It was personal for the Chiefs and the Bills in the AFC Championship game on Sunday.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes apologized to Josh Allen after the ending the Bills quarterback’s season in the playoffs for the fourth time since January 2021.
“I always feel for him — he’s a great player, an amazing competitor and an awesome dude who I respect so much,” Mahomes told The Athletic after Kansas City’s 32-29 victory over Buffalo in the conference championship game.
“I’m sorry it had to be us. But, you know, we compete, and someone has to win.”
Mahomes completed 18-of-26 passes for 245 yards, one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns.
Kansas City is the first back-to-back champion to return to the Super Bowl, putting them on the brink of a historic three-peat.
The Chiefs celebrated their third straight AFC title by blasting hip-hop songs in their locker room at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, according to The Athletic.
Down the hallway in the Bills locker room, Allen sat in silence with his head down at his locker.
“To be the champs, you have to beat the champs, and we didn’t beat them,” said Allen, who could win his first MVP after playing lights out during the regular season.
Allen completed 18-of-26 passes for 237 yards and two scores. He also had 11 carries for 39 yards.
The Bills had plenty of chances to break their playoff losing streak to the Chiefs — and at one point, the game was tied at 29.
With less than four minutes remaining, Allen launched a game-saving pass to Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid, but he dropped it on fourth-and-5.
The Bills’ defense couldn’t stop Mahomes on Kansas City’s final drive en route to securing the win.
Tom Brady and Joe Burrow (Bengals) are the only two quarterbacks who’ve defeated Mahomes in conference title games — both needing overtime in 2019 and 2023.
