AFC championship game: Buffalo Bills v Kansas City Chiefs – live | NFL

Key events

Bills 10-21 Chiefs, 0:29 second quarter

The Bills have two timeouts.

Allen in the shotgun, pumps his leg, takes the snap, looks, looks, looks, scrambles, throws it away. Good coverage.

It’s 2nd & 10.

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Bills 10-21 Chiefs, 0:35 second quarter

Cooper has a catch near a first down on the far sideline, then he scoots out of bounds. Then Johsnon, two quick runs, one for a first down, and then four yards. The clock is ticking.

Now Allen to Coleman on the near sideline to the KC 34! He gets out of bounds to stop the clock! They’re in field goal range, but they could really use seven.

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Bills 10-21 Chiefs, 1:23 second quarter

Allen almost gets sacked, and then flips it to Shakir for a five-yard gain. Nifty!

Then Coleman has a catch, a yard short of a first down.

Flag!

Defensive pass interference!

First down.

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Bills 10-21 Chiefs, 1:48 second quarter

Davids with the return to the 25, where Buffalo will begin this absolutely crucial drive.

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Two TD’s…

…in under three minutes. It’s pretty scary. Gut check time for Buffalo.

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TOUCHDOWN! Bills 10-21 Chiefs, 1:55 second quarter

Mahomes rolls to his right and there’s enough room to drive a jumbo jet through. He doesn’t need that much room. Touchdown!

There’s a penalty, but it’s on the Bills and it’s declined.

With KC getting the ball at the half, Allen really needs points here.

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Updated at 20.03 EST

Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 2:00 second quarter

Pacheco down to the one! It’s 3rd & goal. The Chiefs take the clock down to the warning. Big downs coming up.

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VERDICT! Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 2:36 second quarter

Complete say the refs, but the replay shows yes, the ball hit the turf on the way down. So that is yet another big call that goes for the Chiefs, and even after review!

So what’s up with that?

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REPLAY! Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 2:36 second quarter

So that fight for the ball between Bishop and Worthy, the Bills are challenging the call, saying the ball was down before he got possession. So that would make it incomplete and push the ball back to the Bills 29.

Personally, I didn’t see any ball on any grass, so I don’t think this will go well for Buffalo.

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Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 2:36 second quarter

Big pass towards the endzone! Worthy and Bishop have hands on it, and Worthy rips it free! What a catch and rip right there! Plus a defensive holding call on the Bills, declined obviously.

This is the Worthy Bowl right now! No wonder KC traded up with Buffalo to get this guy last draft.

Ball on the Buffalo 3.

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Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 3:13 second quarter

Allen goes big down the far sideline! Riverboat gambler stuff! Incomplete, in the direction of Coleman.

Three and out for Buffalo. That’s not good. Especially because KC have lots of time here and a great punt return! It’s Remigio, fresh off the practice squad, shaking and baking and moving and grooving and all the rest! When it’s done, it’s down to the Buffalo 29!

A 41-yard return! It looked like this!

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Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 4:02 second quarter

Allen looks for Samuel on 2nd & 10, he’s open but cannot hang on. Come on man, you’ve gotta make that catch, you’re open with room to run!

So it’s 3rd & 10!

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Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 4:06 second quarter

Bills start from their own 30. Allen, hit as he throws, looking for Kincaid, who couldn’t hang on. And a flag – illegal formation, offense. That’s the second one of those today. The Chiefs decline and take the down instead.

Oh, and Mahomes is 9/10 today. His QB rating is 144.2. That’s good by the way.

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How it happened!

Eleven plays, 70 yards, 6:12. It seemed faster! That clock barely stopped on that drive, less the two timeouts.

This was all because of that crazy call on 4th & 1 on their own 39. Video game football.

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TOUCHDOWN! Bills 10-14 Chiefs, 4:13 second quarter

It’s Worthy again, he has it and dives towards the pilon – he’s up and in!

The Chiefs are up once more on another healthy drive. Has Mahomes thrown an incomplete pass yet? Good lord.

