- The Buffalo Bills visit the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship
- The teams have met in the playoffs 3 times in the Past 4 years with KC winning every time
- Josh Allen has one remaining obstacle: Patrick Mahomes
The main question being asked is this: In the AFC Championship, can Josh Allen finally beat Patrick Mahomes? A trip to the Super Bowl is at stake and Allen can cement his NFL legacy by beating Mahomes, head-to-head.
Current odds have installed Kansas City as a 2-point favorite to win this game. Buffalo and KC are favored to win Super Bowl LIX over either potential NFC opponent.
A Long History Accrued in a Short Time
It usually takes years for a player-on-player rivalry to become part of the national consciousness. Think Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady. However, for two players who have yet to turn 30, Allen vs Mahomes has become a marquee matchup.
They were selected by their teams in the first round a year apart, Mahomes 10th overall in 2017 and Allen 7th overall in 2018. There were questions about both.
“Experts” wondered about Mahomes against NFL defenses after making his name at Texas Tech in Kliff Kingsbury’s “Air Raid” offense with four wide receivers and a single running back with the QB in a shotgun formation.
Allen’s pre-draft assessment was even more wishy-washy. He is huge at 6’5″, 237 lbs. He has a howitzer for an arm and, instead of running around defenders, he barrels over them. An apt comparison is calling Mahomes an elegant ballet dancer vs Allen’s bull.
His problem coming out of college was that he attended Wyoming. His counterparts in the 2018 draft were all from bigger schools in more competitive conferences: Sam Darnold (USC), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Lamar Jackson (Louisville), and the historic bust Josh Rosen (UCLA). Mayfield and Darnold were taken ahead of Allen.
Allen’s teams were slightly more successful on the field than Mahomes’. In his sophomore year, he led the Mountain West Conference in TD passes with 28, but also led in interceptions with 15.
But, oh that arm!
The Bills were rebuilding when they drafted Allen, so he started as a rookie. The Chiefs were still a playoff team and Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith.
Mahomes Has Dominated in the Playoffs
2020 AFC Championship: Chiefs 38-Bills 24
KC won relatively easily at home and advanced to Super Bowl LV where they lost to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Buffalo jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter before KC took command. Allen completed 28 of 48 passes for 2 TDS and 1 INT. Mahomes was 29 for 38 with 3 TDs and no picks.
2021 Divisional Round: Chiefs 42-Bills 36 (OT)
A case can be made that this is in the top five postseason games in history. The teams battled throughout regulation, trading TDs, field goals, and leads. The true drama came in the last two minutes when Buffalo took a 26-21 lead on an Allen 27-yard TD pass to Gabriel Davis and a 2-point conversion.
Mahomes responded with 1:02 left hitting Tyreek Hill for a 64-yard TD pass and a 33-29 KC lead. With 13 seconds left, Allen hit Davis again from 19 yards to give the Bills a 36-33 lead. Mahomes got the Chiefs in field goal range in those 13 seconds and Harrison Butker tied it at 36. In overtime, KC scored a TD on a Mahomes 8-yard pass to Travis Kelce without Buffalo touching the ball on offense.
2023 Divisional Round: Chiefs 27-Bills 24
In another back-and-forth affair, the teams traded leads through the first three quarters. With Buffalo leading 24-20, KC’s Isiah Pacheco scored on a 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter and the game ended 27-24.
Mahomes completed 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards and 2 TDs. Allen was 26 for 39, 186 yards, 1 TD pass, and 2 rushing TDs.
Even in a Team Sport, the Faces Get the Attention
Mahomes and Allen are the faces of their particular franchises if not the entire NFL. Mahomes has three Super Bowl wins at 29 and is already a legend with perhaps another decade to go in his career. Allen has hit the same roadblock — Mahomes — over and over again. The argument rages as to which is superior.
Retired wrestling legend Ric Flair once said that to reach the pinnacle, you need to beat the champion out of the champion. Comparing the world of sports entertainment of pro wrestling to the world of entertainment sports like the NFL is applicable here.
So, in the AFC Championship, can Josh Allen finally beat Patrick Mahomes?
Of course he can. A trip to Super Bowl LIX and ending decades-long heartbreak in Buffalo is riding on it.
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