New York (AFP) – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said his team had shown they could handle any NFL environment after winning Sunday at Buffalo to clinch their sixth straight place in the AFC Championship game.
The Chiefs won 27-24 after the Bills missed a late 44-yard field goal that would have tied the game with 1:43 on the clock.
It was the first time the Mahomes-era Chiefs have had to play a post-season game on the road but the two-time Super Bowl winner said they had answered any doubters.
“We did hear it all week, man, about playing a road game and we were here to prove a point and to show that we can play anywhere,” Mahomes said.
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The Chiefs travel to Baltimore on Sunday to face the top-seeded Ravens for a chance to defend their Super Bowl title next month in Las Vegas.
“We know we’re going to have a heck of a challenge this next week but our guys are going to get ready to go and go out there and see what we can do,” Mahomes said.
“There’s no weakness there.It’s going to take our best effort.Defense, offense, best teams, they do it all.It’s always a great challenge and that stadium is going to be rocking.”
The Bills suffered their third consecutive loss in the divisional round after defeats to the Cincinnati Bengals last year and the Chiefs in 2021.
The Chiefs have ended Buffalo’s playoff dreams three times in the past four years, having also beaten them in the 2020 AFC Championship game.
Quarterback Josh Allen, who ran in two touchdowns and threw another, was bitterly disappointed.
“It sucks, losing sucks, losing to them, losing to anybody, it just sucks,” said Allen, who said he didn’t believe the team needed a complete re-think.
“I don’t think it (needs) a big change.I think it’s just we had to find a way to score one more point than they do.Every season, if you don’t win, it’s a failed season.That’s just the nature of the business.
“There is one happy team at the end of the season really and when it’s not you, when you’re so close, it just sucks.”
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said he would examine every way to give his team the extra needed to go all the way.
“Obviously the season just got over but we’ll turn over every leaf this off-season.I’m fully confident in this football team, fully confident in our staff,” he said.
“We were within a whisker of tying that game and maybe even taking the lead there against the defending world champs.We just didn’t do enough, starting with me, just didn’t do enough to win this game.”
There was joy in Detroit after the Lions beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to reach their first NFC Championship game in 33 years, where the San Francisco 49ers await.
Head coach Dan Campbell said his team had managed to forge an identity that matched with that of their working class city.
“Here, it’s harsh winters, auto industry, blue-collar.Things aren’t always easy and I think that’s what we’re about,” he said.
“You want something the city can be proud of.They’re kind of salty, they don’t quit, they play hard.And so, I feel like we’ve done that.I think these guys, they have a kinship with this city, this area.And they love it.”