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 4:41 second quarter

Mahomes in the shotgun, he has a completion to Worthy for a first down on the far sideline.

And there’s a flag: personal foul, defense. And ouch, that tacks on 15!

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 4:41 second quarter

Pacheco, and his hell raising runs, I love to watch him go, and he goes for five. So it’s 3rd & 4 from the 28.

Timeout! The Chiefs call their second TO!

It would be something if the Bills could hold KC to a field goal.

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 5:50 second quarter

Worthy and Mahomes hook up on the near sideline for 10 yards. Then Mahomes is on the other side of the field, firing to Hopkins for 11. Chiefs on the Bills 33 – good response!

This quarter is really moving!

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 7:34 second quarter

It looks like they will go, or do the try and draw the Bills offside thing.

But no, they go, and Mahomes runs to his right towards the sideline! First down!

Man, that is totally bananas. But they got away with it, because they always do. One of these days, that isn’t going to work.

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 8:29 second quarter

Hunt runs and is flipped behind the line of scrimmage! Wow! That is wild! And no way they go for it here, right? Well, the Chiefs call their first timeout.

I mean, they’re on their own 39. I don’t recommend it.

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Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 9:23 second quarter

OK, the Chiefs start at their 30 and Mahomes is back and firing away, hitting Kelce – there’s a name we haven’t heard yet – for eight yards.

Then Hunt runs for a yard. It’s 3rd & 1!

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How it happened!

Yes, it was a run from James Cook that gave the Bills the lead! It looked a lot like this:

It took 10 plays, it went 67 yards, it took 5:32.

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TOUCHDOWN! Bills 10-7 Chiefs, 10:25 second quarter

Cook runs down the far sideline and he’s in! The Bills cash in on that muffed exchange between Mahomes muffed handoff and they’re in the lead!

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Updated at 19.30 EST

Bills 3-7 Chiefs, 10:40 second quarter

Now it’s 3rd & long but Allen hooks up with Shakir at the six! The Bills are in the red zone – first and goal to go!

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Bills 3-7 Chiefs, 11:20 second quarter

Allen dumps it off to Cook on the far sideline and there’s some room! A healthy 17-yard gain.

Then Allen goes on an adventure – he’s running, pointing, escaping then chucking a fluttering ball towards the endzone that is not high percentage work! It’s broken up, but it doers’t matter – defensive holding on the Chiefs! First down at the Chiefs 38!

Later….on 2nd & 6, Shakir has a completion, but he’s then smacked and pushed for a loss. Ouch! So it’s 3rd & 9!

Huge play right here. Allen in the shotgun – quick throw and complete! Cooper has it for a first down!

Finally, on the next play, Allen is stripped! But recovers, somehow, while being tackled. Quite a trick!

Ball at the KC 37.

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The kick cometh

Should you be interested in that fine 53-yard kick by Mr Bass…

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Bills 3-7 Chiefs, end of first quarter

Cook on 2nd & 1, a patient run where he bounces and waits for a hole, which he does find, plunging ahead to the Bills 40 and a three yard gallop – first down Buffalo as the quarter comes to a close.

A lot of action!

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TURNOVER! Bills 3-7 Chiefs, 0:57 first quarter

Mahomes drops it! The Bills have it! Ed Oliver recovers it for Buffalo and the Bills take over from the 28! That is just what they needed, even if it was kind of an unforced error.

They’ll take it!

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Bedford

It doesn’t look good, he’s being driven off. Another hit to the Bills secondary that are already missing Taylor Rapp.

And then the ball slips away from Mahomes and KC recovers but the ball goes backwards quite away! But there’s a penalty on the Bills, so really it never happened.

Now Worthy is running for eight yards, and that’s three straight rushed for 28 yards total. Chiefs at the Bills 23.

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It’s the Eagles

What every Giants fan wants to hear: Philly are heading to the show, with some running back guy who is OK, not great. Read all about it.

