Bills vs. Chiefs rivalry: Revisiting history of the Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes era

When the Buffalo Bills head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on championship Sunday, it will be the ninth meeting between the teams in the Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes era.

These two teams know each other very well. They’ve played each other eight times over the past five years. The record between the two teams in the Allen-Mahomes era is an even 4-4. And, the Bills have scored a total of 213 points in those matchups while the Chiefs have scored 211.

Allen has played up to par with Mahomes or even better in that timeframe. In their matchups, Allen has 2,511 total yards to Mahomes’ 2,439, 22 total touchdowns to Mahomes’ 19, and just 5 turnovers to Mahomes’ 9.

The Chiefs, however, have won all three playoff games over that timeframe.

This will be their fourth meeting in the playoffs over the past five years. This will also be the Bills’ fifth straight year playing at Arrowhead.

Allen and Mahomes get a lot of the shine in this rivalry, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Bills head coach Sean McDermott have a history, too. McDermott was an assistant under Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles for ten years before Reid fired him in 2010 as the team’s defensive coordinator.

The Bills have a chance at redemption for the recent playoff losses to the Chiefs, two of which have been nail-biters. Is this the year they finally break through and advance to the Super Bowl?

Before we head there, let’s look at the history of this rivalry that has led to this highly-anticipated AFC title game.

10/19/2020: Bills 17, Chiefs 26

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In the first matchup between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs got the better of the Bills on this day at Highmark Stadium. Both teams entered the game 4-1 and at the top of the AFC.

A touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in the second quarter put the Bills up 10-7, but a Travis Kelce touchdown late in the first half sparked 16 unanswered points from Kansas City. The Bills got within six points after a Cole Beasley touchdown with six minutes left in the game, but a late Harrison Butker field goal put the game on ice.

Mahomes had 225 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, while Allen posted 122 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Allen added 42 yards on the ground.

01/24/2021: Bills 24, Chiefs 38

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The Bills tried to avenge their regular season loss to KC in 2020 with a rematch in the AFC championship.

After a Tyler Bass field goal and a Dawson Knox touchdown, the Bills shot out to a 9-0 lead. The Chiefs then scored 21 unanswered and took control of the game. It was clear the Bills weren’t ready to compete for a Super Bowl yet.

Allen posted 375 total yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while Mahomes put up 325 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Tyreek Hill and Kelce were the difference-makers in this one. Hill posted 172 receiving yards while Kelce had 118 receiving yards and two scores.

Before anyone knew this was a rivalry, the Bills were already in an 0-2 hole against KC.

10/10/2021: Bills 38, Chiefs 20

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The Bills finally got the upper hand on the Chiefs in October of 2021, and it wasn’t close.

The Bills were fast out of the gate, scoring three first-half touchdowns on their way to building a 24-13 lead. Knox, Allen, and Emmanuel Sanders found the endzone in the first half. Greg Rousseau also had an early interception of Mahomes on a tipped pass to himself.

Midway through the third, safety Micah Hyde caught a deflection off Hill’s hands and took it back for a pick-six. This put the Bills up 31-13 and they remained in the driver’s seat.

Allen posted 374 total yards and four total touchdowns, with no turnovers. Mahomes had 333 total yards and two touchdowns, but he had three costly turnovers.

01/24/2022: Bills 36, Chiefs 42

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It is one of the best football games in NFL history. The “13 seconds” game left a sour taste in the mouth of Bills fans, but the game told the world the Bills were here to stay.

Gabe Davis had the best game of his career and one of the best playoff performances ever. He caught eight passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns, the last touchdown putting the Bills up by three points with 13 seconds left.

The Chiefs stole this one from the Bills at Arrowhead, driving to get a field goal as time expired. They then won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on their first drive of overtime. The NFL changed their playoff rulebook after this game, making it so both teams had to possess the ball in overtime.

Both Allen and Mahomes had all-time performances. Allen had 397 total yards and four passing touchdowns, while Mahomes (with an extra OT possession) had 447 total yards and four total touchdowns.

10/16/2022: Bills 24, Chiefs 20

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Trailing 20-17 with five and a half minutes left, the Bills went on a 12-play, 76-yard, game-winning drive. This drive saw an Allen hurdle over safety Justin Reid which has become iconic, but more importantly, Knox caught the go-ahead touchdown from Allen with just over a minute left.

Mahomes down one score with over a minute on the clock usually doesn’t end well for the opponent, but this time the Bills made a game-sealing play. Mahomes was picked off by Taron Johnson after he was flushed out of the pocket by Von Miller.

Allen had 361 total yards and three touchdowns. Mahomes had 359 total yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

12/10/2023: Bills 20, Chiefs 17

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In most of their regular season matchups, both teams were among the best in the AFC at the time. This time around, the Bills were going through a rough patch.

The Bills entered the game with a 6-6 record and with their season on the verge of falling apart. Coach Sean McDermott was feeling heat from the media after a disappointing season to that point.

The Bills were able to fight their way through this one at Arrowhead and give their season some hope. A Bass field goal gave the Bills a three-point lead with 1:57 left. Then came the infamous “offensive offsides” call on Kadarious Toney, which wiped out a Toney touchdown on a beautiful lateral from Kelce. Instead of taking the lead late, the Chiefs stalled out and turned it over on downs to give the Bills the win.

McDermott was emotional after this win, knowing how much it meant to him and the team.

01/21/2024: Bills 24, Chiefs 27

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After being .500 through twelve games in the 2023 season, the Bills miraculously ended up hosting the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs after rattling off six straight wins.

This game was another classic that the Bills were on the wrong side of. It featured five lead changes as Allen and Mahomes were trading blows.

After three quarters that saw plenty of scoring, the fourth was largely a stalemate. Isaiah Pachecho scored a touchdown with over 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter to put the Chiefs ahead 27-24, and that score would remain. After that touchdown, there was a Bills turnover on downs, a Chiefs touchback, a Bills punt, a Chiefs punt, and it was capped off with a missed 44-yard field goal from Bass with 1:47 left.

The missed kick ended the Bills’ six-game winning streak which started with the regular season win over the Chiefs in Week 14. Allen posted 245 total yards, three touchdowns, and zero turnovers. Mahomes recorded 234 total yards and two touchdowns. Kelce exposed a wounded Bills defense for 75 receiving yards and two scores.

11/17/2024: Bills 30, Chiefs 21

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The Bills got the best of the Chiefs in the 2024 regular season. They won by two scores while out-producing Kansas City in nearly every team stat. This was the only meaningful loss of the year for the 15-2 Chiefs (rested starters Week 18).

The Bills forced two Mahomes interceptions (Terrel Bernard and Taylor Rapp) while holding him to 196 passing yards. He finished with three passing touchdowns, two of them to tight end Noah Gray.

Allen led the way for the Bills. He had 317 total yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He led the team with 55 rushing yards on a day where James Cook was held in check (2.2 yards per carry). Allen’s day was capped off by a 26-yard touchdown run on 4th & 2 which many considered his “MVP moment”.

The Bills know their history with Kansas City. They are 0-3 against them in the postseason since 2020. The regular season wins help a bit. But, if they can get it done in January this time around, then they’ll be Super Bowl-bound for the first time since the 1993 season.