KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 245 yards and a landing, ran by way of the Buffalo protection for 2 extra scores, and relied on his protection at key moments to assist the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs beat the Payments 32-29 on Sunday night time and attain the Tremendous Bowl for the third consecutive season.
Now, the AFC champions will attempt to do one thing no different NFL workforce has completed: Win all three.
The Chiefs will get a well-recognized foe within the Eagles, whom they beat two years in the past for the primary title on this run. Philadelphia romped to a 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders earlier Sunday to earn a shot on the champs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
It’s the fourth time since January 2021 that the Chiefs have ended the Payments’ season within the playoffs. And like all the remaining, it got here after a heavyweight combat between two of the highest groups within the AFC, one which was tied 29-all after Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen discovered Curtis Samuel behind the top zone to arrange just a little extra drama at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes was merely unflappable, although. He accomplished 4 consecutive passes on the following possession, establishing Harrison Butker’s go-ahead discipline aim with 3:33 left and placing the Payments in one other do-or-die state of affairs in Kansas Metropolis.
Allen acquired their drive going by operating for a primary down, however his subsequent two throws had been batted on the line of scrimmage and fell incomplete. He hit Amari Cooper for a brief acquire on third down, and the Payments selected to go for it — they had been 4 of 5 on fourth down at that time — and the Kansas Metropolis blitz compelled Allen to loft up a prayer that Dalton Kincaid couldn’t catch.
The Chiefs took over, picked up a few first downs and started to have a good time as soon as once more.
Kareem Hunt had a landing run and Xavier Worthy had six catches for 85 yards and a rating for Kansas Metropolis, which turned the fourth franchise to achieve three consecutive Tremendous Bowls with its ninth consecutive playoff victory.
Allen threw for 237 yards and two scores for Buffalo. James Prepare dinner ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns of his personal.
The Payments nonetheless haven’t been to the Tremendous Bowl since a run of 4 straight throughout the 1990-93 seasons.
The Payments and Chiefs have change into effectively acquainted over time, assembly seven instances since Kansas Metropolis beat Buffalo below the very same circumstances — the AFC title sport at Arrowhead Stadium — to achieve the Tremendous Bowl in January 2021.
Buffalo had received all 4 video games within the common season. Kansas Metropolis had received the three that mattered within the postseason.
And that familiarity, together with the truth that Payments coach Sean McDermott as soon as labored for Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid, was evident as the sport transpired. The Payments merely refused to let Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce beat them, like he did in opposition to the Texans within the divisional spherical, whereas Kansas Metropolis was ready for Allen’s propensity to take off and run.
It was the Chiefs who took a 21-16 lead into the locker room after a topsy-turvy first half.
Mahomes and Hunt ran for scores and Worthy had a landing reception because the groups traded the lead. Prepare dinner reached the top zone for Buffalo, and a spectacular landing catch by Mack Hollins simply earlier than halftime stored the Payments within the sport.
It remained a sport of inches within the second half: Prepare dinner barely reached throughout the aim line for a landing, the Chiefs stopped Allen inches shy of the marker on fourth down, Mahomes bulldozed into the top zone for a rating, and the Payments answered with a 70-yard drive wherein their MVP-candidate quarterback hit Samuel on fourth-and-goal to tie the sport at 29-all.
Fifty-three minutes and 45 seconds had been rendered moot. The whole lot got here right down to the final 6:45 of the sport.
Accidents
Payments cornerback Christian Benford was carted off within the first quarter and declared out with a concussion. He had spent the week within the concussion protocol earlier than getting cleared to play Sunday.
Up subsequent
The Chiefs are headed to the Large Straightforward to face the Eagles within the Tremendous Bowl for the second time in three years. Within the first sport, they rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit with Butker hitting a 27-yard discipline aim for the 38-35 win.
By Dave Skretta