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Bills 3-7 Chiefs, 2:38 first quarter

While I’m posting emails the Chiefs are busy moving across midfield, at blistering pace. it’s thanks to a Mahomes scramble and a Worthy run!

Now there’s a break as Bills corner Bedford suffers a head-to-head with a teammate that was not a fun watch. Hopefully he is OK.

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Email!

Tom Hopkins has advice and wonders:

“Come on David, without a working knowledge of Roman numerals you’re putting yourself at a severe disadvantage in terms of both cryptic crosswords and the dates movies were copyrighted. Really, Super Bowl years is the least of your worries. Also, I don’t follow NFL that closely. Do Kansas City really get preferential treatment from officials and, if so, why?”

I don’t think it’s conscious bias but I think there’s some bias, yes. But KC are not the first stars to get the calls in sport.

Liam in China has a joke:

Greetings from Beijing, where it’s -7c and approaching 8am on Monday. Your reference to the bizarre way they number the Superbowls reminded me of that joke:

‘I, for one, is a roman numeral.’

Good joke! Very unusual! Thank you!

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FIELD GOAL! Bills 3-7 Chiefs, 3:45 first quarter

Tyler Bass his a big boot and he’s true from 53! Wow!

So the Bills have somewhat of an answer. They showed they can move the ball and recovered well from that horrific first drive. But this isn’t gonna work unless Buffalo’s defense can get some stops.

Let’s see what they learned on those tablets while they waited.

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Bills 0-7 Chiefs, 4:06 first quarter

Allen drops the snap! But then he falls right on it! CBS says the Bills haven’t lost a fumble since week four. Good stat!

It’s 3rd & 9. Shakir has a catch on the far side, he juts backwards, trying to find an edge, but he can’t, so Buffalo are short.

Here comes the field goal unit!

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Bills 0-7 Chiefs, 5:52 first quarter

Allen is warming up, finding Cooper on a slant for nine yards. It’s 3rd & 1, and the tush push works it’s magic. Allen makes it on the second push within the push. First down! Ball at the KC 40!

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Bills 0-7 Chiefs, 6:52 first quarter

All kinds of play changing at the line by Allen, moving pieces, finger pointing and then a completion to Kincaid for 11 yards. It was worth it!

Then Cook gets hammered and only gets a yard rush for it.

On 3rd & 3, Allen kinds Shakir for 12 yards, and the Bills have a first down!

That’ll calm those in Orchard Park just a wee bit. Ball at the Bills 48.

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Bills 0-7 Chiefs, 8:51 first quarter

A touch back, then a Cook run for about five yards. But there’s a flag for illegal formation on the Bills. Come on folks! Get it together!

So it’s 1st & 15 now from the 25. Gulp!

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How it happened!

Ninety yards, nine plays in just 5:05. Here’s how it ended.

Now, can Allen throw a few passes towards some of his own players?

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TOUCHDOWN! Bills 0-7 Chiefs, 8:56 first quarter

Kareem Hunt, up the middle, and then a quick cut to his right and into the endzone! And just like that, 90 yards, melts away, like butter and a hot knife.

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Bills 0-0 Chiefs, 9:41 first quarter

KC’s offense is moving easily, freely, wonderfully. Pacheco runs up the middle for three yards on first down.

Then J.Smith-Schuster is found up the middle, and he runs. AND RUNS! Loads of room and he’s not done until 32 yards later!

Now Hunt runs for eight! to the Buffalo 13. This is WAY too easy.

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Bills 0-0 Chiefs, 12:16 first quarter

Right now it’s all Hollywood Brown! Two straight receptions for a total of 20 yards., Then Patrick runs for four, picking up a first down. The Chiefs are on the move, up to their 34.

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Bills 0-0 Chiefs, 14:08 first quarter

Allen is just flinging the pill around like it’s nothing! On 3rd & 6 he throws what should have been his second interception, but somehow, it’s not. And that is truly miraculous. So the Bills punt and the Chiefs will start at their 10.

