A game of the season contender, a battle for the north and the Hollywood duo we never knew it needed. Here's what to look for on NFL Sunday as the race for the playoffs heats up on the road to Super Bowl LIX...
As the Starbucks festive menu rolls out, as José Feliciano's Feliz Navidad creeps into shopping centres, as John Lewis rivals rally with their own tear-jerking adverts and as wannabe influencers begin to line up for photos along Oxford Street, the NFL is poised to deliver its own early nod to Christmas with a game-of-the-year gift.
Only a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL can truly go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo and the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. One of them is Josh Allen, who remains my MVP frontrunner such remains his elevating ability to be THE Buffalo Bills offense.
One of the league's most explosive and defining modern rivalries resumes this weekend when Mahomes' Chiefs and Allen's Bills collide once more, with memories of 13-second chaos, a missed Tyler Bass field goal and a Kadarius Toney offsides penalty teeing up more footballing theatre in the latest potential AFC Championship Game preview.
The Chiefs, in their bid to make history by winning three straight Super Bowls, sit a perfect 9-0 after breaking the hearts of the Denver Broncos by way of Leo Chenal's field goal block last weekend. With perfection has come heaps of imperfection, which may well be the scariest trait to their unbeaten campaign.
They ousted the Baltimore Ravens by the toe of Isaiah Likely in Week One, did not lead until the final six minutes against the Los Angeles Chargers, needed overtime to take down Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, turned to the all-action Chenal to defeat Denver on special teams and have survived marquee injuries and the worst start to a season by Mahomes to leave themselves closing in on the playoffs with half a season still to be played.
Reid's red arrows have rebranded into a New England Patriots-esque winning villain, glossed with inevitability and armed with a champion's adaptability to triumph in multiple ways. The dunk-on-them downfield ballistics of early years in the Mahomes reign have evolved into a fierce interior running game behind Creed Humphrey and a revolving backfield, while Spagnuolo has amassed the number of every play-caller in the league with rolling coverages and funky blitz disguises to orchestrate the NFL's most effective championship defense.
The recently-acquired DeAndre Hopkins is threatening to become a perfect match for Mahomes' scrambling and off-script tendencies, Travis Kelce has sparked into life with the level of production and involvement rare for any 35-year-old tight end - no matter how good they are - Kareem Hunt has been re-born after being picked up off the street and Isiah Pacheco appears to be on his way back from injury.
But their success has also been built on unsung members of the Chiefs roster, from the utility role of linebacker Chenal, to the Humphrey-Joe Thuney-Trey Smith interior offensive line trio, to the sporadic production of 2020 undrafted defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton.
Allen has meanwhile weathered the storm of a stagnant still-working-it-out Bills offense to position them at 8-2 and in control of the AFC East as they continue their mission to maximise a Super Bowl window. He arrives 3-1 against Mahomes in the regular season while being 0-3 in their head-to-head record in the playoffs, the face of Buffalo demanding the savvy best of Spagnuolo with his continued defiance of umbrella coverages, his pocket manipulation, his off-platform athleticism and a full back's rushing ability.
It has become the blockbuster fixture on the NFL calendar, with both representing the AFC's gateway to the Super Bowl and the perfect mid-season acid test of one another. Mahomes, Allen, Chiefs, Bills. It is that time again.
Sunday, 6pm - Baltimore Ravens (7-3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2): The more you watch him, the more you realise there are not many in the NFL like George Pickens. The Steelers wide receiver incites carnage, the latest instalment of the Pickens experience seeing him suplex one defender while jumping into a stiff arm on another during Pittsburgh's win over the Washington Commanders. To the shock of nobody, the Steelers are a far greater threat when they toss the ball in his direction, Pickens coming to life over the last three games with 14 catches for 276 yards and two touchdowns since the introduction of Russell Wilson as starting quarterback. From contested catches to grab-and-run opportunities, all he needs is to be given a chance.
For all that can be said of Baltimore's rushing supremacy, the Ravens defense remains a major concern. Zach Orr's unit is currently ranked third-worst in scoring while surrendering a league-high 22 touchdowns and sitting 27th in total yards allowed and worst against the pass. They have got away with it so far thanks to Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, as much being evidenced as they gave up 428 passing yards and four touchdowns to Joe Burrow, 264 yards and three scores of which came courtesy of Ja'Marr Chase, during last week's win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They don't have to be the best, but merely middle ground as they lean on their offense the rest of the way. Sunday also poses as a reunion for Ravens receiver Diontae Johnson and the Steelers, with whom he spent five seasons after being drafted in 2019.
Sunday, 9.25pm - Kansas City Chiefs (9-0) @ Buffalo Bills (8-2): Allen, Joe Brady and the Bills are still looking for a consistent formula on offense as they compensate for the shortage of standout focal points. James Cook has become a prominent weapon alongside Allen out of the backfield, Khalil Shakir is their most trusted receiver from the slot, Keon Coleman has displayed flashes without nailing his role down and Amari Cooper is still settling into life with the Bills following his trade from the Cleveland Browns. The importance of one rising to the top was meanwhile heightened again by tight end Dalton Kincaid being ruled out of Sunday's game. As mentioned earlier, Allen remains THE offense. He needs more familiar help and more continuity if the Bills are to achieve anything this season.
