The Kansas City Chiefs made it loud and clear that the AFC goes through GEHA field at Arrowhead Stadium after an unbelievable performance against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday evening. Both teams combined for 26 points in the final two minutes for regulation as quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen threw haymaker after haymaker to keep their respective team ahead of the other.
But in the final 13 seconds, down 36-33, after Buffalo scored a 19-yard touchdown to jump ahead, Mahomes set up kicker Harrison Butker nailing in a 49-yard field goal after three plays with three seconds left to send the game into overtime. Once Kansas City won the toss, Mahomes guided his offense 75 yards down the field with short passes to his receivers. On the eighth play, he lobs the ball up to Travis Kelce and connects for the walk-off touchdown to win the game.
Kansas City advances to a fourth consecutive AFC Championship after what will arguably go down in history as one of the greatest playoff games ever played. They are the first team in NFL history to host four straight championship games.
Patrick Mahomes leaves the field after connecting 33 of 44 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He also made Buffalo pay by using his legs to gain 69 rushing yards and a score on seven scrambles.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a monster game with 11 catches for 150 yards and an electrifying 64-yard touchdown. Tight end Travis Kelce finished with eight receptions for 86 yards and the score that won the game in overtime, and Byron Pringle leaves with five catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.
On the other sideline, Josh Allen completed 27 of 37 throws for 329 yards and four touchdown passes. He also caught the Chiefs defense sleeping by picking 68 yards on the ground off of eight scrambles. Allen’s favorite target tonight was wide receiver Gabriel Davis, who was the star of Buffalo’s passing game. The second-year player out of Central Flordia caught eight passes for 201 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
In the first half, Kansas City and Buffalo traded touchdown drives deadlock at seven. First, running back Devin Singletary caps off a 15-play drive with a one-yard touchdown. Then Mahomes calls his own number on 3rd-and-five from the Buffalo eight-yard line, driving for the front left pylon for the score that ties it up after 13 plays.
On Buffalo’s next possession, Josh Allen got dropped for an 11-yard sack by edge rusher Melvin Ingram, which put an eleven-yard drive to a halt after traveling only 24 yards, forcing the Bills to punt for the first time this postseason.
After going three and out on their last possession, Kansas City got the offense moving again with a 21-yard pass from Mahomes to Kelce, followed by a 12-yard connection to Byron Pringle. A 10-yard catch by Tyreek Hill got Kansas City across midfield and into Buffalo territory, which was followed up by a 22-yard burst by Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the ground to get Kansas City to the 21-yard line.
From there, Kansas City attempted a reverse play with Tyreek Hill, but the Bills were able to sniff it out, and Hill was pushed out of bounds for a loss of two yards. On second down, Mahomes found CEH for nine yards to set up 3rd-and-3 at Buffalo’s 14, which is converted by Jerick McKinnon, who goes up the middle for a gain of six yards.
But on first-and-goal, Mahomes loses seven yards from a sack by defensive end Ed Oliver. Five plays later, on the third-and-goal from the two-yard line, Mahomes tosses a short pass to Pringle for the score that put Kansas City ahead 14-7.
However, the lead wouldn’t last as Allen, and the Bills’ offense quickly went 75 yards up the field in nine plays to nod the game back up after Gabriel Davis caught a 19-yard dart in the end zone.
With under a minute left, Kansas City tried to break the tie before halftime by setting up Harrison Butker for a 50-yard field goal attempt after seven plays by the offense. However, Butker’s kick veered to the right outside the uprights, leaving the score tied at the half.
In the third quarter, Kansas City got the ball first, but after 15 plays, they only cashed in a 39-yard field to go up 17-14. After forcing Buffalo to punt after five plays, the Chiefs’ offense returned at their 39-yard line. The first three plays gained minimal yardage, moving the Chiefs to Buffalo’s 45.
At the 2:56 mark in the third, Clyde Edwards-Helaire took a handoff off right tackle and went the distance for a 20-yard run to the 25-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes handed the ball off to Mecole Hardman on a Jet Sweep, which resulted in the Georgia alum weaving his way through a cluster of Bills defenders before finding an opening and making a dash for the end zone and the score.
But just as fans thought Kansas City would run away being up 23-14, Josh Allen and the Bills said, ‘wait a minute’ as Allen threw a 75-yard bomb to Davis for his second receiving touchdown of the game. Chiefs’ defensive backs, Charvarious Ward and Juan Thornhill, were burned on the play as Buffalo drew closer on the scoreboard, 23-21.
Buffalo got the ball back after forcing the Chiefs to punt at the start of the fourth quarter. Allen began the drive with a 17-yard completion to Gabriel Davis, but the offense struggled to move the ball past the 25-yard line. After two incompletions and a 5-yard false start penalty on tight end Dawson Knox, the Bills were forced to punt. Punter Matt Haack sent off a 54-yard punt which Tyreek Hill returned 13 yards to the Chiefs’ 44-yard line. However, offsetting penalties forced Buffalo to replay the down and punt again.
This time, Haack’s punt went 46 yards to Kansas City’s 39, where Hill began his return and found a lane to sprint 45 yards upfield before being pushed out of bounds at the Bills’ 16-yard line.
Unfortunately, Kansas City’s offense could not take advantage of the excellent field position, and after three lousy plays, Buker was sent in to drive home a 28-yard field.
Down 26-21, Buffalo took a methodical approach on offense, traveling 75 yards in 19 plays, which took over seven minutes off the game clock before Allen found Davis for the 27-yard score right at the two-minute warning.
With 1:39 in regulation, Mahomes converted on third-and-ten by connecting with Kelce for an eleven-yard completion. After a short pass to McKinnon went incomplete, Mahomes threw a 64-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill to retake a 33-21 lead.
However, the Bills answered in eight plays. At the 58-second mark, Allen completed a 28-yard pass to Davis to cross midfield to the 47-yard line. On the next play, Davis was there again for a 12-yard catch that put the Bills on the 35.
Two plays later, Allen hit receiver Emmanuel Sanders for 16-yards up to the Chiefs’ 19-yard line, followed by Allen throwing a dime to Gabriel Davis in the end zone for the 19-yard touchdown to give Buffalo the lead with 17 seconds left in regulation.
Kansas City got the ball back with 13 seconds left on the clock and had no intention of rolling over. From his 25-yard line, Mahomes threw a short pass upfield to Tyreek Hill with blockers out in front. The play went for 19 yards up the 44 with 8 seconds on the clock.
From the 44, Mahomes threw another short pass to Travis Kelce, which turned into a 25-yard gain to the Buffalo 31, allowing Harrison Butker to nail through a ridiculous 49-yard field goal to force overtime.
In OT, Kansas City won the coin toss to begin the extra period. From his own 25, Mahomes handed the ball to Edwards-Helaire, which resulted in a four-yard gain. The next play was a five-yard pass to Pringle, then a 10-yard connection to Kelce, followed by another short run by Edwards-Helaire.
Three plays later, with 11:32 in overtime, Mahomes threw a short pass to Mecole Hardman, who flew upfield 26 yards to the Bills’ 8-yard line. Mahomes lobbed a pass Kelce in the back right corner of the end zone for the game-winning score on the next play.
Kansas City will host Cincinnati next week in the AFC Championship from Arrowhead Stadium at 2 p.m. CT