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We’re off!

The Bills have it first, and Cook runs to his right for about four yards! Then the other Cook, the one in the Chiefs secondary, almost picks off Allen! Whao, that should have been intercepted!

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And I quote:

“We know what we’re here to do” says Mr Mahomes in a quick pregame interview for CBS TV here in the United States, when asked about the “three-peat”.

I believe him.

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National Anthem

Retired Navy Petty Officer First Class (say that three times fast) Generald Wilson is belting out the National Anthem and is quite convincing. Rock solid version, no issues here. I give it a 7.5. Here’s what it sounded like in 2023 in KC if you feel the need. Just remember to please rise and remove your cap.

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Here they come

The Chiefs are running onto the field, through circa 1950’s, holey, middle-American banners. It’s all very warm and wholesome, and Mahomes and Kelsce looked just great.

Speaking of warm, it’s quite balmy weather-wise in KC compared to what it’s been lately. It’s 31F, -0.5C. So weather will not be a factor tonight.

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Red, yellow and zebra

If you think the spotlight will be shining bright on these two teams today, consider the referees. The non-Chiefs football world was disgusted last week after a few calls went the way of KC, with accusations of “pampering” Patrick being hurled towards refs and the league. Is he pampered? Well, most fancy QB’s are. More so than most? Maybe. With all the whining this week, it’s curious to note that the NFL assigned Clete Blakeman to head the officials this evening.

Ryan Miller of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle notes the following:

“Mahomes is 6-5 in games officiated by Blakeman. It’s his second-worst record among 20 referees who have officiated his games. The five losses under Blakeman’s crew account for 21.7% of Mahomes’ 23 career losses.”

And then there’s this piece to read if you want to pursue more statistical fuel:

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Updated at 18.32 EST

Eagles fly to the Big Easy

No, it’s not over, but currently the Eagles look set to represent the NFC at the Super Bowl LIX on 9 February, as they’re currently housing Washington 48-23.

By the way, I had to ask the internet what number LIX is. I really love how the NFL refuses to dumb down their Super Bowl years.

“LIX is the Roman numeral for 59. To convert 59 to Roman Numerals, write it in expanded form, i.e. 59 = 50 + (10 – 1), then replace the converted integers with corresponding roman numerals to get 59 = L + (X – I) = LIX.”

.

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Updated at 18.15 EST

Three-peats

If you think winning back-to-back Super Bowl games is tough, how about three on the trot? It’s so difficult that it’s never happened. The Chiefs are the ninth team in the Super Bowl era to have a crack at it. Of those eight teams, only the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 1990 San Francisco 49ers made it to the championship stage. Pittsburgh, who had beaten the Oakland Raiders in back-to-back AFC title games finally succumbed to the silver and black, 24-7, while the Giants famously (for NYG fans) ousted the Niners, in San Francisco with a last second field goal.

Legendary broadcaster Patt Summerall announced “there will be no three-peat” after Bahr connected that afternoon. Can the Chiefs flip that script today?

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We’re live!

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the AFC Championship game, where the Buffalo Bills have schlepped to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs! The winner takes on the winner of the Commanders and Eagles NFC Championship game, which is happening right now, and feel free to hop on over to that until it’s decided. I won’t be offended.

In the meantime, here’s a question for you. Andy Reid is 90-26 in his last seven seasons as head coach of the Chiefs. During that time he is 15-3 in the playoffs including an eight game postseason winning streak. This season, KC won 15 games and lost two, one really: that last loss to the Broncos was a week off. So how is it that a team like this, with two straight Super Bowl victories in the can, is only favored by two points v the Bills? Shouldn’t it be more, considering their track record?

The answer is, as always, the bookies know stuff. And the stuff is, yes, the Chiefs won 15 games, and yes, they find a way to win all the time, with and without the debatable VIP treatment from officials, but this team, they’re really pushing it. They don’t really have enough. They operate at the margins: just look at this statistical season comparison, They are doing it with smoke, mirrors, tremendous coaching and muscle memory.

