Chiefs back in familiar position

It’s fourth straight year in AFC championship and second straight ending Bills’ season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a never-say-die showdown between two of the NFL’s top teams, and two of its bright young quarterbacks, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs played a classic Sunday night decided by one of them calling tails and the other making him pay for it.

Josh Allen’s decision on the overtime coin toss was his only mistake for Buffalo all night.

Patrick Mahomes promptly followed it by marching Kansas City downfield against the NFL’s top-ranked but exhausted defense, then finding Travis Kelce in the corner of the end zone from eight yards, giving the Chiefs a 42-36 victory.

Kansas City advanced to its fourth consecutive AFC championship game.

“The guys didn’t flinch,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team will play the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl that would be Kansas City’s third straight.

What was Reid’s advice for Mahomes at the end?

“When it’s grim, be the grim reaper, and go get it,” Reid said. “He made everyone around him better.”

The lead changed hands three times in the final two minutes of regulation before Harrison Butker, who had missed a field goal and extra point, drilled a 49-yarder for Kansas City as time expired to force overtime.

“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life,” said Mahomes, who finished with 378 yards passing and three touchdown passes, including a 64-yarder to Tyreek Hill during the thrilling final minutes of regulation.

“We got tremendous leaders on both sides of the ball, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams,” Hill said. “Nobody panicked. Nobody was like, ‘Oh, the game is over, there’s 13 seconds left.’ We just made plays.”

Allen did everything he could to prevent another season-ending loss in Arrowhead Stadium. He threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis with 1:54 left in regulation, then another to Davis — his playoffrecord fourth touchdown catch of the game — with 13 seconds left in regulation.

Allen finished with 329 yards passing, and Davis with eight catches for 201 yards, as the Bills — who beat the Chiefs in October — lost their ninth straight road playoff game dating to their last victory in the 1992 season’s AFC championship.