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Sunday’s showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium was billed (pun intended) by many as the game of the regular season.
After last year’s insane AFC Divisional Round game between the two, this year’s contest was considered must-see TV. It was a matchup of two teams that clearly have no love lost, and it also featured perhaps the two biggest Super Bowl favorites and the two best quarterbacks in the league.
The game delivered.
Buffalo walked away with a 24-20 victory after a late passing touchdown from Josh Allen to Dawson Knox. Kansas City had a chance to retake the lead with a little over a minute remaining. But Taron Johnson stepped in front of Patrick Mahomes pass for an interception, sealing the game for the Bills.
All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer was a big part of Buffalo slowing an always dangerous Chiefs offense. Poyer ranked up four tackles and roamed the secondary through the afternoon. But he almost didn’t get the chance to play.
Bills’ Safety Jordan Poyer Takes 15-Hour Van Ride To Get To Kansas City
Poyer suffered a rib injury in a Week 4 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He then missed Week 5 against the Steelers and was still not cleared to fly by Buffalo team doctors.
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reports that instead of Poyer missing the game in Kansas City, the Bills arranged for their star safety and his family to take a van from Orchard Park, New York to Arrowhead Stadium.
Poyer traveled over five states, 15 hours and nearly 1,000 miles to play in the game.
“You want to go into a season, you want to go throughout the year, without any bumps and bruises, but that’s going to happen,” Poyer said last week. “Just fighting through ’em, and luckily, we’ve got a great team of trainers here that allow me to get back on the field and perform at my best.”
Buffalo had all hands on deck against the Chiefs. And the decision to do so certainly paid off.