Every of Patrick Mahomes’ prior postseason bouts with Josh Allen performed out otherwise, but the result was the identical each time.
Mahomes’ Kansas Metropolis Chiefs blew out Allen’s Buffalo Payments, 38-24, within the AFC Championship Sport in 2021, main by at the least two scores for practically the entire second half.
The next postseason, the Chiefs eked out a 42-36 time beyond regulation victory over the Payments in an instant-classic divisional-round slugfest, throughout which the lead modified 3 times within the closing two minutes of regulation.
After which final 12 months, the Chiefs held on for a 27-24 victory within the divisional spherical, retaining the Payments scoreless on their closing three drives. Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass missed a would-be-game-tying 44-yard discipline aim with 1:47 remaining.
“You always remember the feeling of not pulling through,” Allen, 28, mentioned this week. “That sticks with you for a while, and that really doesn’t leave.”
However the stakes are even larger than that.
Mahomes and the Chiefs are pursuing their third consecutive Tremendous Bowl victory, which might make them the primary group in NFL historical past to attain a three-peat.
Allen seeks his first journey to a Tremendous Bowl, with an opportunity to vary a story hanging over his in any other case glorious profession.
“Patrick’s one of the greatest to ever play the game, and they’re one of the greatest teams to ever be assembled, going for a three-peat,” Allen mentioned. “That’s what everyone wants to be in this league, to have the sustained success that they have.”
Regardless of the championship void on his résumé, the rocket-armed Allen has been an elite postseason performer for a lot of his seven-year NFL profession. He’s thrown 23 touchdowns in opposition to 4 interceptions in 12 playoff video games.
However Allen is 0-3 in opposition to the Chiefs within the playoffs, in comparison with 7-2 in opposition to everybody else.
“I’ve played against Josh enough times to know that he’s going to come out and play great football, especially in those big moments,” Mahomes mentioned this week. “When you go up against a great quarterback, it takes your best as well.”
Each quarterbacks have typically been at their greatest after they’ve confronted one another.
In that back-and-forth 2022 divisional-round sport, Mahomes threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for one more 69 yards and a rating. Allen threw for 329 yards and 4 touchdowns and added one other 68 yards on the bottom.
Allen’s 19-yard landing cross to Gabriel Davis put the Payments up, 36-33, with 13 seconds left within the fourth quarter. Mahomes responded with a 13-second discipline aim drive, establishing Harrison Butker’s 49-yarder to drive OT.
The Chiefs received the time beyond regulation coin toss and scored the game-winning landing on the opening possession, with Mahomes firing a walk-off eight-yard cross to Travis Kelce. Two months later, the NFL house owners authorized a rule change that ensures each groups obtain an offensive possession in playoff overtimes.
The regular-season conferences have been equally aggressive, although Allen is 4-1 in these video games.
The groups have confronted one another 5 common seasons in a row, together with in November when the Payments handed the Chiefs their solely loss this season in a sport began by Mahomes.
“We’ve been able to beat them in the playoffs, and they’ve gotten us in the regular season,” Mahomes mentioned. “But if you look at the games, every game is close.”
Las Vegas expects Sunday’s sport to be shut, too. The Chiefs enter as 1.5-point favorites.
The Chiefs, behind a ball-control offense and stout protection, went 15-2 within the common season to clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. They cruised previous the Houston Texans, 23-14, within the divisional spherical.
The Payments completed 13-4 within the common season and because the convention’s No. 2 seed, with Allen’s 40 complete touchdowns main a high-powered offense and incomes him a nod as an MVP finalist. Buffalo beat the Denver Broncos, 31-7, within the wild card spherical and the Baltimore Ravens, 27-25, within the divisional spherical.
All of it led to the inevitable: Chiefs vs. Payments within the playoffs as soon as once more.
“It’s like a division game,” Allen mentioned. “I really feel like we’ve performed them simply as a lot as we’ve performed the blokes in our division. With that comes familiarity, new wrinkles right here and there all through the sport, however they know who we’re. We all know who they’re. It actually comes all the way down to who executes properly on Sunday. “
Initially Revealed: January 24, 2025 at 9:08 AM EST
