After winning the previous two Super Bowls, the Kansas City Chiefs entered Week 11 of the NFL season unbeaten and apparently invincible. However, if the Buffalo Bills have anything to say about that, Kansas City’s run will come to an end.
The league was shocked by Buffalo’s 30–21 victory over the Chiefs. Not only because the Chiefs finally displayed a vulnerability after a 9-0 start, but also because the Bills managed to contain Patrick Mahomes and the offense as a whole. But that’s precisely what the Chiefs needed, according to All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce remarked, “Sometimes you just need that smack in the face,” in reference to Sunday’s defeat in.ffalo. “It is what it is. To become locked in and realize that it’s a “Any Given Sunday” league, you occasionally need a slap in the face. And while I’m not claiming that the Bills were simply another club, I do think we have superior guys, so I’m thrilled if we have another chance to face them.”
Throughout the regular season, the Chiefs and Bills rivalry has always been peculiar. Buffalo has been successful during the season in recent years, but when it comes to the postseason, they have not yet found a solution. That’s pretty much what Kelce is discussing here. And why the Bills shouldn’t celebrate their win last week too soon. There is still a great deal of football to be played.
Why the Chiefs Following the Bills game, Patrick Mahomes received a $14,069 fine.
In Week 11, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 30–21, delivering the reigning champs their first defeat in 2024. Even though the Chiefs’ quest for history came to an end, Patrick Mahomes’ setback was more than just his first of the season.
According to Tom Pelissero, the NFL fined Mahomes $14,069 in the week that followed the game. According to reports, the quarterback’s “violent gesture” following a touchdown pass to Noah Gray in the fourth quarter was the reason for the fine. Following the reception, he made a simple six-finger gesture in Gray’s direction.
Fans were horrified by the rationale behind Mahomes’ fine, which was not surprising. Even though player fines are already common in the NFL, most people did not think Mahomes’ gesture of pointing to his buddy after scoring was deserving of punishment.
Fines from league authorities are nothing new to the former MVP. Notably, Mahomes was fined $50,000 in December 2023 for scolding referees during a defeat. That fine coincidentally followed a defeat to the Bills as well. On the same day, Andy Reid, the head coach of the Chiefs, was also fined for a similar conduct.
For Mahomes, who will earn almost $40 million a season for the next seven years, the fine will ultimately only be a formality. The enormous 10-year contract extension that the 29-year-old signed in 2020 is not even halfway over.
The Chiefs aim to bounce back from their Week 11 defeat.
The Chiefs will need to bounce back from a loss the week before for the first time in almost a full year. In an effort to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, Kansas City will travel to Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers.
Two weeks after their third victory of 2024, the struggling Panthers are coming off a bye week. Carolina defeated the New York Giants 20–17 in overtime in Week 10, their second consecutive victory. Bryce Young’s two-year career win streak began with the triumph.
The Chiefs will make their first homecoming since Week 10 following Week 12. But while they try to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC, they will play most of their remaining games away from home.