KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Everything looked oh-so familiar at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night: Patrick Mahomes hoisting the AFC championship trophy as confetti rained down, Andy Reid hugging Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, and Travis Kelce kissing Taylor Swift, grabbing the mic and imploring fans to once more party the night away.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions had earned a chance at an unprecedented three-peat.
And once again, they had brushed aside the Buffalo Bills on the way.
This time, it was Mahomes’ arm and his legs — 245 yards passing and a touchdown, two more scores rushing — and some key stops by the Kansas City defense that preserved a 32-29 victory over the Bills in the AFC championship game.
“It’s just so hard to get to the Super Bowl and I don’t take it for granted, and to do it again at Arrowhead Stadium was special,” Mahomes said. “You get that trophy on that stage and you look around here and there’s not an empty seat — it’s special.”
The Chiefs will get a familiar foe in the big game in the Eagles, whom they beat two years ago for the title. Philadelphia romped to a 55-23 victory over the Commanders earlier Sunday to earn a shot at the champs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
It’s the fourth time since January 2021 that the Chiefs have ended the Bills’ season in the playoffs. And like all the rest, it came after a heavyweight fight between two of the top teams in the AFC, one that was tied 29-all after Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen found Curtis Samuel in the back of the end zone to set up a little more drama in the conference championship game.
Mahomes was simply unflappable, though. He completed four consecutive passes on the ensuing possession, setting up Harrison Butker’s go-ahead field goal with 3:33 left, and put the Bills in another do-or-die situation in Kansas City.
Allen got their drive going by running for a first down, but his next two throws were batted at the line of scrimmage. He hit Amari Cooper for a short gain on third down, and the Bills chose to go for it — they were 4 of 5 on fourth downs at that point — and the Kansas City blitz forced Allen to loft up a prayer that Dalton Kincaid was unable to corral deep downfield.
The Chiefs took over, picked up a couple of first downs and began to celebrate once again.
“I’ve always said it: It’s not about one guy. It’s not about a couple guys. It’s about the whole entire team,” Mahomes said. “When we needed the defense to get stops, they got stops. Offense, we made plays. That’s why we’re so special.”
Kareem Hunt had a touchdown run and Xavier Worthy had six catches for 85 yards and a score for Kansas City, which became just the fourth franchise to reach at least three consecutive Super Bowls with its ninth consecutive playoff victory.
“Every one of these is so special,” said Clark Hunt, whose father Lamar’s name adorns the AFC championship trophy. “What a game today. Travis, Patrick and their teammates always find a way to get it done. That was true this whole year. And it’s a credit to coach Reid and his amazing staff. Now we get to do something that’s never been done before.”
Allen threw for 237 yards and two scores for Buffalo, while James Cook ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Yet the Bills still have not been to the Super Bowl since a run of four straight during the 1990-93 seasons.
“I told them they’ve got nothing to be ashamed of,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said, “and I love them.”
The Bills and Chiefs have become well acquainted over the years, meeting eight times now since Kansas City beat Buffalo under the exact same circumstances — the AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium — to reach the Super Bowl in January 2021.
Buffalo has won all four games in the regular season. Kansas City has won the four that mattered in the postseason.
All of that familiarity, along with the fact that McDermott once worked for Reid, was evident as the game transpired. The Bills refused to let Kelce beat them, like he did against the Texans in the divisional round, while Kansas City did everything it could to keep Allen from beating him with his legs — or his arm, for that matter.
It was the Chiefs who took a 21-16 lead into the locker room after a topsy-turvy first half.
Mahomes and Kareem Hunt ran for scores and Worthy had a touchdown reception as the teams traded the lead. Cook reached the end zone for Buffalo, and a spectacular touchdown catch by Mack Hollins just before halftime kept the Bills in the game.
It remained a game of inches in the second half: Cook barely reached across 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 answered with a 70-yard drive in which their MVP-candidate quarterback hit Samuel on fourth-and-goal to tie the game at 29-all.
Fifty-three minutes and 45 seconds had been rendered moot. Everything came down to the last 6:15 of the game.
“That’s football, you know. The loss hurts. That’s what makes this game what it is,” Bills pass rusher Von Miller said. “We did everything in our power to win. And just, you know, ran out of time.”
The Chiefs are headed 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 with Butker hitting a 27-yard field goal for the 38-35 win.
