The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the AFC Championship!
And they won’t have to leave their own home.
For a record-setting FOURTH STRAIGHT year, Arrowhead Stadium will play host to the AFC Championship. Since 2019, the Chiefs are 2-1, with their lone loss coming against the Patriots three years ago.
Patrick Mahomes passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns, while he also accounted for a further 69 yards and a score on the ground. Bills quarterback Josh Allen, meanwhile, had 329 yards passing and four TDs, while also finishing as his team’s leading rusher with 68 yards.
In what was perhaps the craziest weekend of playoff football in years, maybe even all-time, it was the final divisional matchup that turned out to be the game of the year. And an instant classic that will be remembered forever.
In an absolutely final two minutes of regulation alone, Allen threw two touchdown passes to Gabriel Davis (and also found Stefon Diggs for a successful two-point conversion), while Mahomes threw a 64-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill and Harrison Butker kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired to take the game to overtime, as the Arrowhead faithful erupted in excitement.
How did the Chiefs get to that position: 13 seconds left, the Bills defense crumbled. Two quick passes to Hill and Travis Kelce had put Butker in his position. It was “the weekend of the kicker” and he didn’t disappoint.
And then, they hit overtime.
As with all overtime games, the first possession was decided by a coin toss. And the Chiefs received. Allen and the Bills’ offense could only sit on the sideline and watch their dreams of going to the AFC Championship fade away, as Mahomes showed why he is among the elite in the NFL.
Unfortunately, the outcome of this game is going to probably be overshadowed by the overtime rules that currently stand in the NFL. And it shouldn’t be the case.
both teams had plenty of chances to stop their opponent from scoring. If you’re Buffalo, there’s no excuse to allow Kansas City to score with 13 seconds left. By not kicking the ball as a squib kick on the kickoff, no time went off the clock. As a result, Kansas City had all of their timeouts, and with an explosive offense, every second counts.
A lot of things will be addressed in the off-season regarding this game, but until then, we should all just revel in the fact that we witnessed one of the greatest games in football history.
And a rivalry that’s going to last a long time…
Photo Credit: Joshua Bessex/Getty Images