Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, Josh Allen’s Bills meet in the playoffs again with more on the line than ever

Each of Patrick Mahomes’ anterior postseason bouts with Josh Allen played retired differently, yet the result was the aforesaid each time.

Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs blew retired Allen’s Buffalo Bills, 38-24, successful the AFC Championship Game successful 2021, starring by astatine slightest 2 scores for astir each of the 2nd half.

The pursuing postseason, the Chiefs eked retired a 42-36 overtime triumph implicit the Bills successful an instant-classic divisional-round slugfest, during which the pb changed 3 times successful the last 2 minutes of regulation.

And past past year, the Chiefs held connected for a 27-24 triumph successful the divisional round, keeping the Bills scoreless connected their last 3 drives. Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass missed a would-be-game-tying 44-yard tract extremity with 1:47 remaining.

“You ever retrieve the feeling of not pulling through,” Allen, 28, said this week. “That sticks with you for a while, and that truly doesn’t leave.”

The rivalry renews this Sunday evening erstwhile Allen’s Bills sojourn Mahomes’ Chiefs successful the AFC Championship Game with a travel to the Super Bowl connected the line.

But the stakes are adjacent higher than that.

Mahomes and the Chiefs are pursuing their 3rd consecutive Super Bowl victory, which would marque them the archetypal squad successful NFL past to execute a three-peat.

Allen seeks his archetypal travel to a Super Bowl, with a accidental to alteration a communicative hanging implicit his different fantabulous career.

“Patrick’s 1 of the top to ever play the game, and they’re 1 of the top teams to ever beryllium assembled, going for a three-peat,” Allen said. “That’s what everyone wants to beryllium successful this league, to person the sustained occurrence that they have.”

Despite the title void connected his résumé, the rocket-armed Allen has been an elite postseason performer for overmuch of his seven-year NFL career. He’s thrown 23 touchdowns against 4 interceptions successful 12 playoff games.

But Allen is 0-3 against the Chiefs successful the playoffs, compared to 7-2 against everyone else.

“I’ve played against Josh capable times to cognize that he’s going to travel retired and play large football, particularly successful those large moments,” Mahomes said this week. “When you spell up against a large quarterback, it takes your champion arsenic well.”

Both quarterbacks person often been astatine their champion erstwhile they’ve faced each other.

In that back-and-forth 2022 divisional-round game, Mahomes threw for 378 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for different 69 yards and a score. Allen threw for 329 yards and 4 touchdowns and added different 68 yards connected the ground.

Allen’s 19-yard touchdown walk to Gabriel Davis enactment the Bills up, 36-33, with 13 seconds near successful the 4th quarter. Mahomes responded with a 13-second tract extremity drive, mounting up Harrison Butker’s 49-yarder to unit OT.

The Chiefs won the overtime coin flip and scored the game-winning touchdown connected the opening possession, with Mahomes firing a walk-off eight-yard walk to Travis Kelce. Two months later, the NFL owners approved a regularisation alteration that guarantees some teams person an violative possession successful playoff overtimes.

The regular-season meetings person been likewise competitive, though Allen is 4-1 successful those games.

The teams person faced each different 5 regular seasons successful a row, including successful November erstwhile the Bills handed the Chiefs their lone nonaccomplishment this play successful a crippled started by Mahomes.

“We’ve been capable to bushed them successful the playoffs, and they’ve gotten america successful the regular season,” Mahomes said. “But if you look astatine the games, each crippled is close.”

Las Vegas expects Sunday’s crippled to beryllium close, too. The Chiefs participate arsenic 1.5-point favorites.

The Chiefs, down a ball-control discourtesy and stout defense, went 15-2 successful the regular play to clinch the AFC’s No. 1 effect and a first-round bye. They cruised past the Houston Texans, 23-14, successful the divisional round.

The Bills finished 13-4 successful the regular play and arsenic the conference’s No. 2 seed, with Allen’s 40 full touchdowns starring a high-powered discourtesy and portion earning him a motion arsenic an MVP finalist. Buffalo bushed the Denver Broncos, 31-7, successful the chaotic paper circular and the Baltimore Ravens, 27-25, successful the divisional round.

It each led to the inevitable: Chiefs vs. Bills successful the playoffs erstwhile again.

“It’s similar a part game,” Allen said. “I consciousness similar we’ve played them conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic we’ve played the guys successful our division. With that comes familiarity, caller wrinkles present and determination passim the game, but they cognize who we are. We cognize who they are. It virtually comes down to who executes good connected Sunday. “