Kansas City vs Baltimore for the AFC Championship
What has been the craziest season of the Patrick Mahomes ERA for the Kansas City Chiefs continues to the AFC Championship Game next week against the Baltimore Ravens as the Chiefs win against the Buffalo Bills 27-24 after a long Bills drive ended with a missed 44 yard Field Goal by Tyler Bass letting the Chiefs go to the Victory Formation after an Isiah Pacheco first down carry iced the game.
The Chiefs saved their most efficient offensive game of the year for this week which was important as Buffalo dominated the time of possession with almost a full quarter advantage in time of possession, 37:03 versus 22:57; this disadvantage in time meant the Chiefs needed to do damage and score when they had the opportunity to score. For most of the game, they did just that with only one big mistake coming when Wide Receiver Mercole Hardman fumbled a Jet Sweep through the End Zone for a Turn Over that ended the Chiefs one short field drive of the game after they stopped a fake punt run by Bills Safety Demar Hamlin.
It seemed like the kind of mistake that had punctuated the Chiefs losses this year as instead of a 10-point lead the Bills were driving down the field slowly for what seemed like the game-winning Touchdown as the Chiefs were getting gashed on the ground, giving up 182 yards rushing.
Josh Allen played an efficient and effective game with 186 yards passing and 72 yards rushing in dominating the time of what was a very fast game as the teams ran for a combined 328 yards. In the end, the Chiefs Defense came up with just enough stops and a Missed Field Goal costs the Bills one more time.
Up next are the Baltimore Ravens who dominated the Houston Texans in advancing to the AFC Championship Game. This marks the sixth straight time the Chiefs have reached the Championship game and they will be pursuing the fourth Super Bowl appearance.
The Chiefs are playing their best Football at this point of the season as Travis Kelce stepped up with a strong game and a pair of touchdowns to support almost 100 yards for Pacheco and a surprisingly strong game from Marquez Valdes-Scantling who was a non-factor all season long.
Now they face another elite running Quarterback in Lamar Jackson who carried the Ravens to the game with 2 passing and 2 rushing Touchdowns against the Texans on Saturday. Jackson also ran for 100 yards against the Texans so the Chiefs will have to improve their rushing defense to win their second straight road playoff game.
We’ll see if this crazy season continues after next Sunday.
