One of the greatest NFL playoff games in recent memory was the last postseason clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills in 2021.
The two teams will get to re-enact that thriller in the AFC divisional round Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In the 2021 game, played at Arrowhead Stadium, the two Pro Bowl quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen — traded blows and couldn’t be stopped, especially in the fourth quarter.
The difference was, the Chiefs won the overtime coin flip and therefore Mahomes had the ball last — scoring the decisive touchdown in the extra period to win, 42-36.
Sunday’s game will be played at Highmark Stadium, the first time the Kansas City Chiefs (12-6) and Buffalo Bills (12-6) have met in Orchard Park, N.Y., since 2020. Since then, they’ve played five straight games at Arrowhead Stadium, with the Bills winning three, including their 20-17 win in Week 14.
The Buffalo Bills are 8-2 at Highmark Stadium this season after Monday’s 31-17 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. But they haven’t beaten the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at home since 2012, when Mahomes and Allen were in high school.
Here are the top three storylines heading into a game that will decide which team heads to the AFC championship game the following week.
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Who’s better in 2024: Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen?
Patrick Mahomes has hogged all the significant hardware since coming into the NFL, with two Super Bowl rings, two Super Bowl MVP awards and two NFL MVP awards.
This season, comparing numbers, it’s probably a push between the two quarterbacks. While Josh Allen has accounted for an NFL-best 44 touchdowns — 29 passing and 15 rushing — he’s also thrown 18 interceptions, the second-most in the league behind Sam Howell.
Mahomes has been better in completion percentage, QB rating and yards per attempt, while Allen leads Mahomes in QBR and yards per attempt. If there’s any distinctive edge that Allen has over Mahomes, it’s a victory in their meeting last month.
It’s a close call, but the argument about who’s better this season will be settled Sunday.
Related: NFL QB rankings
Are the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills better in cold weather?
Both teams can stake claims to being the better cold-weather team. They each braved the elements to win their wild-card games, with the Kansas City Chiefs facing the more severe conditions.
With the weather dipping as low as minus-7 with wind chill of around minus-25, the Chiefs were undeterred, thumping the Miami Dolphins, 26-7, and handling the elements as if they were playing in a warmer climate.
As for the Buffalo Bills, their game was postponed until Monday due to a severe lake-effect snowstorm that dumped up to three feet of snow at Highmark Stadium. But during their victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the field was free of snow and the temperature hovered in the mid-teens, with a single-digit wind chill.
Sunday’s forecast calls for the temperature to be in low-20s to high-teens, with only a small chance of precipitation. Nevertheless, Sunday’s game will determine which team is better equipped for January weather — and a Super Bowl run.
Related: Why the Kansas City Chiefs defense could lead them to back-to-back Super Bowls
Have the Kansas City Chiefs solved their wide receiver woes?
In their last meeting, the Kansas City Chiefs were down 20-17 and driving for at least a game-tying field goal when one of the most controversial plays of the season occurred.
With 1:12 left in the game and the Chiefs at midfield, Mahomes completed a pass downfield to tight end Travis Kelce, who then threw a perfect lateral pass to receiver Kadarius Toney, who went 25 yards for what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown. But Toney negated his own score when he penalized for being offsides.
The play underscored the Chiefs’ season-long issues at the receiver position, causing a significant decline in their scoring output. With their receivers leading the league in dropped passes, Kansas City went from No. 1 in scoring a year ago to 15th this season.
The Chiefs, however, might have remedied the issues with the emergence of rookie Rashee Rice, who’s been a bright spot and has proven to be a reliable target for Mahomes.
Rice, who finished the season with 79 catches for 938 yards and seven touchdowns, came up big in the Chiefs’ playoff opener with eight catches for 130 yards and a TD.
The Chiefs already come into the game with the No. 2 ranked defense in the league. With Rice as the answer at receiver, Mahomes and the Chiefs might be a completely different team than the one the Buffalo Bills beat in December.