It had to happen eventually, didn’t it? The longest winning streak in the NFL this season has finally ended, and the Chiefs stand at 9-1. It makes sense that it was the Bills who finally humbled them. They’ve been as dominant in AFC East as the Chiefs have in AFC West. And though quarterback Josh Allen‘s been on fire through the season, it was the Bills defense that saved the day against the Chiefs.

Things were tight coming into the 4th quarter at 16-14, but two touchdowns for the Bills and one for the Chiefs saw things conclude at 30-21, a healthy win for the Bills. Although Patrick Mahomes did pretty well on paper, with his three touchdowns, he was short on options. Part of that is because he couldn’t rely on Travis Kelce, who ended 2 receptions for 8 yards. Speaking on the how the TE’s (and WR DeAndre Hopkins‘) struggle affected the team, coach Andy Reid said, “They were bracketed. We can work through it, they’re not the only two on the field. The other guys have opportunities when that happens.”

Bracketing, of course, refers to when two defensive players focus on a single offensive player. Kelce and Hopkins were dangerous enough to warrant that kind of attention from the Bills. But of course, with Reid’s approach to the problem, it should be surmountable. Xavier Worthy and Kareem Hunt picked up the slack on offense in the Bills game, where Kelce and Hopkins struggled. Sadly for the Chiefs, it wasn’t good enough.

But it kind of has to be said, for all the negative hype around Travis Kelce (only because he set the standard so high previously), he’s not been having a terrible season so far. He leads the Kansas City Chiefs with the most receiving yards this season (507), and he’s second in yards/game only to Rashee Rice, whose season came to a sad end after his injury in Week 4. Plus, with how specifically the Bills targeted him, he’s worth it for the defensive resources he consumes. So how did the Bills handle him?

What was the Bills’ defensive outlook towards Travis Kelce?

Buffalo Bills defensive captain Terrel Barnard had a thing or two to say about how they approached Kelce. He said, “I think the main thing is just having awareness of him. He’s obviously one of the best tight ends the league’s ever seen, so having awareness of where he’s at, pre, post-snap, trying to get guys around him as much as possible, playing within our scheme and our system still but understanding he’s going to be one of the first options every pass play.” That prioritization clearly paid off.

The Bills regarded Kelce as a credible threat and dealt with him appropriately. It doesn’t matter if Patrick Mahomes has a killer arm, as long as he has nobody to throw to. Well, not nobody, but certainly not his favorites. The win was crucial for the Bills – they’ve already cemented their place at the top of AFC East, but at 9-2, they’re behind only the Chiefs.

The Chiefs do have a chance of furthering that lead – their next three games are against the Panthers, the Raiders, and the Chargers. While anything can happen in the game of football, the Chiefs shouldn’t find themselves challenged. The Bills have a slightly tougher slate, taking on the 49ers, the Rams, and the Lions. Only time will tell what comes, but the mighty juggernaut of the Chiefs faced a little bump that they would not want to face again.