Sunday Night Football marked the fourth loss of the season for the Kansas City Chiefs. They fell 28-21 against Buffalo, their fifth consecutive regular-season loss in the rivalry. After the game, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo naturally had a few somber realizations, which he shared directly with Bills QB Josh Allen.

“I don’t wanna play you anymore,” he told Allen while they shook hands and hugged each other. “I want you to retire.”

That’s understandable. After all, Allen had a spectacular game on Sunday, and he did everything he could to secure the victory against the Chiefs. By completing 23 of his 26 passes for 273 yards, the signal-caller set a franchise record for completion percentage (88.5%). He also scored three TDs, one passing and two rushing.

Given how Allen has performed not only against the Kansas City but throughout the season, every defensive coordinator on the opposing team will wish Allen to retire, just like Spagnuolo. But the 29-year-old isn’t going anywhere. He still has years of football left.

Also, the Bills’ strong position in the current season is largely attributed to Allen. He has covered 1,833 yards for 13 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a QBR of 64.9 this season. And though Spagnuolo wants Allen to retire, the Chiefs should be concerned about how their own star QB has performed.

In the game against the Bills, Patrick Mahomes struggled in a way fans had never seen before.

He completed only 15 out of the 34 passes and ended the game with a low completion rate of only 44.1%. This marked the QB’s lowest completion rate in his NFL career. He also did not throw any touchdown passes despite having 250 passing yards.

It also goes without saying that his passer rating was low, too: 57.2. That was his second-lowest rating in a game (the worst was 44.4 in October 2024).

In fact, the Bills’ defense successfully pressured Mahomes on 52.6% of his dropbacks, as per Next Gen Stats. For Buffalo, that was a 14.3% higher pressure rate in each of the eight matchups against the Chiefs since 2020.

Sure, the Bills have had more success against Kansas City in the regular season, while the latter shuts Buffalo down in the playoffs. However, Mahomes understands that they need to first reach the playoffs. Considering the Chiefs aren’t the Houdini they were last year, they seriously need to buckle up.

While these cracks were evident, sportswriter and podcaster Bill Simmons pointed out another issue.

Inside the Chiefs’ no-sneak rule

Bill Simmons shared his take on who’s the better QB. “I do think watching that confirms something I’ve been saying all year is I just think Josh is slightly better than Mahomes for whatever reason right now,” Simmons said. “And I think the difference is the inside-the-5-yard-line stuff and the fourth-and-short stuff.”

He also pointed out a significant flaw in Mahomes’ game. “They’ve never QB-sneaked him since he got hurt that time. You can actually do a goal-line stand against them because you never have to worry about the QB sneak. They’re always trying to cheat around it or do these little quick outs.”

True. The Chiefs have stopped the QB sneak play after Patrick suffered a knee injury, which dislocated his patella during the 2019 season against the Broncos.

“Not too many people get hurt on a sneak,” Reid had said after that game. “It’s a freak thing, and it happens.” But we know that the Chiefs took it seriously.

As the Chiefs prepare for their Week 11 clash with the Broncos, could a QB sneak be on the horizon? It would certainly feel like déjà vu if it happens.