Chiefs defeat Bills to reach AFC title game (2024)

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills added another playoff classic to their rivalry Sunday. But again, the Chiefs came out on top with a 27-24 win over the Bills at Highmark Stadium.

The Chiefs will travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens in the AFC Championship next Sunday at M&T Stadium. Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal wide right with 1:43 remaining in the game that would’ve tied it.

The Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco picked up the game-winning score as he broke through for a 5-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the fourth quarter to go up 27-24.

But a series of wild turns in the fourth quarter hindered both teams after the Pacheco touchdown. It started by Buffalo failing to pick up a first down on a fake punt attempt in its own territory. Kansas City only deployed 10 players for the punt return and still stopped the Bills’ Damar Hamlin short of the first down on the fake punt attempt. The Chiefs took the ball over 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 as he was tackled near the goal line. Originally officials ruled Hardman down. Buffalo challenged the call successfully, as it was ruled the ball went out of the end zone for a touchback giving possession to the Bills.

The Bills seemed to put themselves in position to at least tie the game, but the Bass miss ended the Bills’ season.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With 8:16 to play in the fourth quarter and the Buffalo Bills trailing the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24, Josh Allen uncorked the type of throw that has made him one of Buffalo’s most beloved athletes.

Allen stood at the Bills’ 10-yard line, took a step forward and launched a perfect pass 64 yards in the air. Allen’s intended target was Stefon Diggs, the Bills’ No. 1 receiver who has more than 5,300 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns in the four seasons since he arrived Buffalo. These are plays that have made Allen and Diggs one of the most prolific quarterback-wide receiver duos in football, plays that have launched Buffalo’s offense into the league’s elite and given a long-suffering fan base an annual reason to believe a championship is possible.

The throw was perfect. Diggs had enough separation from Chiefs safety Justin Reid to haul in the pass. But when he leapt to make the catch, the ball slipped through his hands and hit the ground incomplete. As he jogged back to the huddle, Diggs held up his index finger and thumb as if to say, “So close.”

That’s been the story of the Bills’ existence, and it continued with a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round. Diggs’ drop is one of a handful of singular plays Bills fans will be able to agonize over, as is typically in any season-ending loss. But when the sting of Tyler Bass missing a game-tying field goal wears off, the larger question the Bills should ask is what happened to Diggs? The deep ball drop is one of two drops Diggs had in this game. He started the game with a fumble and a drop on his first two targets. He finished with three catches on eight targets for 21 yards. Latavius Murray had more receiving yards than Diggs in this game. Diggs came into the game with a foot injury but didn’t have an injury designation on the injury report. He didn’t seem limited by it in the game.

Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie shrugged when asked what their secondary did to lock up Diggs.

“Honestly, I feel like it was what they was doing,” McDuffie said. “They were trying to run the ball. They put big personnel in. I think they figured we were going to double him tonight, which we didn’t.”

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Why do we choose to do this?

We expend all this time and energy, damn near 365 days a year, to chronicle and scrutinize each Buffalo Bills move from free agency to mock drafts to assembling the practice squad. We examine who deserves to be the swing tackle. We wonder when they’ll deploy such secret weapons as Leonard Fournette and Andy Isabella.

We create an alternate NFL universe for ourselves, conceptualize some weird holy site where the new stadium is being excavated, squeal at the sight of Peppa Pig next to Josh Allen in a TV commercial, strain to glimpse Taylor Swift then settle for Jason Kelce’s man boobs, shovel out Highmark Stadium as a civic obligation and heed Von Miller’s guarantees.

For what?

To make no postseason progress. To watch touchdown passes go through Stefon Diggs’ arms and bounce off James Cook’s hands. To see Ed Oliver record one assisted tackle and generate no pressure. To see practically the entire linebacker depth chart limping off the field. To witness Damar Hamlin get stuffed on a fake punt despite 10 Chiefs on the field. To experience Tyler Bass’ wayward kick that would have tied the game. To absorb another karate chop to the throat.

Buffalo sports fans are a hardy people, but sometimes you wonder how they do it.

For the third-straight season, the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round. For the third time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs snuffed them out after the Bills beat them earlier in the season. Essentially, the only difference Sunday night was the 27-24 loss happened in Highmark Stadium.

That’s where the Bills were supposed to have the edge, their rabid fans finally introducing themselves to Patrick Mahomes with all they got. Many of the 70,808 in attendance glumly headed to the exits when Bass’ kick curved outside the right goalpost with 1:43 left, stonewalling their Super Bowl-caliber quarterback from grander stages yet again.

