The Kansas City Chiefs had some ups and downs during their season, but in another classic against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round on Sunday night, they looked as solid as ever.
The 27-24 win featured strong play from both quarterbacks, but Mahomes and the Chiefs came out victorious, advancing to play the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game next week.
Kansas City Chiefs Defeat Buffalo Bills in Thriller
To start the game, the Bills settled for a 27-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass to give them a 3-0 lead.
Mahomes and the Chiefs moved the ball well on their opening drive but stalled just inside the 30-yard line. The drive ended with Harrison Butker kicking a 47-yard field goal to tie this game in the first quarter.
The first touchdown of the game came on a Josh Allen five-yard run to the left side, giving the Bills a 10-3 advantage with 13:32 on the clock in the second quarter.
The Chiefs were unable to find the end zone again, as they settled for another Butker field goal. Then, Travis Kelce turned it on.
The Chiefs tight end caught his first touchdown since Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles on a 22-yard strike from Mahomes with 3:33 left in the first half. It gave Kansas City its first lead of the game at 13-10.
But the Bills didn’t trail for long, as Allen punched in a two-yard touchdown that made it 17-13 with 26 seconds before halftime.
Both defenses had a difficult first half, as there was only one punt and neither quarterback was sacked.
The Chiefs reclaimed the lead on their first drive of the second half, as Mahomes led the Chiefs on a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a short three-yard touchdown reception by Kelce.
Kelce and Mahomes now have the most combined touchdowns (16) by any QB-receiver duo in NFL postseason history. They passed Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
The Bills then took back the lead toward the end of the third quarter. On third-and-goal from the 13-yard line, Allen scrambled to his left and threw the ball to Khalil Shakir, who hauled it in for the Bills’ first touchdown through the air.
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It was a back-and-forth affair as the Chiefs scored 40 seconds into the fourth quarter to retake a 27-24 lead on an Isiah Pacheco four-yard touchdown run.
Instead of punting, the Bills ran a fake punt play with Bills cornerback Damar Hamlin carrying the ball on a run. Hamlin gained two yards and was tackled short of a first down. The teams then exchanged punts before an absolute nightmare unfolded for Bills Mafia.
The Bills had a chance to tie the game, but the kick from Tyler Bass was wide right.
A first down would seal the game for the Chiefs, and that’s exactly what they were able to do as Pacheco ran for eight and three yards for a first down and Mahomes kneeled three times to run out the clock.
Mahomes completed 17 of his 23 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Kelce was on the receiving end of both of his touchdowns while catching five of his six targets for 75 yards. Allen finished his night 26 of 39 for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 72 yards and two scores.
Mahomes is now going to his sixth straight AFC Championship Game, where he will face the Baltimore Ravens. He has gone to the championship game every season as a starter.
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