And this is the narrative that we’ve all been hearing, and there’s a good reason for it: it seems to be true. Here’s a reddit post that says based on point differential, KC should have won 59.73% of their games. Instead, KC won over 88% of their games. This allegedly beats out the 2022 Minnesota Vikings as the most over performing team of all time, at least according to another reddit post. Those Vikings got beat by another over performing team, the New York Giants, who subsequently got destroyed in the divisional round and then fell deep into the abyss.

Now, a week after playing a fake team, KC must play a real one. The Chiefs got lucky by avoiding the Ravens, who are better than the Bills despite their loss in Buffalo last week. That said, Josh Allen also knows how to win with less around him: Buffalo lost their key wideout and some important cogs they could not afford to hang on to. What they have works: Keon Coleman, James Cook and Khalil Shakir.

Basically, KC are due for a whipping, will it be the Bills that stop KC’s playoff win streak? That’s what we’re about to find out. Oh, and I should ask, what do you think? Let me know via “x” or email and we’ll get you in the paper. Otherwise, prepare for the game of the season and stand by for more coverage!

Stick with us!

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David will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Graham Searles on today’s game:

Story of the season: Just as in 2023, the Chiefs were subpar for much of last year, rolling in the lower gears ready to strike in the playoffs. They remain the best-coached and most well-prepared team in the NFL. Their only stumbling block: the Bills. Josh Allen’s game-sealing touchdown run on fourth and two when the teams met in the regular season was a smudge on an otherwise pristine copybook. So can Buffalo do it again? Can Allen finally make a definitive mark after losing to Mahomes three times in the postseason? The pressure is on in what is sure to be another instant classic.

What Buffalo need to do to win: Run the ball. Kansas City’s defense has a weak spot that can be exploited by James Cook and Allen. The Chiefs have softened up somewhat since limiting the Bills to a respectable 104 rushing yards when they met in Week 11. In their past five games, Kansas City have allowed an average of 150 rushing yards, while the Bills have consistently dominated on the ground, averaging 170 yards in the eight games since beating the Chiefs. Crucially, in the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos – the NFL’s best and third-best run stoppers in terms of total yards allowed in 2024 – each gave up a season-high total against Buffalo. If that is the damage Cook and Allen can do to opponents who specialise in shutting down runners then the duo will most likely cause Kansas City serious trouble.

What Kansas City need to do to win: Put the ball in Xavier Worthy’s hands. In head coach Andy Reid’s scheme, the speedy wide receiver can stretch Buffalo deep down the field. That should give Mahomes an explosive target to unlock a Bills secondary potentially missing star cornerback Christian Benford, who is in concussion protocol. Reid should also work in creative touches for Worthy when the Chiefs have the ball inside the red zone. He brings a crucial playmaking threat to support the more routine, efficient production of Travis Kelce. The Bills have struggled in tight games in the postseason in recent season, and jitters were evident again last week as Lamar Jackson rampaged in the second half. Reid can rely on Worthy to be an X-factor much as Tyreek Hill was in the Chiefs’ epic divisional-round win over Buffalo in 2022.

Key player for the Bills: Spencer Brown, right tackle. Brown has had a fantastic season protecting his quarterback and run blocking. Allen has been sacked only 17 times across his 19 games this season while Brown and his offensive line helped Buffalo score more than 30 points on 13 occasions. Most exciting for the Bills is that the 6ft 8in, 310lbs bruiser was missing from their regular-season win over the Chiefs. When they need to score, they can rely on Brown to do the dirty work that makes Allen shine.

Key player for the Chiefs: Jaylen Watson, cornerback. The difference for Kansas City could be Watson returning to the secondary. The defensive back, who missed the regular-season loss to the Bills, enjoyed a timely warm-up against Houston. The Chiefs’ coverage is exceptional with Trent McDuffie alongside him. They should allow Steve Spagnuolo to focus his defense on more important matters: stopping the run.

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