by Vegas Writer
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (15-4 SU,12-7 ATS) at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (16-2, 8-10)
Postseason history: The Chiefs hold a 4-2 record in postseason meetings against the Bills, including three consecutive victories in the 2020 AFC Championship Game and 2021 and 2023 AFC Divisional Playoffs. In the postseason last year, Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for two touchdowns in the win.
Series History: The teams have slipped the past 10 meetings ATS, but the Bills have covered three of the last four.
2024 regular season: The Bills have won four consecutive regular-season games against the Chiefs, including a 30-21 win in Buffalo in Week 11 to hand Kansas City their first loss of the season. In that meeting, Josh Allen totaled 317 yards (262 passing, 55 rushing), including the game-sealing 26-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes: On Sunday, Allen and Mahomes are set to become the fifth set of starting quarterbacks to face each other in at least four postseason games since 1950.
Buffalo tidbits: Buffalo, which has covered seven of its last 10, advanced to the Conference Championship game for seventh time since 1970 and can advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since qualifying in four consecutive seasons from 1990-93. Since last year’s Wild Card playoffs, the Bills have no turnovers in their past four postseason games, becoming the first team ever without a turnover in four consecutive postseason games.
Buffalo, including the postseason, leads the NFL with 35 takeaways and has committed a league-low eight turnovers this season, and only seven teams all-time have finished with a better turnover differential, including the playoffs, than the Bills’ current +27. They can become the first team ever to reach the Super Bowl with 10-or-fewer turnovers, including the playoffs.
Postseason history: The Chiefs hold a 4-2 record in postseason meetings against the Bills, including three consecutive victories in the 2020 AFC Championship Game and 2021 and 2023 AFC Divisional Playoffs. In the postseason last year, Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for two touchdowns in the win.
Series History: The teams have slipped the past 10 meetings ATS, but the Bills have covered three of the last four.
2024 regular season: The Bills have won four consecutive regular-season games against the Chiefs, including a 30-21 win in Buffalo in Week 11 to hand Kansas City their first loss of the season. In that meeting, Josh Allen totaled 317 yards (262 passing, 55 rushing), including the game-sealing 26-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 2:17 remaining in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes: On Sunday, Allen and Mahomes are set to become the fifth set of starting quarterbacks to face each other in at least four postseason games since 1950.
Buffalo tidbits: Buffalo, which has covered seven of its last 10, advanced to the Conference Championship game for seventh time since 1970 and can advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since qualifying in four consecutive seasons from 1990-93. Since last year’s Wild Card playoffs, the Bills have no turnovers in their past four postseason games, becoming the first team ever without a turnover in four consecutive postseason games.
Buffalo, including the postseason, leads the NFL with 35 takeaways and has committed a league-low eight turnovers this season, and only seven teams all-time have finished with a better turnover differential, including the playoffs, than the Bills’ current +27. They can become the first team ever to reach the Super Bowl with 10-or-fewer turnovers, including the playoffs.
- Sean McDermott: Including the postseason, McDermott has won 93 games since being hired as Buffalo’s head coach in 2017, tied with Mike Holmgren (93 wins) for the second-most wins by a head coach in his first eight seasons, including the playoffs, in NFL history. Only George Seifert (108 wins) has more.
- Josh Allen: Allen has 83 career victories, including the playoffs, in his first seven NFL seasons. With a win on Sunday, he can surpass Russell Wilson (83 wins) for the second-most wins by a quarterback ever in his first seven seasons, including the postseason. Only Patrick Mahomes (89 wins in first seven seasons) has more.
Kansas City tidbits: Kansas City, which has failed to cover seven of its last 10, reached the AFC Championship Game for the seventh-consecutive season, trailing only the 2011-18 New England Patriots (eight straight) for the longest such streak in NFL history. The Chiefs are the fourth reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion to reach the Conference Championship game.
The Chiefs have won eight consecutive postseason games, the third-longest such streak all-time and since Week 12, have not committed a turnover in eight consecutive games, the longest such streak in a season all-time (including the playoffs).
- Andy Reid: Reid will be appearing in the Conference Championship game for the 12th time, trailing only Bill Belichick (13 times) for the most Conference Championship games by a head coach since 1970. With a win, he can become the first head coach ever to win multiple postseason games in six consecutive seasons and can join Belichick (nine Super Bowl appearances) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula (six) as the only head coaches all-time to appear in six Super Bowls.
- Patrick Mahomes: Mahomes enters the AFC Championship Game tied for the second-most postseason wins by a starting quarterback (16) and has the second-highest postseason passer rating (105.6, minimum 150 attempts), fifth-most postseason touchdown passes (42) and eighth-most postseason passing yards (5,312) in NFL history.
- Travis Kelce: Kelce recorded 117 receiving yards in the AFC Divisional playoffs, his ninth career postseason game with at least 100 receiving yards, the most in postseason history. In NFL playoff history, he enters Championship Sunday with the most receptions (172) and second-most receiving yards (2,020) and touchdown receptions (20), trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (2,245 receiving yards and 22 touchdown receptions) in both categories.