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The great championship quarterbacks of decades past usually had strong defenses on their side. Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach in the 1970s. Joe Montana in the 1980s. Troy Aikman and Brett Favre in the 1990s. Tom Brady over the past two decades.

Patrick Mahomes has been the exception, which separated him from those other greats, but now he has a top-five defense and the potential for a physical ground game with Isiah Pacheco. It’s a great combination as long as Travis Kelce is healthy (he is), Rashee Rice is developing (check) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling makes the occasional explosive reception (a work in progress, but he did catch passes for gains of 30 and 32 yards against the Bills).

Will it be enough against Baltimore? Think Mahomes knows his Chiefs are underdogs for the second consecutive week? Think he knows Lamar Jackson is the presumptive MVP? His legacy needs no enhancing at this point, but just think what’s at stake for his Ravens counterpart: Jackson is two victories away from being a two-time MVP (presumptively) and a Super Bowl champ.

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As far as the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs are concerned, time is a flat circle.

Following their 27-24 divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — their third consecutive exit in this round and a fifth-straight postseason without a Super Bowl appearance — the Bills locker room was so quiet, the only thing you could hear was the sound of ripping velcro across the room and the equipment staff working furiously to clear each stall of their individual bag.

Players all reacted differently. There were some quiet-talking huddles of players spread throughout the locker room. Some were emotional, kept to themselves and wore it on their faces.

Others buried themselves in their locker, like 6-foot-8 right tackle Spencer Brown, who, still in full game attire, somehow fit himself entirely in his stall with his back to the rest of the room as players headed home for the night. There was a forlorn feeling, with safety Micah Hyde and wide receiver Stefon Diggs sharing a moment without knowing what the future holds.

Many who have been in Buffalo through all, or at least some of the postseason disappointments, probably were thinking along the same lines.

*This* was supposed to be the year that was different. The year that the Bills were supposed to accomplish their goals. The year they finally got over the hump and made good on all the potential they’ve been building on since the moment Josh Allen walked in the door in 2018.

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — They sprinted to each other, the noise surrounding them beginning to dissipate.

Several yards from one another, linebacker Nick Bolton and quarterback Patrick Mahomes screamed and unleashed their tense emotions with the same celebration: leaping off the artificial turf and pumping their right fist. Several members of the Kansas City Chiefs — players, coaches and athletic trainers — hugged one another, either on the playing surface or the sideline Sunday night. The much-anticipated playoff showdown, the Chiefs’ rematch against the Buffalo Bills, this time in the AFC divisional round, wasn’t even over yet.

Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, though, was the first player to execute the gesture every Chiefs player wanted to do since the team arrived at Highmark Stadium. He stood on a mental bench and waved goodbye to the 70,808 fans, most of them lusting to see the Bills end the Chiefs’ quest to become the NFL’s first repeat champion in two decades.

“It feels so good when everybody’s so loud, and you know it’s because they want that other team to succeed,” Edwards-Helaire said, smiling. “You can shut all them m—– f—– up, and it’s just us on the sideline making noise.”

The moment the Chiefs began celebrating — and voicing their vindication at the home crowd — came late in the fourth quarter when the Bills failed to tie the game, missing a field goal attempt that led to the game’s final score: Chiefs 27, Bills 24.

For the sixth consecutive season, the Chiefs earned a spot in the AFC Championship Game. Their thrilling victory, one over one of their biggest rivals, guaranteed them another road playoff game next week, a marquee matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, with the winner representing the AFC in Super Bowl LVIII.

“This was so fun,” safety Justin Reid said of the Chiefs ending the Bills’ season for the third time in the past four years. “The environment was crazy. We don’t appreciate all the snowballs (thrown at us), but it still added to it.

“This is one of my favorite games, man. We earned everything. Nothing was easy, and that’s a good-ass team. We found a way to come out on top.”

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Defensive injuries give Buffalo a potential out for its inability to stop the Chiefs when it mattered, but it’s an out the organization cannot afford to take. The issues on that side of the ball run deeper and will require some form of roster overhaul for the future.

Thirty-five defensive players logged at least 10 snaps for the Bills and Chiefs on Sunday. Seven of the eight oldest played for Buffalo: Linval Joseph (35), Von Miller (34), Micah Hyde (33), Jordan Poyer (32), A.J. Klein (32), DaQuan Jones (32) and Leonard Floyd (31).

