Bills tackle K.C. in rematch
Chiefs knocked out Buffalo in the AFC playoffs last season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In one of the wildest playoff games in NFL history, the Bills and Chiefs traded the lead three times and scored 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation, including a 13-second field-goal drive by Kansas City to force overtime that folks in Buffalo are still trying to live down.
The Chiefs went on to win that AFC divisional playoff game in January, ending Buffalo’s season at Arrowhead Stadium for the second consecutive year, and leaving Josh Allen and the rest of the heartbroken Bills counting the days until
Sunday.
That’s when they get another shot at the team that’s becoming their nemesis.
“I mean, I think there are a lot of things you can take away from that game that can help you,” said Allen, whose Bills also lost the 2020 AFC championship game at Kansas City. “Again, that’s neither here nor there right now, but it’s a situation — we can take a lot from that and try to apply to practice and when we play.”
There’s an argument to be made both teams are better than they were last year.
The Bills lead the league in passing offense and total offense and are second in scoring. Tops in scoring? That would be the Chiefs, who are fourth in passing offense and sixth in total offense. On the flip side, the Bills are tied for first in scoring defense and No. 2 against the pass and in total defense while Kansas City is third against the rush.
No wonder both teams are 4-1.
“They’re a really good team. They’ve been there for a long time. Andy Reid-coached football teams win and they win often, and they sustain it and they’re really tough at home,” said Bills coach Sean McDermott, who worked under Reid in Philadelphia more than a decade ago. “So really good opponent. We have a lot of respect for them.”
The respect is mutual, and it’s only grown over the years. This will be the fifth time since 2020 the two teams have met,
including those two playoff games at Arrowhead Stadium.
“We know it’s going to come down to the wire every time we play them,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “To see the guys respond (in January) when it looked like it was over, that’s something you’re always going to have.”
Indeed, the Bills appeared to have the game won when Gabe Davis caught his playoff-record fourth TD pass to give them a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds left. But that was enough time for Mahomes to complete two long passes and set up Harrison Butker’s 49-yard field goal to force overtime, where Kansas City scored on the first possession to win.
To this day, the words “13 seconds” continue to haunt Bills fans.
Allen and Mahomes each eclipsed 300 yards passing with three touchdowns, completed at least 70 percent of their passes without an interception and led their teams with at least 65 yards rushing in their January showdown.
No other quarterback in NFL history has done that in a game, regular or postseason.