Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs Match Player Stats On Nov 29, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Nov 29, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo -- In a Sunday afternoon battle of AFC teams trying to keep alive hopes of a postseason berth, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 30-22 at Arrowhead Stadium.

Playing in a cold drizzle from the opening kickoff to the final play, the Chiefs came back from a 10-0 early deficit to win their fifth consecutive game.

The first half was all about the Buffalo combination of quarterback Tyron Taylor and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. They combined on six passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. Taylor also connected with running back LeSean McCoy for a third-quarter score.

But the second half saw the Chiefs (6-5) handle Watkins, force a Taylor fumble and the Chiefs offense caught fire behind quarterback Alex Smith, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back Spencer Ware. Smith threw for 255 yards, two touchdown passes and did not have an interception. Maclin caught nine passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Ware picked up 114 rushing yards on 19 carries with a touchdown

At the start of the game, Taylor and Watkins immediately began to connect against the Kansas City secondary, specifically right cornerback Sean Smith. On the third offensive play of the game, they combined on a 48-yard completion. Later, they hit a 14-yard play and then they got the first touchdown on the board when they connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the end zone. Along with the PAT kick and an earlier field goal by kicker Dan Carpenter, the Bills (5-6) led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Kansas City's offense was slow coming out of the blocks and it wasn't until halfway through the second quarter that they reached the scoreboard. The Chiefs put together a 6-play, 80-yard drive, fueled by the running of Ware. He had four runs in the drive for 16, 12, 4 and then 3 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick was good and the Bills lead was cut to three points.

The Bills answered back with another Taylor-Watkins touchdown connection, this time from 21 yards out. The PAT kick was missed by Carpenter,

The Chiefs quickly returned fire on a 41-yard scoring pass from Smith to Maclin with less than two minutes to play in the half. The PAT kick by Cairo Santos pulled the Chiefs to within two points and he had an opportunity to give K.C. the halftime lead, but his 54-yard field-goal attempt on the last play before intermission bounced off the crossbar.

While Taylor and Watkins had all the attention in the first half, Smith and Maclin were quietly connecting four times for 99 yards, including the touchdown catch. That combination kept clicking at the start of the third quarter, setting up a 15-yard connection between Smith and tight end Travis Kelce in the end zone. The PAT kick allowed the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 21-16. KC added three more points when outside linebacker Tamba Hali sacked Taylor, forcing a fumble that was recovered by nose tackle Dontari Poe at the Bills 34-yard line. The offense couldn't make anything happen and Santos was good on a 49-yard field goal.

Buffalo's offense put together a 70-yard drive on nine plays that ended in the end zone on a 10-yard pass from Taylor to McCoy. Down 24-22 because of the earlier missed PAT kick, the Bills went for two points but were stopped by the Chiefs defense.

Kansas City added a pair of field goals of 37 and 38 yards by Santos to set the final score.

NOTES: The Chiefs suffered through a host of first half injuries, losing OLB Justin Houston (left knee), LG Jeff Allen (left ankle) and LT Eric Fisher (head/neck). Only Allen returned to play, but that was because the team lost starting C Mitch Morse (concussion) in the third quarter. ... Half of the Bills starting defensive line was out due to injury: DT Kyle Williams (knee) and DE Mario Williams (ankle). Corbin Bryant started for Kyle Williams and Alex Carrington opened in place of Mario Williams. Carrington ended up leaving the field in the third quarter with a knee injury. ... At halftime, former Chiefs G Will Shields was presented with his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring. Shields was part of the Hall's 2015 induction class.