The season is about to end. Only 3 games remain. But the NFL monitoring team is at its job with full dedication, reviewing every play in the divisional round. And ahead of the Bills‘ AFC Championship game, they have received a massive blow to Josh Allen’s defensive teammate Ed Oliver. It’s not a new thing for the DT. Here’s what exactly happened.

During the 2nd quarter against the Ravens, at 8:46 mark, QB Lamar Jackson started a 1 & 10 drive. Trying to find an open player, he leaned to his right and rushed with the ball in his hand. The DT was on his tail, getting a hold of him, and pushing him out of the sidelines as they both fell. The NFL monitoring team rated it as an unnecessary roughness (hip-drop tackle) and fined him $16,883.

Though Josh Allen’s teammate hasn’t been fined earlier this season, he received fines of over $70,000 last year! In the week 4 game against the Dolphins in 2023, the league fined him twice worth $13,659 each, for unsportsmanlike conduct. During the week 5 game against the Jaguars, he received double fines, $13,659 for unsportsmanlike conduct, and $16,391 for a hit on the QB Trevor Lawrence. For unnecessary roughness against the NY Giants, he was fined $21,855. But he has improved a lot on that front this year.

However, the focus of the entire Bills locker room is on the Chiefs. “They’re a different team in playoffs, just in the mindset and intensity and tenacity,” Ed Oliver said while talking about their rivals during an interview earlier this week. Josh Allen understands they need to play their best game. He echoed the same on Friday, saying they would need everyone to put together a collective effort to win.

It’s a rightful concern, as they have never won against the Chiefs in the playoffs in three attempts with Allen calling the shots. But not everyone reflected the same view.

Josh Allen’s teammate calls Patrick Mahomes, an easy opponent

While the whole NFL world acknowledges that the Chiefs are a much tougher opponent in the playoffs, Bills DE Greg Rousseau said something that appears more like an attempt at manifestation than reality. On Saturday, Patrick Mahomes‘ longtime trainer Bobby Stroupe shared an IG Story that quoted the DE saying, “If you ask all guys this, they’ll agree with me on that. Patrick Mahomes is one of the easier QB’s to face, all you really have to do is contain, contain, contain.”

Is that the case? Maybe he should tell this to his HC Sean McDermott who has also commented on the difficulty of facing Mahomes. Rousseau was drafted in the 1st round (30th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. And since then, they have lost 2 playoff games against the Chiefs. Perhaps his confidence is coming from the week 11 win in the regular season. Or his performances on the field, where he has been arguably the best Bills defender this year.

However, knowing what needs to be done isn’t the same as going out and doing it on the field. Even if we put aside the home advantage of Arrowhead, the Chiefs have evolved their strategy. Patrick Mahomes had 11 interceptions in 2024. But after the loss to the Bills, he shifted gears. And in the next 7 games, including the divisional game against the Texans, he didn’t record a single interception. That’s a tremendous difference.

The Championship game, though, will be intense. Building around Josh Allen’s MVP-caliber season, the Bills have a renewed energy this year. If they want to play in their first Super Bowl after more than 3 decades, they have to win. Will they make it look easy against Patrick Mahomes?