The Kansas City Chiefs have out-dueled the Buffalo Bills during the competing tenures of star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, and the next installation of the rather one-sided rivalry is coming up this weekend.
The teams enter the Week 9 showdown in Buffalo headed in somewhat different directions. The Chiefs have won three games in a row and five out of six after starting off the year 0-2 with an anemic-looking offense and real questions about whether they could contend for a fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
Meanwhile, the Bills bolted out of the gates to a 4-0 record and firing on all cylinders before a two-game losing streak headed into a Week 7 bye. However, Buffalo did bounce back with a convincing 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.
So despite the almost polar opposite trajectories of the first half of this NFL season, Kansas City (5-3) and Buffalo (5-2) find themselves in a contest that could decide home-field advantage in another potential playoff matchup like the one the Chiefs eked out in last year’s AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.
Allen had the football with a chance to win at the end of that game and earn his first trip to a Super Bowl, but that was not to be. Mahomes compared himself to Allen during a media session Wednesday, October 29.
“To be that size and be able to move like that, he’s done so many great things as far as throwing the football. But the way he’s able to extend plays, get close to the sideline and make these big-time throws down the field, that stuff is special,” Mahomes said. “He’s gotten better and better each and every year … and that’s something I try to do for myself as well.”
GettyBuffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Allen is the reigning league MVP, an award that Mahomes has earned twice (2018, 2022).
Mahomes has played nine years in the league, while Allen has played eight. However, Mahomes sat out almost all of his rookie campaign, so their games played tallies are similar — Mahomes, 120; Allen, 118.
Mahomes has been better than Allen as a passer, tallying 34,451 yards, 262 TDs and 78 INTs on 66.6 percent passing, while Allen has amassed 27,994 yards, 207 TDs and 88 INTs on 68 percent passing.
Allen has been a more prolific runner of the football, producing 4,403 yards and 70 TDs on 5.4 yards per carry, while Mahomes has 2,523 rushing yards and 18 scores on 5.3 yards per attempt.
Mahomes is a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, while Allen has earned three trips to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors twice.
GettyQuarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
All things considered, their statistics and award accomplishments are close to a wash, with Mahomes having a clear, albeit slight, edge. But where their paths have significantly diverged comes with regards to postseason success.
Mahomes is 17-4 and his playoff career with seven consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances, five trips to the Super Bowl and three titles. He is 4-0 against Allen and the Bills over that stretch, including two wins in the Divisional Round (2nd round) and two victories in AFC Title matchups. Three of those four triumphs have come by one, three and six points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Allen is 7-6 in the postseason with two AFC Championship Game appearances — both losses to Mahomes and the Chiefs. Allen and the Bills are 4-1 against Kansas City during the regular season, which means that Mahomes owns the all-time series head-to-head history 5-4.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