Regardless of Mahomes' turnover-filled start, the quarterback matchup remains the headline event. Since 2020, Mahomes and Allen are first and second, respectively, in wins (59 and 56) and total yards (22,831 and 22, 564), while Mahomes' 164 total touchdowns in that period are bettered only by Allen's 195. Through nine weeks this season Mahomes is 216 of 311 (69.5 per cent) for 2,208 yards and 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions with a passer rating of 90.3, while Allen is 190 of 299 for 2,281 yards and 17 touchdowns to four interceptions with a passer rating of 100.2, the Bills man having also rushing for 216 yards and four scores.
Sunday Night Football, 1.20am - Cincinnati Bengals (4-6) @ Los Angeles Chargers (6-3): From one enthralling quarterback duel to another, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert prepare to meet this Sunday as two of the league's most gifted playmakers under center. Burrow currently leads the NFL with 2,672 yards and 24 touchdowns to four interceptions and a passer rating of 108.1 as he fights to keep Cincinnati's season alive, while a rejuvenated Herbert is beginning to heat up in a fascinating partnership alongside the confidence-instilling exuberance of Jim Harbaugh as the Chargers seek to tee off their established running game over the second half of the season.
For much of the first nine weeks Los Angeles honed in on trench control on both sides of the ball, a reunion of former Baltimore duo Greg Roman and running back J.K. Dobbins turning the Chargers into one of the league's most efficient rushing attacks while Jesse Minter's defense has become the one of the stingiest in the nation. It has allowed Herbert and his passing offense to ease into the year, paving the way for him to throw for 1,311 yards and six touchdowns across a run of four wins in five while also leaning into the rushing threat you cannot help think we have not seen enough of during his time in the NFL. Herbert continues to make jaw-dropping throws to an understaffed receiver room on a weekly basis, he and Harbaugh forming one of the league's most loveable tandems as a fascinating blend of personalities.
Monday Night Football, 1.15am - Houston Texans (6-4) @ Dallas Cowboys (3-6): With Dak Prescott done for the year and their NFC East rivals pulling away, the season is over for the Dallas Cowboys. All they can hope to do now is hurt the momentum of opponents while learning about their roster holes over the next few weeks. Cooper Rush will once again start at quarterback in the absence of Prescott having thrown for just 45 yards in last week's loss to the Eagles, while Rico Dowdle is the new lead running back in Dallas after delivering an up-turn in yards per carry over the past three weeks during a season that has seen the Cowboys suffer behind a poor ground game.
It will meanwhile be a first meeting in the NFL between Texans quarterback CJ Stroud and Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who returned last week after missing four games through injury. It awaits as the latest text for a Houston offensive line that has been under fire having allowed 20 sacks over the past five games, with Stroud being pressured on over 50 per cent of dropbacks this year. Stroud himself has completed just 53.7 per cent of passes for 794 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions across a run of three wins in four. Keep the pocket clean, and he is among the league's elite.
Texans quarterback CJ Stroud: "I think I'm not just a game manager. I can be a game changer."
Bengals QB Joe Burrow on Chargers QB Herbert: "I think Justin is great. He's got one of the strongest arms in the league. He plays football the right way. He can run around and make plays when he needs to. A big strong guy that can make plays with his legs. A tough guy that's gonna stand in there and take hits. I've always had a ton of respect for him."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins: "He's always been a great player, and this offense gives him opportunities, his style of player and the quarterback trusts him. And then, what he is, is what you saw on Sunday with the one catch on the crossing route, dirty tough, lands on the football, was able to get up, shows no sign of weakness on that, and wants to get back in and go. And that's been him. Tough catch, contested ball, lands on it hard, and gets back in and plays and wants more."
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson on his return to the lineup: "I feel like these past two weeks have definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to have the opportunity to do that and just take a deeper dive and look into myself and see what I'm made of. I'm thankful for these past two weeks and I'm low-key glad it happened."
Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson on returning to face the Steelers: "Man, I had a great career there. I loved it. Great city, people great there. I know what they're about. I can't wait to get to Sunday to just be back in that stadium. I'm ready to get back there just to see the good people that I made relationships with and stuff like that. But other than that, it's a big moment for me."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on players complaining about sun getting in their eyes in AT&T Stadium: "That really goes under the category of home-field advantage. It should be an advantage to the home team, so I don't want to adjust it for one reason because it is an advantage to us. That's our advantage. That should be our advantage. We get to play there more and we get to have it as an advantage. It has been an advantage for us to know where the sun is. I don't want to change that."
Watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers live on Sky Sports NFL this Sunday, with coverage under way from 5pm ahead of kick-off at 6pm, followed by the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs against the Buffalo Bills
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