Miami (AFP) – The Kansas City Chiefs, bidding to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls, face a familiar obstacle in the form of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. The rivalry between the Chiefs and the Bills may not have the long history of the great divisional clashes, such as the Bears-Packers and Cowboys-Eagles, but its intensity is fueled by the high stakes in their recent meetings.
The Chiefs have had the upper hand in their close postseason meetings, winning three in a row starting with their 38-24 victory in the 2020 AFC Championship game. The following year, the pair delivered what is considered to be one of the greatest NFL playoff games – a thrilling, drama-packed, 42-36 overtime win in which Allen and Mahomes were both at their very best. They met again, this time in Buffalo, in 2023 in the divisional round, with many believing that the Bills could finally come out on top. However, thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown from running back Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs emerged with a 27-24 victory.
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Mahomes has no doubt that these games have created a special feeling around the clash, with both teams knowing they will have to be at their very best to have any chance of progressing to the Super Bowl. “I think when you look at the great rivalries of the NFL, it comes with this. It comes with playing each other every year in the regular season, it comes with playing in the playoffs,” he said. “You have to combat, you have to look at your weaknesses and try to make those strengths and then your strengths, make them even better because you know that they’re going to go out there and try to take away those things. (The Bills) is a great football team, great players, well-coached, and we know it’s going to take our best in order to find a way to get a win,” he added.
The teams have faced each other eight times in the last five seasons, and Allen says that there will be few surprises for either team. “I feel like we’ve played them just as much as we’ve played the guys in our division; with that comes familiarity,” Allen said. “New wrinkles here and there throughout the game… It literally just comes down to who executes well on Sunday,” he remarked.
One of Allen’s favorite targets, wide receiver Amari Cooper, believes the talk of schemes and tactics ahead of the game might be overplayed. “There’s a saying in chess, ‘Don’t play to win the game. Don’t play to lose the game. Don’t play to draw the game. Just play chess,'” Cooper said. “It’s the same thing with football; you can’t be afraid of losing. You just got to go out there and play football. You practice all week. You practice the fundamentals. Now just go out there and do what you practice. And then the rest will fall into place,” he explained.
It promises to be a fascinating encounter given that both quarterbacks are adept outside of the pocket. Allen, strong at running with the ball, has scored twice on the ground in the postseason, while Mahomes is known for scrambling and improvising. Mahomes shared that he finds himself more willing to take risks in playoff games. “In the regular season, I don’t want to say you’re not trying to get injured, but you’re trying to protect yourself knowing that it’s a long season. Whereas when you’re in the playoffs, you might take a few more chances here and there to try and get those first downs and big runs in big moments. You want to protect yourself as well, but at the same time, you might try and run for a few extra yards to get that first down knowing that it’s such a big possession – every possession is a huge possession in the playoffs,” he said.
Allen has never been to a Super Bowl, and the Bills haven’t been to the big game since the 1993 season, but the quarterback insists that history needs to be forgotten on Sunday. “We’re just grateful and humbled to have another opportunity at it. It’s another week that we get to play. There’s only four teams playing right now, so we look at that and we just love the opportunity that we have,” he stated.
© 2024 AFP
