Josh Allen is trying his hardest not to be known as this era’s Phillip Rivers. A sensational QB with a Hall of Fame résumé, but not quite good enough to overcome the legends of his time. Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton and Eli Manning all ate on Rivers’ watch.
He had some Chargers teams that were good enough to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, but he always seemed to fall short, never advancing past the AFC Championship.
Like Allen, he had all the tools and the guts, even playing that 2008 AFC Championship loss to Tom Terrific and the New England Patriots on a torn ACL.
Allen came into this divisional round playoff game — Mahomes’ first on the road — with confidence and a team that was on a roll and matched up well with a Kansas City offense that has been anything but explosive this season.
Allen played a sensational game and poured his heart out on the field, but in the end the result was similar to what it has been since Mahomes came into the league.
Josh Allen Giving Phillip Rivers Vibes
Buffalo missed a potential game-tying 44-yard field goal and lost 27-24 to Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and a crazed Taylor Swift, who let it all hang out in her exclusive suite.
Allen played good enough to win, just not good enough to beat Mahomes, who has been playing with a chip on his shoulder. Allen surely didn’t expect WR Stefon Diggs to talk all that junk throughout the season and then drop crucial passes and get checked by a compromised Chiefs secondary.
To say that the NFL world abandoned the Chiefs early in this season is not a stretch. Buffalo was favored coming into the game, despite Mahomes’ reputation for being the toughest out in football come playoff time.
“We were here to prove a point and show that we can play (and win) anywhere,” Mahomes said on a cold and windy Buffalo field after the game. Soon after he would be pelleted with snowballs by unruly Bills fans while trying to give his jersey to a young fan.
Mahomes also credited a Kansas City defense that held the potentially explosive Bills offense to no plays over 20 yards, while Mahomes and company managed eight plays of 20 yards or more.
Mahomes Reaches Sixth Straight AFC Championship Game
Mahomes has reached the AFC Championship Game for the sixth time in six seasons as the starter. He’s taken the mantle from Tom Brady and continues to be the standard for not only quarterbacks, but NFL players who truly represent winning and ultimate team excellence.
While everyone focused on Mahomes’ decreased passing production, astute NFL observers had to know that he would become a much different quarterback once the playoffs began. Elevated in every facet.
Josh Allen was once again a game opponent who showed why he is among the NFL’s best playmakers. But after driving up and down the field against KC’s defense, almost at will in the first half, things started to slow down as the game progressed and Kansas City started coming up with stops.
From there, Mahomes would consistently dagger the Bills with clutch plays. We’ve almost come to expect this level of excellence from Mahomes. At the same time, his season — average by his lofty standards — proves how hard it is to be consistently great in the NFL. It’s next-level difficult in the playoffs, an arena that Mahomes has mastered.
Mahomes is 8-2 when trailing by seven or more points in the playoffs. His only two losses are to Tom Brady, who’s retired.
If not for a fluke touchback on a ball that Mecole Hardman fumbled as he attempted to stretch into the end zone and give the Chiefs a two-score lead, the game would not have been as close. The Bills surely had their chances.
AFC Championship: Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson
This is the Black QB matchup everybody’s been waiting for. All season, the conversation has been about Lamar Jackson finally taking it to the next level and winning the Super Bowl and the possible decline of Mahomes.
After the Ravens’ 34-10 drubbing of the Houston Texans, where Lamar went for over 150 yards passing and 100 yards rushing, it’s now or never for the NFL’s most lethal weapon.
Unfortunately for Jackson, he’s going against the immovable object in Mahomes, who has to be the favorite entering next week’s AFC Championship Game.
How can you bet against him? He’s made a career out of not letting anyone eat on his watch.
