Chiefs defeat Bills 27-24 to advance to sixth straight AFC Championship Game
Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-24 on Sunday night at Orchard Park, New York, to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth straight season.
Isiah Pacheco rushed for 97 yards and the game-winning touchdown on 15 carries for third-seeded Kansas City. Mahomes completed 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards in his first career road playoff game, while Kelce had five receptions for 75 yards for the Chiefs.
"We did hear it all week about playing a road game," Mahomes said, "and we were here to prove a point and show we can play anywhere."
Next Sunday, Kansas City will face the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens for a Super Bowl berth.
Buffalo had a chance to tie the game with 1:43 remaining, but Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal to the right. Pacheco then rushed for a first down on Kansas City's second play as the Chiefs ran out the clock.
"All-time classic," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. "If we don't play them again, I'm good with that. ... Our guys kept our composure through the highs and lows of the game."
Buffalo's Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns and passed for one. Allen completed 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards and rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries, while Khalil Shakir caught a touchdown pass for the second-seeded Bills.
Buffalo had a 16-play, 54-yard drive stalled at the Kansas City 26-yard line before Bass' wide-right kick brought back memories of Scott Norwood's 47-yard miss against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV nearly 33 years earlier.
"You win as a team, you lose as a team," Allen said. "One play doesn't define a game, a season. We've got to be there for (Bass) because if we execute a couple of plays prior, we're probably singing a different tune right now."
Mahomes and Kelce set a record by combining for 16 postseason touchdown passes. The former New England Patriots duo of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski held the previous record of 15.
Buffalo had the ball for 37:03 and ran 78 plays to Kansas City's 47.
The three touchdown drives in the second half were all 75 yards long.
With 11:48 remaining in the third quarter, Kansas City led 20-17 after Mahomes completed a 3-yard scoring pass to Kelce.
Allen connected with Shakir on a 13-yard pass to give Buffalo a four-point lead with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
Pacheco's 4-yard run 40 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Chiefs the lead again, 27-24.
Allen's 2-yard scoring run with 26 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Bills a 17-13 lead at halftime. Buffalo led 41-21 in offensive plays and 235-167 in total offense.
In the first quarter, the teams traded field goals, with Bass' 27-yarder for the Bills followed by Harrison Butker's 47-yarder for Kansas City.
With 13:32 remaining in the first half, Allen scored on a 5-yard run, giving Buffalo a 10-3 lead. With 9:12 remaining, Butker kicked a 29-yard field goal to pull Kansas City within four points.
With 3:33 remaining, Mahomes threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kelce, giving the Chiefs a 13-10 lead.
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