When the Buffalo Bills signed veteran pass-rusher Von Miller to a six year, $120 million contract with $45 million guaranteed, it was for one specific reason — to deal with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. One of the many fascinating aspects of Buffalo’s divisional round loss to Kansas City last season was that Mahomes was pressured on 21 of his 53 dropbacks, but he completed nine of 13 passes under pressure for 165 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Bills sacked Mahomes twice in that game, but what they needed was a finisher who could not only take Mahomes down on a regular basis, but also affect protections to a point that all of Miller’s linemates could eat, too.
That has been the case though the 2022 season, and it was certainly the case in Buffalo’s 24-20 win over the Chiefs on Sunday. Miller was responsible for two sacks, two quarterback hits, and all kinds of problems for Kansas City’s offensive line.
Von Miller with the spin move on Andrew Wylie & gets the sack on Mahomes! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/4Id5DqIX01
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) October 16, 2022
Von Miller (@VonMiller) gets the sack with the ghost/rip. Runs the hoop & gets to Mahomes! #passrush #billsmafia pic.twitter.com/GckNVn9sCQ
— Coach Aaron Day (@dlinevids1) October 17, 2022
On Mahomes’ interception to cornerback Taron Johnson with less than a minute left in the game — the play that stopped the Chiefs from staging one of their ridiculous comebacks — it was Miller who broke through a double-team to force Mahomes off his spot.
"Taron Johnson with the THEFT!!!"
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/AFADsHLO0K
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 16, 2022
After the game, Miller talked to James Palmer from the NFL Network about the difference he’s made.
The #bills brought in Von Miller to get over the hump and get to the Super Bowl. He showed today just that. Our interview on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/R1DdP5sQZu
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 17, 2022
“We’re still going, man. It’s a great team win. We knew it was going to be a tough one. We knew we were going to have to go all 60 minutes, if not 70 minutes. We just kept fighting, and the motto is, ‘Don’t blink.’ We didn’t blink when we were down, we didn’t blink when we were up. Great team win for the Bills.”
Palmer asked Miller what it was that the Bills were doing so well up front — they sacked Mahomes three times, and hit him nine times overall.
“It was just everybody up front, man. We just had fanatical effort. We just took what they gave us, just kept jabbing and jabbing, and whenever there was an opening for a haymaker, we took it. That’s a tough team we went against — that offensive line blocked us up pretty good. We just took what they gave us.”
And is Miller looking forward to seeing the Chiefs down the road — in the postseason, of course?
“Yeah, we’re definitely going to see them again. This is not the end of the Mahomes and [Josh] Allen era — it’s just a privilege to be a part of it.”
When the next Bills-Chiefs game does come around, and if the results are similarly favorable for the Bills, you can start with Miller when looking for the reasons why.
