Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game. The AFC West team has now made five Super Bowls in the last six seasons and could become the first team in the NFL‘s history to win three straight Super Bowls.
The Chiefs played their best football in the biggest game of the season, and Mahomes proved to everyone why he is the best quarterback in the league. Based on how the star quarterback usually plays at the highest level in the biggest games, Colin Cowherd compared him to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Colin Cowherd Breaks Down Patrick Mahomes’ Greatness
Cowherd discussed how Mahomes and the Chiefs make other teams nervous on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” He emphasized that the Bills and the Baltimore Ravens usually shift from their style of play against Kansas City, which has not resulted in success for either team.
The FS1 analyst also mentioned that the Chiefs play freely in big games, whereas the other teams are shaky from the start. This was evidenced by how Allen started the game as the Bills quarterback made two throws which could have ended in an interception on the first drive of the game.
“If Buffalo doesn’t recover all four of their fumbles, I wonder if it’s close,” Cowherd said. “They’ve had the lead in all four games against Kansas City in the playoffs. And yet, here’s Mahomes, and I noticed this yesterday, it reminded me of Tiger Woods and MJ; he’s got that red on in a big Sunday game, and Mahomes, as great as he is, elevates and expands in these games, and Josh Allen and the Bills and Sean McDermott, they just shrink a little.”
"It reminded me of Tiger Woods and MJ… Mahomes, as great as he is, elevates and expands in these games."
— @ColinCowherd on Chiefs advancing to third straight Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/U7bMekFJQf
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 27, 2025
“… In these big games — MJ, Tiger on a Sunday, Mahomes yesterday [2024 AFC Championship] — they get to show off; there’s no curfew, do what you have to do, there’s no tomorrow,” Cowherd added. “They [Chiefs] scored their most points, Mahomes had his season high in carries, from the first, organized, efficient, and lethal drive of the game until the last, they were a better team on the biggest plays.”
Allen is 4-1 against Mahomes in the regular season but has lost all four matchups in the postseason. He didn’t play badly in the AFC Championship Game but could not come through for his team when the Bills had the chance to win.
On the other hand, Mahomes has more often than not made the plays that were required for his team to win the game. The two-time NFL MVP rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries against the Bills. He was better than Allen in every category, as the Bills again fell short of making the Super Bowl.
Buffalo’s attempt to use Allen to convert short yardage with the Tush Push also didn’t work, as the Chiefs were well prepared to stop that. Not only was the Chiefs’ quarterback better than Buffalo’s (AFC Championship QB+: Mahomes, 88.7; Allen, 78.4), but Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo outcoached Sean McDermott and Joe Brady.
As long as teams like the Ravens and the Bills get tight while playing against the Chiefs, Mahomes and Co. will likely continue to dominate in the AFC. Both of these teams have a lot of work to do in the offseason, but it begins with changing their mentality of how they approach the games against Kansas City.
