The storeyed NFL rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs is about to hit fever pitch.
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The two teams will meet in Monday morning’s AFC Championship game with the winner booking their ticket to the Super Bowl.
Kansas City are in pursuit of their third-straight Super Bowl, which would be an NFL record. They also haven’t lost a playoff game in 1091 days.
In an obvious indicator of the domination the Chiefs have had over the AFC since superstar QB Patrick Mahomes has been behind centre, this is Kansas City’s seventh straight AFC Championship appearance.
Meanwhile, the tortured Bills are still chasing that elusive first title.
It’s the most heated non-division rivalry in the entire NFL, with these teams having played each other eight times in the last five years.
Unfortunately for the Bills, the Chiefs have had the wood over them in the games that mean the most with Kansas City knocking Buffalo out of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. (In somewhat of a consolation prize, in that same span, the Bills are 4-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season).
It’s a frustrating hump that the Bills can’t seem to get over, although it doesn’t rival their four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s.
CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz – who has called several of the these teams’ recent playoff clashes, and will do so again – believes it’s a rivalry that goes down in history.
“There will be a time when we look back and say ‘how lucky were we’”.
THE QUARTERBACKS
Any riveting story needs strong leading men.
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen certainly fit that mold.
The fourth playoff meeting between the two is only bettered by legends Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, who played each other five times in the postseason.
While Mahomes, with his three Super Bowl rings in four years, is undisputedly the game’s best quarterback, Allen has been nipping on his heels during that time.
Mahomes does have the 3-0 record over Allen in the playoffs, but there’s a case to be made that says the Buffalo quarterback has outplayed him.
In those three games, Allen has accounted for 342 offensive yards per game, nine total touchdowns and just one interception.
While that’s all well and good, Allen now needs to go and win.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky says it’s the “biggest moment” of Allen’s career.
“Biggest game of his career … You got to go be an Rocky and knock out Drago,” Orlovsky said on Get Up!
“You gotta go get it done. You gotta go knock off the giant, Patrick’s the giant.”
Allen may be chasing a career first, but Mahomes is on his way to immortality.
Respected sports broadcaster Mike Greenberg says Mahomes is on the verge of rarefied air, comparing the Chiefs quarterback to the legendary Michael Jordan.
“Patrick Mahomes is playing to become the Michael Jordan of this era. When did Michael Jordan become Michael Jordan? When he three-peated,” Greenberg said.
OFFICIATING CONSPIRACY
A game of this magnitude is going to cause some chaos in the lead up, especially when it involves the Chiefs.
Given their success over the better part of a decade, fans of any team but the Chiefs are beginning to get tired of their winning ways.
Exasperating the hatred is the widely held belief that Kansas City always get the rub of the green when it comes to officiating decisions.
Outrage ensued during the Chiefs’ divisional round playoff win over the Texans last week when a couple of bad calls went against Houston.
That caught the ire of several Texans players post-game.
While there’s no proof behind Anderson and Mixon’s comments, the stats show their frustration is reasonable.
According to analytics expert, the Chiefs have had less penalties than their opponents in 10 of 11 playoff games (one draw).
That is unheard of.
It must be said that the Chiefs are one of the more disciplined teams in the league and extremely well coached so credit has to be given, but it’s easy to be sceptical.
CHIEFS V BILLS PLAYOFF HISTORY (MAHOMES-ALLEN ERA)
A snapshot of the three playoff games between these two sides:
2020 AFC Championship Game: Chiefs win 38-24
The Bills raced out to an early 9-0 lead in the first quarter, but after that it was all one-way traffic. Kansas City was far and away the better team and backed up this performance with a win in the Super Bowl a fortnight later over the San Francisco 49ers.
2021 AFC Divisional Round: Chiefs win 42-36 (OT)
Considered one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history, this famous win by Kansas City also sparked a rule change. In the final two minutes of regulation and in the overtime period, there were four (!) touchdowns scored. Buffalo was trailing 26-21 with 1:58 left when Josh Allen threw a touchdown to Gabe Davis. The Chiefs would hit back quickly when Tyreek Hill scored a 64-yard touchdown 52 seconds later. When Allen again found Davis for his fourth TD with 13 seconds on the clock, the Bills led 36-33 and the game appeared over but that was enough time for the Chiefs to run plays into field goal territory and tie the game as the clock hit zero. The Chiefs would win the toss, receive the ball in overtime and score a touchdown to win the game without the Bills even getting a chance. That forced an NFL rule change which gives both teams the chance to possess the ball.
2023 AFC Divisional Round: Chiefs win 27-24
The Bills led 24-20 in the fourth quarter but Kansas City hit the front after Isiah Pacheco’s touchdown run. While not quite as heartbreaking as two years prior, the Bills had a golden opportunity to tie the game up at 27 with just under two minutes remaining. However, Tyler Bass missed a field goal from 44 yards out to hand the Chiefs another postseason victory.
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