1 - White's INT secures the win for Buffalo
The Chiefs had a chance to take the lead late in Sunday's game, but Bills rookie Tre'Davious White made sure that didn't happen. He recorded his second career interception with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, leading to the victory formation for Buffalo's offense.
White credited his defensive backs coach after the 16-10 conference win.
"Coach [Gill] Byrd man. He puts us in great position to make plays. We've been watching film on formations all week," he said. "It was like three or four times I saw that formation and that route run, but he didn't throw it. I knew in crunch time 10 [Tyreek Hill] was his guy. I knew he was going to try and go [there] so I just jumped it."
The rookie finished Sunday's game with one tackle, one pass defended, and one interception. His biggest contribution aside from his INT was flawless coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, White yielded one reception for six yards on three passes thrown into his coverage.
This is now White's second game-changing turnover in his rookie year. In Week Seven against the Bucs he forced and recovered a fumble with 2:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. That led to a Bills touchdown and propelled them to victory.
Safety, Jordan Poyer, shared his thoughts about White's clutch play after Sunday's game.
"It was huge man. I told Tre [White] after the game he's one of the best corners in the league," said Poyer. "He needs to believe that, he needs to play like that, and he needs to have that attitude because that's what we believe. He came up big for us with that pick at the end of the game. He's come up big for us all year. I was happy for him that he was able to seal the deal with that pick."
2 - Cadet contributes
Buffalo running back, Travaris Cadet, showed he's a reliable backup in his second game in a Bills uniform. He complimented LeSean McCoy well in both the run and pass game.
The six-year veteran finished Sunday's game with six carries for 28 yards. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry, the highest of any Bills rusher against the Chiefs. He also surpassed his rushing total from Week 11 in the first half of the Week 12 contest.
Coming into Buffalo, everyone knew Cadet was a pass-catching running back. On Sunday, he reeled in three catches for 21 yards. In his first two games with the Bills he's been targeted nine times, and he's corralled all of those for nine receptions.
Starting running back, LeSean McCoy, spoke about his new sidekick after Sunday's game.
"I remember watching him with the Saints. He's productive in the pass game and here and there gets some runs," McCoy said. "I always knew he could play ball. I was happy to have him on the staff. It takes a little bit of the load off of me."
Prior to Cadet's signing earlier in the month, Mike Tolbert was Buffalo's backup. He has only practiced once on a limited basis over the past two weeks due to a hamstring injury. It's unclear when Tolbert will return, but you'd have to assume Cadet will be a part of the game plan moving forward.
3 - Special teams solid in Sunday's win
Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, constantly stresses the importance of winning all three phases of the game. Special teams can often get overlooked in that, but Buffalo's specialists proved important in their 16-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Punting was a theme in Sunday's game. Fifteen punts were booted in the contest, eight by Kansas City and seven by Buffalo. Bills Punter, Colton Schmidt, was precise all afternoon. He averaged 41.1 yards on his seven punts, with four of those falling inside the 20-yard line.
"I thought our special teams did a great job in terms of creating field position for our offense, or not giving their offense favorable field position," head coach Sean McDermott said. "Colton had a big game, in terms of the ball placement and trust with where our coverage units were going. Knowing that the ball would be there and he put it right there."
In the return game, Brandon Tate did a great job taking back punts. He had six returns and totaled 61 yards, giving him an average of 10.2 yards per return. Tate's longest return went for 20 yards and he brought it back to Buffalo's 42-yard line. That drive would result in a Bills touchdown. He also had returned a punt to Kansas City's 44-yard line and that drive finished with a field goal for Buffalo.
All told Kansas City's average drive start was their own 22-yard line, while Buffalo's average drive start was their own 35-yard line. It was an impressive feat knowing the Chiefs coming into the game had the best average drive start in the league in home games of their own 33-yard line.
Quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, mentioned after Sunday's win the performances from Schmidt and Tate.
"It was great. It's one of the key factors that we talk about as a team, field position. We've done a great job of starting with good field position," said Taylor. "As well as Colton having some great punts and putting those guys back into their own territory. Hats off to those guys."
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