By Larry Holder, Nate Taylor and Joe Buscaglia
The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills added another playoff classic to their rivalry on Sunday. But here too, the Chiefs won with a 27:24 victory over the Bills at Highmark Stadium.
The Chiefs travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens in the AFC Championship next Sunday at M&T Stadium. Kansas City will play in its sixth straight AFC Championship Game.
The Bills, meanwhile, are sent home by the Chiefs for the third time in four years. Kansas City defeated Buffalo in the conference championship in the 2020 playoffs, in the divisional round in the 2021 playoffs and again in the divisional round on Sunday.
“It sucks,” Josh Allen said after the game. “Losing sucks. Losing to them, losing to anyone at home, sucks.”
Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal to the right edge with 1:43 left in the game that would have tied the game.
The Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco secured the game-winning score when he scored a 5-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the fourth quarter to take a 27-24 lead.
But a series of wild twists and turns in the fourth quarter hampered both teams after the Pacheco touchdown. It started when Buffalo failed to get a first down on a fake punt attempt in its own territory. Kansas City only used 10 players for the punt return and still stopped the Bills' Damar Hamlin on the fake punt attempt just before the first down. The Chiefs took over the ball on downs at the Bills' 32-yard line.
Two plays later, the Chiefs' Mecole Hardman caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes and fumbled the ball when he was tackled near the goal line. Officials initially subdued Hardman. Buffalo successfully contested the call as the officials ruled the ball left the end zone, allowing a touchback that gave the Bills possession.
The Bills appeared to be putting themselves in a position to at least tie the game, but Bass' miss ended the Bills' season.
Allen's two rushing touchdowns in the first half gave the Bills a 17-13 halftime lead. The first came early in the second quarter on a 5-yard run. The second score helped Buffalo regain the lead late in the first half with a 2-yard TD sprint to make the score 17-13.
The Chiefs took a 13-10 lead when Mahomes hit a wide-open Travis Kelce on a 22-yard touchdown reception with 3:33 left in the second quarter. Kelce blew a kiss and formed his hands into a heart toward the suite, where pop star Taylor Swift, Kelce's girlfriend, was watching the game at the stadium. Moments later, Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis' brother, came shirtless to the front of the open-air suite and shouted his satisfaction at his brother's touchdown.
Kansas City's defense stepped up
With the Chiefs' season on the line, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo relied on his best personnel, his dime package. With three safeties on the field – Justin Reid, Deon Bush and rookie Chamarri Conner – the Chiefs defense was able to prevent the Bills from entering the end zone on their final drive of the game. Chris Jones, the Chiefs' best pass rusher, was also exceptional. He generated enough pressure to impact Allen's final two pass attempts, both of which failed incomplete.
Even more impressively, the Chiefs didn't give Allen the big pass, even though safety Mike Edwards suffered a concussion on the second play when he broke up a pass in the middle of the field. The Chiefs' stop just outside the red zone forced the Bills into a potentially game-winning field goal. When Bills kicker Bass missed his 44-yard attempt wide right, several Chiefs defenders celebrated by jumping into the air and falling into each other's arms.
Similar to their season, the Chiefs' offensive players should thank their defensive teammates. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs offense had two chances to score with a 27-24 lead. Their golden opportunity came when the Bills failed with a fake punt play deep in their own territory. But two plays later, on a pop pass jet sweep, Hardman fumbled the ball near the pylon, the ball rolled into the end zone and out of bounds for a turnover. – Nate Taylor, Chiefs beat writer
The Bills' playoff curse continues
For the third time in four postseasons, the Bills' Super Bowl dreams were dashed by the Chiefs. Even though the tenures were different this time around and the Bills had a chance to face the Chiefs at home in the playoffs for the first time since Sean McDermott became head coach, they still couldn't overcome the hurdle. They were greeted with a near-perfect game from Mahomes, who scored a resounding win in his first-ever road playoff game. Now the Bills face another early playoff exit and nothing but offseason questions with an aging roster and a large roster that likely still needs plenty of trimming.
The Bills had no answer for the Chiefs in the middle of the field as Mahomes, Kelce and Pacheco made big plays at will. The Chiefs clearly had a plan to attack linebackers AJ Klein and Tyrel Dodson through the air, and that plan consistently worked. Kelce seemed to be open the entire game, and when that was clear, Pacheco came through with convincing runs in the second half. Aside from a late forced punt and a fumble by Hardman, it was a perfect game from Mahomes, who continues to be a thorn in the Bills' side outside of the regular season. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Getty Images)