ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – After Sunday’s 28-21 loss at Highmark Stadium, the Chiefs weren’t in the mood to talk moral victories. And while they nearly battled back, ultimately Buffalo (6-2) used a superior gameplan and a gutsy effort from a depleted defense to hand Kansas City a big setback.

The loss drops the Chiefs (5-4) out of the playoff picture – for now – and coupled with wins by the Broncos and Chargers, leaves Kansas City alone in third place in the AFC West.

Perhaps the biggest pill to swallow Sunday, though, was another conference loss. Kansas City fell to 2-3 in the AFC, one of the conference’s worst records, leaving them potentially in trouble with tiebreakers looming.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

Joe Brady gets game ball

If Joe Brady wasn’t already at the top of head-coach interview lists, he will be when owners see what he did Sunday. The Bills’ offensive coordinator was superb on Sunday. His gameplan featuring James Cook setting up the tight ends was spotless, so effective that Josh Allen didn’t have to beat the Chiefs with his legs.

Other than a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs and a third-quarter designed run that netted an 11-yard first down – Allen was largely contained in the pocket.

But that’s where he picked apart the Chiefs – and his tight ends feasted. Allen put only three passes on the ground all game, finishing 23 of 26 (88.5 percent) for 273 yards.

Tight ends were tightly coveted in that gameplan

The Chiefs’ linebackers, normally sound in coverage, struggled to cover Buffalo’s tight ends. Collectively, they put up 141 yards on eight receptions. Dalton Kincaid (101 yards and a touchdown on six catches) became the first player to reach 100 on the Chiefs since Jerry Jeudy last season (Dec. 15 at Cleveland) – snapping a streak of 14 games.

One of the most important plays involved rookie Jackson Hawes. On the first snap after the Chiefs took a 10-7 lead, Allen made a phenomenal play. He took steps toward the line of scrimmage to draw in the linebackers, then flipped the ball over their heads to Hawes for 18 yards. Three plays later, he hit Kincaid in the left flat for 47 yards, setting up Ty Johnson’s go-ahead touchdown.

And while the Bills never trailed after Johnson’s touchdown, the most pivotal drive was late in the first half – and, again, they used a tight end. Dawson Knox burst open for 30 yards to the Chiefs’ 3-yard line. The play allowed Buffalo to score on an Allen run and take a 21-10 lead, allowing the Bills to dictate the rest of the game and keep Kansas City’s defense in check.

Chiefs showed plenty of grit and guts in fourth quarter

When the Bills took a 28-13 lead late in the third quarter, a lot of people felt the game might be over. Mahomes was not one of those people.

Under heavy pressure, he stood in the pocket and marched the Chiefs 66 yards in 11 plays. Mahomes converted a third-and-10 with a 33-yard pass to Hollywood Brown. And after a Joey Bosa sack and an incompletion, Mahomes faced fourth-and-17 from Buffalo’s 40-yard line.

Reid kept the offense on the field and Mahomes found Rice for 29 yards to move the chains. Still, Kansas City needed four downs to get in the end zone, Kareem Hunt punching in a 2-yard run.

Down 28-19, Reid didn’t need to go for two at that point but he did. And Mahomes hit Travis Kelce just past the goal line to pull Kansas City within seven at 28-21.