3 lessons the Bills can take from watching Eagles destroy the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59

For as good as the Buffalo Bills have been over the last five years, winning 61 regular-season games en route to a franchise-record five consecutive AFC East titles and earning five postseason victories, they just haven't been able to figure out how to beat the Kansas City Chiefs when it matters.

Sure, the Bills have taken four of the five regular-season meetings between the two teams, with those four victories coming in consecutive fashion. But the playoffs have been a completely different story, as Buffalo simply can't get the job done.

In four of the last five years, the Bills' season has come to an end at the hands of their bitter rivals, including a heartbreaking 32-29 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game a few weeks back.

So, it couldn't have been easy for Buffalo to watch Kansas City represent the AFC in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years. At least not until the Philadelphia Eagles proved the Chiefs are indeed beatable in big-game situations.

But not only did the Eagles win; it was an absolute massacre, as Philly jumped out to a 34-0 lead and ultimately cruised to a 40-22 victory. And in doing so, they gave Buffalo a blueprint on what needs to be done in order for the Bills to finally get this monkey off their back and get past the Chiefs next season.

The Bills undoubtedly need to upgrade the defensive line

While the Eagles were impressive in every facet of the game on Sunday night, the most impressive part of their victory was watching their defensive line dominate the Chiefs' O-line, thus making life miserable for Patrick Mahomes, who was sacked six times.

What makes the performance even more impressive is that Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio didn't call a single blitz throughout the evening, letting his D-line rotation — edge rushers Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Nolan Smith, and tackles Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Milton Williams — do the heavy lifting in regards to getting after the quarterback.

Fangio's decision obviously paid off beautifully, as Mahomes was pressured on 42.9% of his dropbacks. Two of those pressures, of course, forced the three-time Super Bowl MVP into a pair of interceptions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown by Cooper DeJean.

By comparison, the Bills only pressured Mahomes 28.1% of the time in the AFC title game, resulting in only two sacks and zero forced turnovers. And that was with six blitzes.

With all due respect to Buffalo's defensive line rotation, the fact of the matter is that the Bills need to upgrade this group. Edge Greg Rousseau was one of the best pass-rushers in the league in 2024, but there's not a consistent threat on the other side, as Von Miller plays limited snaps these days as part of a rotation with A.J. Epenesa and Dawaune Smoot.

Tackle Ed Oliver had a solid season, earning a 78.6 PFF pass-rush grade, but 33-year-old DaQuan Jones isn't getting any younger, and third-round rookie DeWayne Carter didn't offer much help in his first year as a professional.

Given their salary cap issues, it'll be difficult for the Bills to add a high-profile player on the defensive line in free agency. But there's no question that GM Brandon Beane needs to figure out a way to upgrade the front four.

A little help in the secondary wouldn't hurt either

It's no secret that one of Buffalo's biggest issues this past season was defending the pass, as evidenced by the fact that they allowed the ninth-most passing yards per game (226.1).

While Christian Benford has developed into one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, ranking sixth at his position with an overall PFF grade of 79.3, he's also the only member of the Buffalo secondary who took more than 150 defensive snaps with a coverage grade higher than 67.7, coming in at 78.6.

That's a problem, especially when the Bills go into man coverage. Against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship, Buffalo defensive coordinator Bobby Babich chose to abandon the zone-first scheme a bit more than he has in the past and got burned, as Mahomes completed 12 of 15 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown when the Bills went man-to-man.

And again, this is a personnel issue, as cornerback Rasul Douglas (51.6), linebackers Matt Milano (45.1) and Terrell Bernard (37.7), safeties Damar Hamlin (41.5) and Taylor Rapp (43.2), and nickel back Taron Johnson (55.9) were all atrocious in coverage.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have cornerbacks Darius Slay, Cooper DeJean, and Quinyon Mitchell, safeties Chauncy Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship, and linebacker Zach Baun, all of whom can cover their respective zones but can also step up and thrive in man coverage, as they did on Sunday night against Kansas City.

The Bills simply haven't prioritized these positions nearly enough in recent years, and it's one of the big reasons why it's tough for them to beat the Chiefs when it counts.

Josh Allen still needs a big weapon on the outside

Josh Allen was absolutely fantastic for the Bills this season, setting multiple franchise and league records en route to winning his first NFL MVP Award.

But let's get real here. While Allen does a great job of spreading the ball around to a solid enough group of pass-catchers, he doesn't have a genuine weapon on the outside.

Keon Coleman undoubtedly has the talent to be that guy, but he was sidelined for a big chunk of the season with a wrist injury. The Bills' best receiver in 2024 was Khalil Shakir, who does his best work out of the slot, and Allen's other top target is tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Amari Cooper was supposed to fill that role after being acquired from the Cleveland Browns ahead of the trade deadline, but he was a bit of a disappointment overall, catching just 20 passes for 295 yards in eight regular-season games with Buffalo and recording only six receptions for 41 yards in the Bills' three postseason contests.

The Eagles, of course, have both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, both of whom made an impact in Super Bowl 59. Simply put, with Cooper set to hit free agency and unlikely to return, the Bills don't have anyone on the roster who has that kind of speed or can create separation. Again, the jury's still out on Coleman, but a bigger sample size is needed.

The overarching point with all of this is that the Bills must bolster their roster this offseason on both sides of the football. The schemes are there. And they've got plenty of talented players already, obviously including the newly crowned MVP. They just need a few more.