The Bills keep getting older on defense while the Chiefs have gotten much younger.

The Chiefs ranked fifth in defensive EPA per play during the regular season with eight defensive starters drafted since 2020. The Bills ranked seventh but are older, smaller and more injured, giving them less staying power, which showed up Sunday. (Kansas City has consistently averaged about five pounds heavier per defender on a snap-weighted basis, using unofficial player weights.)

“Buffalo is an effort-pursue defense that is going to take speed over size every time,” an opposing coach said of the Bills, “so their best player is (linebacker) Matt Milano, and he’s small (221 pounds) and he got hurt. At the end of this game, when everybody wants them to get a stop and get the ball back for Josh Allen, Kansas City gets the first down easily.”

Buffalo and Kansas City, unlike their counterparts in the NFC bracket, are paying top dollar for their quarterbacks. That forces them to budget accordingly for the long range. But with age comes higher salaries. Buffalo has 10 defensive players earning at least $3.5 million per year this season. Kansas City has three.

The Chiefs made a calculated bet in the 2022 offseason, trading Tyreek Hill for picks and investing heavily in defense in the draft, and they made those investments count. They leapfrogged the Bills in the first round for cornerback Trent McDuffie, who was a first-team All-Pro this season. George Karlaftis, taken nine picks later, has added to an impressive homegrown pass rush.

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We’re down to the final four.

The top-seeded Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will try to fend off challenges from the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs and the upstart Detroit Lions to reach Super Bowl LVIII.

Jeff Howe breaks down the conference championship matchups weekend before The Athletic’s projection model, created by Austin Mock, reveals each team’s odds of winning the Super Bowl.

First game of the year was Chiefs-Lions.

Fans of symmetry will have a rooting interest next week.

For the third time in four postseasons, the Bills have had their Super Bowl dreams dashed by the Chiefs. Even with different terms this time around, having the chance to play the Kansas City at home in the playoffs for the first time since Sean McDermott became coach, Buffalo still couldn’t get over the hump.

They were met with a near-perfect game by Patrick Mahomes, who delivered a statement win in his first-ever road playoff game. Now the Bills are left with yet another premature playoff exit and nothing but offseason questions with an aging roster and a big cap sheet that likely needs plenty of trimming.

Buffalo had no answers in the middle of the field for the Chiefs, as Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Isiah Pacheco were gaining chunk plays at will. Kansas City clearly had a plan to attack linebackers A.J. Klein and Tyrel Dodson through the air, and it worked consistently.

Kelce was open seemingly all game, and once that was established, Pacheco came through with clutch runs throughout the second half. Outside of a late forced punt, and a Mecole Hardman fumble, it was a perfect game from Mahomes, who continues to be a thorn in the Bills’ side when it isn’t the regular season.

Similar to their season, the Chiefs’ offensive players should thank their defensive teammates. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Kansas City offense had two chances to score with a 27-24 lead.

Their golden opportunity arrived when the Bills failed on a fake punt play deep in their own territory. But two plays later, on a pop-pass jet sweep, receiver Mecole Hardman fumbled the ball near the pylon, the ball rolling into the end zone and out of bounds for a critical, game-changing turnover.

Hardman finished the game touching the ball twice, each play occurring in the red zone. He fumbled each time, the latter mistake costing the Chiefs the possibility of having a two-score lead with 11 minutes left.

Kansas City’s next possession didn’t last long, either. For the first time in the game, the Chiefs had three consecutive unsuccessful passing plays near midfield. Mahomes had to scramble twice, which gave Buffalo the ball with eight minutes left.

BetMGM has released its updated Super Bowl odds following the Kansas City win over Buffalo:

• 49ers: +145
• Ravens: +210
• Chiefs: +320
• Lions: +700

Since 2011, each AFC Championship Game has included either the Chiefs or Patriots. Crazy 13-year run.

Patriots made it eight-straight years (2011-18).

Chiefs are currently on a six-year run (2018-23).

Don't miss The Athletic Football Show with Robert Mays and Nate Tice going live on YouTube at 10 p.m. ET to break down the divisional round.

Watch here.

The Ravens and Chiefs last played in 2021. Baltimore won, 36-35, at home.

Before that, Kansas City had beaten the Ravens in three-straight seasons from 2018 to 2020.

The Baltimore Ravens open as a 3.5-point favorite in the opening AFC Championship betting odds at BetMGM.

The game also has an over/under of 45 points.