly” in a Snickers commercial to reveal his playful side.
“For so long, I think people, the outside public, only saw one side of him,” McDermott said of his former boss in Philadelphia. “It’s fun to see his true personality come out.”
This is what amounts to trash-talking as Josh Allen and the AFC East-leading Bills (8-2) prepare to host Patrick Mahomes and the undefeated Chiefs (9-0) on Sunday in one of this season’s juiciest matchups.
The coaches’ comments reflect their respect for each other. Their bond goes well beyond football.
Their relationship began in 1999, when Reid took over coaching the Eagles and McDermott joined the team as a scouting coordinator. The friendship endured Reid firing McDermott as Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator after the 2010 season, with McDermott calling it one of the most influential developmental points of his career.
And it makes no difference to McDermott, in his eighth season in Buffalo, to find Reid and the Chiefs standing in the way of the Bills reaching their ultimate goal. Although McDermott is 4-1 against Reid in the regular season since taking over the Bills in 2017, he’s 0-3 in the playoffs.
“He’s a great coach. He’ll be a Hall of Fame coach. He already is, really, even though he’s not retired yet,” McDermott said.
“Listen, there’s always somebody that you’re trying to get past, right, to accomplish the goal that you want to accomplish,” he added. “So I don’t care what walk of life you’re in or what sport you’re in or whatever it is. There’s always a challenge in front of you.”
The challenge on Sunday is facing the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, who are off to a franchise-best-matching start to a season and are one win short of tying the team’s longest in-season winning streak.
Just as impressive is the Chiefs winning seven one-score games, with four decided on the final play. That includes last weekend, when Leo Chenal blocked Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal attempt as time expired in a 16-14 victory over Denver.
“That was probably the epitome of it,” Reid said of his team’s resilience. “You give credit to your locker room and your coaches just for being mentally tough and sticking with it.”
McDermott has Buffalo on a 5-0 roll and 8-2 for the first time since 1993. The Bills are already closing in on a fifth straight AFC East title. All this in a year that began with lowered expectations after an offseason roster overhaul. The Bills have persevered through an assortment of injuries plus a four-game league-issued suspension to Von Miller.
The one thing missing from Buffalo’s resume is a win over a quality opponent. Arizona (6-4) is the only team the Bills have defeated that enters Week 11 with a winning record, while their two losses are against Baltimore (7-3) and Houston (6-4).
McDermott dismissed questions about the schedule and the chance to beat the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team.
“We get our ninth win,” McDermott said, of what a victory on Sunday would mean.
The true test for Buffalo, perhaps, comes not in November, but in January, should the teams meet in the playoffs for a fourth time in five years.
Leave it to Allen to shed light on what fuels him, after being asked to reflect on how his and Mahomes’ numbers are nearly the same over their previous seven meetings.
“Well, I know we haven’t beaten them in the playoffs,” Allen said. “So that’s the only thing that kind of matters.”
Chiefs reinforcements
The Chiefs expect to have receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster back from a hamstring injury in Week 7 that nearly landed him on injured reserve. It will be the first time Smith-Schuster has played alongside DeAndre Hopkins, whom the Chiefs acquired in a trade with Tennessee.
Bills reinforcements
Though rookie receiver Keon Coleman (right wrist) has already been ruled out, newly acquired receiver Amari Cooper (left wrist) said he’s in a position to return after missing two games. Buffalo has a bye after playing Kansas City and hopes to welcome back more regulars afterward, with linebacker Matt Milano (torn left biceps) and rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) eligible to return.
Left tackle situation
Wanya Morris is expected to start at left tackle for Kansas City after missing roughly two quarters last weekend because of a bruised knee. His availability protecting Mahomes’ blind side is significant given the way his backup, rookie Kingsley Suamataia, struggled handling the Broncos’ pass rush.
“You’ve got good players on the other side who play against that left tackle,” Reid said, “and when you’re young there’s going to be a couple of hiccups in there. You have to bear with it while they grow.”