Bills tackle Dion Dawkins admits Chiefs showdown is more than just another game: 'We have history'

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs square off Sunday on CBS in one of the biggest games of the NFL's regular season. It could be an AFC Championship Game preview between the perennial Super Bowl contenders, and the showdown features two of the frontrunners for NFL MVP in Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. On paper, everything about this battle means more than the average game. And Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins is embracing the stakes.

Dawkins, a four-time Pro Bowler, is an even 5-5 against the Chiefs in his career. He understands the magnitude of this rivalry series, which over the last five years has often come with massive implications.

"I don't want to say it's 'just that next game,' because we have history," Dawkins said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "It's not 'just that next game.' There is stuff there. There is a little bit of more passion. There is a little, 'I want this more than ever.' We gotta just control our emotions, play well and understand that the Chiefs are coming to our home base trying to take us out. We're going to try our best and we're going to do our part of defending our dirt and see what happens when that 60-minute game says zero."

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The Bills have the Chiefs' number in regular-season play. They are 5-1 against Kansas City in regular-season meetings since 2017 and won each of the last four matchups. It is when the stakes are at their highest that the Chiefs take control. They won each of the four playoff showdowns since Mahomes and Allen joined their respective teams.

Last year, Allen led Buffalo to a 30-21 win to snap the Chiefs' perfect 9-0 start to the season. Kansas City got the last laugh, though, when it returned the favor with a 32-29 win in the AFC Championship Game.

"We all know who the juggernauts are," Dawkins said. "We can humble ourselves, we can all say, 'every game is a big game.' But realistically, when you're playing against greats like Mahomes and [Travis] Kelce and some of these guys, you understand the competition, you understand the competitiveness, you understand the hype of just the competitor. You want to take it like, 'This is the Super Bowl, this is a great, big game.'"

The Chiefs are slim road favorites (-1.5 at FanDuel) as they ride a three-game winning streak and have reversed their fortunes after a 2-3 start raised questions about their Super Bowl hopes. The Bills (5-2) had issues of their own during a two-game losing skid and seemed to also right the ship in their last time out with a 40-9 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers.

Both sides are fresh off playing their best football of the season. That could translate to another instant classic.