The Chiefs get more Mahomes magic and advance to their 3rd straight Super Bowl, defeating the Bills 32-29

By Lucas

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The Chiefs get more Mahomes magic and advance to their 3rd straight Super Bowl, defeating the Bills 32-29

Kansas City, Missouri — Patrick Mahomes threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, ran through the Buffalo defense for two more scores, and relied on his defense in clutch moments to help the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Bills 32-29 on Sunday night and advance to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season.

Now, the AFC champions will attempt something no other NFL team has done: win all three.

The Chiefs will face a familiar foe in the Eagles, whom they defeated two years ago for their first championship in this run. Philadelphia defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23 earlier Sunday, earning a shot at the championship on February 9 in New Orleans.

“I’m proud of my teammates and how they responded,” Mahomes said, taking his familiar place atop the victory stand with the Lamar Hunt Trophy raised aloft. “That was a great football team and I’m just at a loss for words.”

The Chiefs have eliminated the Bills from the playoffs for the fourth time since January 2021. And, like the others, it came after a heavyweight fight between two of the AFC’s best teams, one that was tied 29-all after Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen found Curtis Samuel in the back of the end zone, setting up some more drama at Arrowhead Stadium.

Mahomes was simply unflappable, however. On the next possession, he completed four consecutive passes, setting up Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal with 3:33 remaining and putting the Bills in yet another do-or-die situation in Kansas City.

Allen started their drive by running for a first down, but his next two throws were blocked at the line of scrimmage.

He hit Amari Cooper for a short gain on third down, and the Bills decided to go for it — they were 4 of 5 on fourth down at the time — but the Kansas City blitz forced Allen to loft a prayer that Dalton Kincaid was unable to catch deep downfield.

The Chiefs took over, got a couple of first downs, and began to celebrate once more.

“I believe I’ve always said it: it’s not about one guy. It’s not just a few guys. It’s about the entire team,” Mahomes said, flanked by Andy Reid and Travis Kelce in celebration.

“We needed the defense to make stops, and they did. Offense, we made plays. That is why we are so unique; it is a team effort and a team football game.”

Kareem Hunt scored a touchdown run, and Xavier Worthy had six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City, which became the fourth franchise to reach three consecutive Super Bowls with its ninth playoff victory.

“Every one of these is so special,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt stated. “What a game today. Travis, Patrick, and their teammates are always able to complete their tasks.

That was true all year. And it’s a credit to Coach Reid and his incredible staff. Now we can do something unprecedented, Chiefs Kingdom.”

Allen threw 237 yards and two touchdowns for Buffalo. James Cook ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns on his own.

The Bills have not been to the Super Bowl since 1990-93, when they went four in a row.

“Not the result we wanted,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I told them they’ve got nothing to be ashamed of and I love them.”

The Bills and Chiefs have met seven times since Kansas City defeated Buffalo in the AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium to advance to the Super Bowl in January 2021.

Buffalo had won all four games during the regular season. Kansas City had won the three most important postseason games.

All of that familiarity, combined with the fact that McDermott previously worked for Reid, was evident throughout the game.

The Bills simply refused to let Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce beat them, as he did against the Texans in the divisional round, whereas Kansas City was expecting Allen to take off and run.

The Chiefs led 21-16 at halftime.

As the teams traded leads, Mahomes and Hunt ran for touchdowns and Worthy caught one. Cook scored for Buffalo, and Mack Hollins made a spectacular touchdown catch just before halftime to keep the Bills in the game.

In the second half, it remained a game of inches: Cook barely crossed the goal line for a touchdown, the Chiefs stopped Allen inches shy of the marker on fourth down, Mahomes bulldozed into the end zone for a score, and the Bills responded with a 70-yard drive in which their MVP-candidate quarterback connected with Samuel on fourth-and-goal to tie the game at 29-all.

Fifty-three minutes and 45 seconds had been rendered ineffective. Everything came down to the final 6:15 of the game.

Injuries

Bills cornerback Christian Benford was carted off in the first quarter and declared out with a concussion. He spent the week in the concussion protocol before being cleared to play Sunday.

The Chiefs are returning to the Big Easy to face the Eagles in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. In the first game, they rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit to win 38-35 on Butker’s 27-yard field goal.

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