Here’s your first look at the AFC Championship
Just two teams remain standing in the AFC and will soon square off on Championship Sunday with a trip to Super Bowl LIX on the line. On Saturday, the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs emerged from their first-round bye week and took down the Houston Texans to advance out of the divisional round. A day later, the Buffalo Bills pulled off the home upset over the Baltimore Ravens to keep their season alive. All that now results in an AFC Championship between two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks: Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes.
Here’s an early preview of this AFC Championship and some notable storylines to keep an eye on.
Odds via SportsLine consensus
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Date: Sunday, Jan. 26 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Chiefs -1.5, O/U 48.5
These two clubs are very aware of one another, and this matchup will be the fourth head-to-head in the playoffs over the last five seasons. So far, Patrick Mahomes has been impenetrable in this postseason setting, owning a 3-0 record against Allen and the Bills. The prior two matchups game in the divisional round (2023, 2021), but these clubs have gone toe-to-toe in the AFC Championship before (2020). That game resulted in a 38-24 win for Kansas City where Mahomes tallied 325 yards and three touchdowns.
Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes in playoffs
| Josh Allen | Patrick Mahomes | |
|---|---|---|
|
Wins |
0 |
3 |
|
Team point scored |
84 |
107 |
|
Total yards |
1,030 |
1,011 |
|
Total touchdowns/turnovers |
9/1 |
9/0 |
While the playoff head-to-head is one-sided in favor of Mahomes, Allen has been competitive in this rivalry. Overall, each quarterback has four wins in their eight matchups (regular season and postseason), which includes a Buffalo win over Kansas City back in Week 11 that handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season.
Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes career head-to-head
| Josh Allen | Patrick Mahomes | |
|---|---|---|
|
Wins |
4 |
4 |
|
Teams points scored |
213 |
211 |
|
Total yards |
2,511 |
2,439 |
| Total touchdowns/turnovers | 22/5 | 19/9 |
Outside of the quarterbacks, Travis Kelce will be a main figure to watch in this game. Back during their regular season matchup, the star tight end was virtually nonexistent, catching two of his four targets for eight yards in the loss. However, Kelce has seemingly flipped the switch over the last couple of games played and is coming into this AFC Championship after recording seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown against Houston. While it didn’t burn them against Baltimore, Buffalo’s third-down defense leaves little to be desired (7-10 vs. Ravens), so if Kelce gets rolling on that key down, it should give Kansas City ample opportunity to extend drives and score.
As for the Bills, James Cook is a skill position player that could make his presence felt. He only rushed for 20 yards against the Chiefs back in Week 11, but did score two red zone touchdowns in the first half. The back has been a strong rushing option for Buffalo in tandem with Josh Allen, particularly in the red zone (16 touchdowns in the regular season). Kansas City has held opponents to just 4.2 yards per carry and 104.4 total rushing yards per game this season, so Cook could face some tough sledding. If he gets into a grove, however, Buffalo’s offense may be hard to stop.
Early weather forecast (via AccuWeather): Interval clouds and sunshine are expected throughout the day with a high of 38 degrees, a low of 22 degrees, and a real feel of 33 degrees. There’s also a 22% chance of precipitation.
