Kansas City won’t be hosting the AFC Championship this season, but they will be back for the opportunity to keep the Lamar Hunt trophy where it belongs and a shot at making the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs entered Highmark Stadium for their first road postseason game of the Patrick Mahomes era.
Bills Mafia wanted the two-time NFL MVP on their home turf, feeling it’d give them the advantage. Instead, the latter got their hearts ripped from their chest as they watched David Bass shank a 44-yard game-tying field goal wide right, and the Chiefs managed to walk away with the 27-24 win.
The Chiefs and Bills have had some historic battles in recent memory. Kansas City’s latest victory on Sunday night was no different as quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen combined for 492 yards of offense.
Both teams settled for field goals in the first quarter Bills kicker Tyler Bass put Buffalo on the board first after 15 plays of offense. On 3rd and 8 at the Chiefs’ nine-yard line, at 8:11, defensive tackle Chris Jones batted a pass at the line of scrimmage to force an incomplete pass. On the next play, Bass sent in a 27-yard field to give the Bills a brief 3-0.
Eight plays later, Kansas City’s Harrison Butker nailed a 44-yard field to tie things up with 4:40 left in the opening quarter.
Buffalo got things rolling on their second possession of the game. Three plays in, Allen connected on a 14-yard pass to running back Ty Johnson. Eight plays later, Allen caught Kansas City’s defense sleeping on a designed run for the five-yard touchdown.
Down 10-3, Kansas City took over with 13:32 in the second quarter. The Chiefs began moving up the field with consecutive Isiah Pacheco runs, one for nine yards and another for ten. Now at the 44-yard line, Mahomes connects on a 29-yard pass with tight end Travis Kelce to move up to the Bills’ 27-yard line. Two plays later, after a defensive holding foul moved the Chiefs up five yards to the 22, Mahomes completed two short passes. One to tight end Noah Gray for four yards, and the other for eight yards to wide receiver Rashee Rice. Four plays later, after failing to convert on 3rd and 11, Kansas City sets up Butker to kick in a 29-yard field goal.
After forcing the Bills to punt, Kansas City got the ball back with 6:07 left in the first half. The possession started with Mahomes finding Gray for a 12-yard connection to the 35-yard line. Two plays later, Clyde Edwards-Helaire takes a handoff and scoots downfield 28 yards to the Bills’ 22. After throwing an incomplete pass on the next play, Mahomes hit Kelce wide-open for the go-ahead touchdown to take the lead, 13-10.
Buffalo responded with a score of their own as Allen led the Bills on a methodical 14-play drive that traveled 75 yards down the field and ended with Allen pounding up the middle for a two-yard touchdown. Buffalo went into the half with a 17-13 lead.
Kansas City got the ball to start the second half. Mahomes began the third quarter with a 30-yard completion to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, advancing to the Bills’ 45-yard line. Two plays later, the Chiefs moved up to the 18-yard line after a 24-yard run by Mahomes. After a one-yard run by Pacheco, the second-year running back caught a 14-yard pass to move the Chiefs to the three-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes threw a short pass to Kelce for a two-yard touchdown.
The touchdown pass was the 16th score between Mahomes and Kelce, the most scores for a quarterback/tight end combo in NFL history.
Down 20-17, Buffalo used their rushing attack to slowly move down the field while draining time on the clock. After a three-yard pass from Allen to wide receiver Deonte Harty and two short runs by James Cook and Ty Johnson, the Bills moved up to their 42-yard line as Allen completed a seven-yard pass to Cook.
Seven plays later, Johnson broke loose for a 15-yard run to convert on 3rd and 2 and move up to the Chiefs’ 21. Four plays later, on 3rd and 13 from the 13, Allen scrambled to his left before throwing a dart for wide receiver Kahlil Shakir at the front pylon for the touchdown.
Buffalo’s 18-play, 75-yard drive erased over eight minutes off the clock. Kansas City took over with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter.
After two six-yard plays – a run by Pacheco and a completed pass from Mahomes to Kelce – Pacheco broke free for a 12-yard run to the KC 49. Two plays later, on 2nd and 7, Mahomes moved the offense up to the Bills’ 16 with a 32-yard bomb to MVS. On the next play, Pacheco ran four yards to the 12, followed by an 8-yard catch by Rice. On 1st and 4, Pacheco capped the 11-play, 75-yard drive off with a four-run for the touchdown.
On Buffalo’s next drive, they turned the ball over on downs after four plays and failed to convert on fourth down. Kansas City took over at the 32-yard line with 12:53 in the fourth quarter. Pacheco started the possession with a 29-yard dash to the Buffalo three-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes hands the ball off to wide receiver Mecole Hardman on a jet-sweep play, but the veteran is hit and fumbles the ball at the one-yard line, and the ball rolls out of bounds in the end zone, resulting in a touchback and returning the ball to Buffalo.
Buffalo is forced to punt after four plays, however. But the Buffalo tightened up and prevented Kansas City from moving the ball upfield after seven plays.
Down 27-24, Buffalo began their next drive with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter at their 20-yard line. They started moving upfield with a seven-yard pass to Dalton Kincaid, followed by a four-yard connection to wide receiver Dawson Knox to move up to the 31. Five plays later, the Bills converted on 4th and 3 with a ten-yard dart from Allen to Shakir, moving the chains to the Chiefs’ 40-yard line.
With 4:46 left in the game and a new set of downs, the Bills’ drive continued moving closer toward the end zone. A six-yard completion to Kincaid moved up to the 34. Two plays later, Buffalo converted 3rd and 4 with a seven-yard pass to Trent Sherfield. After a one-yard run by Cook, Allen threw two incomplete passes, forcing Davis Bass to try for a 44-yard field goal to tie the game with 1:47 remaining.
However, Bass’ kick sliced to the right, missing the goal post and ending Buffalo’s season as Kansas City took over and ran out the rest of the clock to secure the 27-24 victory.
The Chiefs will move on to the AFC Championship for the sixth consecutive time and will take on the tod-seeded Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, January 28 at 2 p.m. CT.
