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Just days prior to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Divisional Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills, linebacker Willie Gay finds himself involved with authorities.
Gay, 23, was arrested on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, in Overland Park, Kansas, in a misdemeanor criminal damage case, according to KCTV5 News. Records from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office show the second-year linebacker was arrested around 10:30 p.m. Central time and processed through the county’s central booking facility in Olathe just after midnight on January 20. According to court records, no bond was set and he was scheduled for arraignment at 2:30 p.m. the same day.
Gay is accused of property damage “to a vacuum, cell phone screen, wall/door frame and a humidifier,” according to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, who obtained the Overland Park police department offense report.
McDowell also reported that, according to police, “there were no drugs, alcohol or weapon” involved in the incident.
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Gay was at his son’s house and got into an argument with his son’s mother, according Gay’s agent, Maxx Lepselter, who released a statement to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Lepselter told Rapoport he believes the situation could be “resolved shortly,” as early as Thursday.
Gay Important Piece of Chiefs’ Defense
In his second year in the NFL, Gay has established himself as a strong piece of the Chiefs defense. In 12 games played during the regular season, he recorded 26 tackles, four passes defended, two interceptions and one tackle for loss, per Pro Football Reference.
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Gay gathered two tackles, one forced fumble and one QB hit.
Chiefs Need 2 Wins to Reach 2022 Super Bowl
In order to make a third-straight Super Bowl appearance, the Chiefs need to win two more playoff games. That means they need to beat the Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Kansas City played Buffalo already this season, losing 38-20 on October 10. In that game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and also had two interceptions.
“Listen, [the Bills] got after us. So, we know it’s a great challenge and they’re a great team,” head coach Andy Reid explained during his press conference on Monday, January 17. “So, we’re going to go through the process of getting ourselves ready to play. We’ll take it day by day, and as coaches, we’ll try to get the players good stuff to work with, and I know the players and their attitude, they love that part of it, and they’ll work hard to better themselves so we can have a good game.”
What can be taken away from the October 10 Chiefs-Bills matchup is that Kansas City was a very different football team back then. The Chiefs defense hadn’t turned things around yet, and the offense wasn’t comfortable with its new identity. But that’s not the case anymore, which was evident against Pittsburgh in the Wild Card Round.
Against the Steelers, Mahomes set career-highs in completions (30) and yards (404) for a single postseason game, according to Pro Football Reference. He also threw five touchdowns, which ties his career-high in the playoffs through eight career games. Kansas City’s offense overall totaled 478 yards and turned the ball over just one time.
Buffalo beat the New England Patriots 47-17 on Wild Card Weekend. Allen completed 21-of-25 pass attempts for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Buffalo’s offense averaged 8.9 yards per play, and the defense gave up just 216 yards through the air and forced Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones into throwing two interceptions.
If the Chiefs beat the Bills, then they will advance to the AFC Championship Game and will face the winner of the Cincinnati Bengals-Tennessee Titans game.
Kansas City will host Buffalo on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, January 23, at 5:30 p.m. Arrowhead time.