For the fifth straight NFL season, the Buffalo Bills have secured the AFC East title. Now, Sean McDermott wants Josh Allen and the rest of his players to go a step further by surpassing Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC standings.
Speaking to reporters after the Bills’ commanding win over the San Francisco 49ers on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ McDermott warned the Chiefs that the Bills’ next goal is to clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference, currently held by the defending Super Bowl champions.
Of course, McDermott‘s comments also served as a clear message to his players on what the team should play for in the upcoming weeks despite having a playoff berth under its belt.
“It’s probably the next goal for us is to position ourselves the best we can,” McDermott said of chasing the first seed in the AFC, as quoted by Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.
Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills and head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs shake hands prior to a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York.
“We control a piece of that and then some of that we don’t. So, it’s really about our level of play every week, getting to the level it needs to be, and that usually puts you in a good spot one way or the other.”
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McDermott, Allen’s Bills following Reid, Mahomes’ Chiefs closely
The Chiefs lead the American Football Conference through 13 weeks with a 11-1 record. The Bills are within touching distance of the top spot though, trailing Kansas City with a 10-2 record.
Curiously, the only loss Reid and Mahomes have suffered in the 2024 NFL season came at the hands of McDermott’s team. In Week 11, Allen and company snapped a 15-game winning streak held by Kansas City.
Buffalo has made the postseason in seven of McDermott’s eight years at the helm, but never as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Therefore, this is something worth fighting for in the remaining weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
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What’s next for the Bills and Chiefs?
Both the Bills and Chiefs have five games left before the playoffs. Buffalo will play back-to-back road games in the next two weeks, playing the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions before hosting the New England Patriots and New York Jets in consecutive weeks. In the regular season finale, Allen and company will play the Patriots in Foxborough.
Mahomes and Reid, on the other hand, will play at Arrowhead for the second week in a row when they welcome the Los Angeles Chargers on SNF. Then they’ll hit the road to play the Cleveland Browns before hosting the Houston Texans, followed by a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. In Week 18, the Chiefs will travel to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Broncos.
