Because of the incandescent Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, there is nothing quite like the Buffalo Bills’ and Kansas City Chiefs’ rivalry in today’s NFL. Every time these two match up, we can expect an instant classic.
But more than most, it seems like the Bills have the Chiefs’ number … in the regular season. There’s no other reasonable conclusion after watching Allen cruise in for an awesome clutch touchdown run to salt away the Bills’ fourth straight regular-season win over their biggest rivals, ending their once-undefeated season.
The Bills have perfected the recipe to beat Kansas City better than anyone. It’s just that beating Patrick Mahomes when he still has more medium-stakes games to play as opposed to beating him with his team’s season on the line feels like a different animal:
"We'll do it again, baby." – Patrick Mahomes to Josh Allen pic.twitter.com/6l2B3SP9qQ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 18, 2024
Sunday’s Buffalo game-plan was no different from any of its previous wins over Kansas City.
The Bills relied on a technically sound defensive performance that forced Mahomes to play a dink-and-dunk game and play within himself rather than take meaningful chances downfield. The Chiefs averaged just five meager yards per play, while Mahomes averaged less than six yards per pass attempt. His longest pass completion of the day was a 31-yard dart to Xavier Worthy in the first quarter.
Mahomes is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. But any time you force an electric maestro like him to play at a slower, more methodical pace with more patience, you’re asking for perfection. You’re asking him to work harder against some of the finest athletes on the planet. When it comes to the Bills, it also happens against some of the brightest defensive coaches in the sport. It’s a volatile mix. You’re asking for trouble without the consistent capability to create chunk plays. And the Bills know this.
While the Chiefs were undefeated entering Buffalo, Mahomes hasn’t done well with this kind of responsibility in 2024. Mahomes is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 11 (he threw two more on Sunday), and he has seen the highest interception percentage (2.9) of his career since his rookie season in 2017 (where he started just one game). It’s starting to seem like he can’t help himself, which the Bills know how to optimize.
Buffalo knows that if you keep the Chiefs’ receivers in front of you, Mahomes will give you a chance at a turnover because of his generally aggressive mentality:
BILLS PICK MAHOMES ON THE SECOND PLAY.
📺: #KCvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/qbz1UqDSKA— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Beyond the Bills’ timely defense usually taking over against the Chiefs in the regular season, it’s Josh Allen’s signature heroics that elevate his team over the top. Against the team almost always standing in Buffalo’s way en route to a potential Super Bowl, Allen is simply nails. This is especially the case when playing on the road in one of the NFL’s toughest environments for opposing teams.
On the road in Kansas City in 2021, Allen created nearly 370 yards of offense by himself and four touchdowns (three in the air, one on the ground) in a blowout victory. In 2022, once again in Kansas City, Allen was masterful from start to finish in a tight game. He threw the game-winning touchdown to Dawson Knox in the final minutes. In 2023, in a defensive road battle, Allen took the Bills on a game-winning field goal drive.
And now, you had Allen putting his team on his back in the fourth quarter with that mentioned magnificent fourth-and-short touchdown run to clinch another win over the other best team in the NFL:
JOSH. ALLEN. GREATNESS.
📺: #KCvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/3HyIoDCaAC— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
So, if the Bills have the recipe to beat the Chiefs in the regular season — timely defense combined with a top-three quarterback doing his thing — what goes wrong in the playoffs?
Well, during the 2021 AFC title game, the Bills frankly didn’t belong on the same field as the Chiefs in a 38-24 blowout loss that wasn’t all that close. That was the end of the first year of Buffalo’s ascension. They needed that kind of lesson to learn how to compete with the NFL’s big dogs.
During the 2022 AFC divisional round, Allen played a perfect game from start to finish and even gave the Bills the lead with just 13 seconds remaining. To this day, it’s still one of the most remarkable performances I’ve ever seen from a quarterback, win or lose. Somehow, the Chiefs managed to create a game-tying kick at the end of regulation anyway before winning in overtime thanks to a fortuitous coin toss based on archaic possession rules that were later changed.
And in 2024, after Allen and the Bills put their hearts on the line for nearly 60 minutes, kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard game-tying attempt in the waning moments … “wide left.” (Bills fans, I’m sorry for the double trauma.)
In other words, Allen’s Bills didn’t necessarily do anything wrong in each of the three times they’ve lost to Mahomes’ Chiefs in the playoffs.
It’s that they couldn’t be more snakebitten if they tried. Football is a cruel game, dearest readers:
KICK IS NO GOOD.
📺: #KCvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/FR6a2VkD33 pic.twitter.com/MbKo21IDlg— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2024
Nothing is a given in the NFL. Nothing guarantees we will see Allen and the Bills square off with Mahomes and the Chiefs again this January in a game that would likely decide the AFC representative in Super Bowl 59. But there’s something cosmic about the way these two teams’ fates seem forever intertwined. Another rematch between two of the best quarterbacks we’ve ever seen feels inevitable. It feels written in the stars.
Whether that rematch takes place in Buffalo or Kansas City, the Bills should feel good about their chances. All they have to do is hope the football gods finally smile upon them and give them a break.
