Buffalo Rumblings
Is the student ready to best the teacher?
It’s the biggest weekend of action in the AFC, with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs facing off to decide this season’s AFC Championship Game. In four prior tries, the Bills have been unable to get past the Chiefs — with most matchups coming down to the final seconds, often the final play.
This is a rivalry on par with the world of Star Wars, and the concept of both light and dark. Like that ever-expanding galaxy, there’s never any shortage of drama involved with a BUF-KC football game, and there are even more story lines to digest.
Add in the hot takes from industry-leading analysts and prognosticators, and the NFL couldn’t be happier that head coaches Sean McDermott and Andy Reid managed yet again to get their teams to this point in the playoffs. Once again, it’s student versus master, winner take all.
Chief among those story lines is the play at quarterback, and it’s difficult finding a better standoff than between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Even though neither faces off against the other, nor do they attack the same defense, everything starts and ends with their gridiron chess match.
Something has to give this weekend. Kansas City’s starting team lost just one game during the 2024 NFL season — that being on the road against Buffalo. It’s true that the Bills have had their number in the regular season, but the postseason is an entirely different matter.
Will Sean McDermott finally figure it out, and avoid putting his team up against the odds in crunch time? What will defensive coordinator Bobby Babich have in mind to offset safety Taylor Rapp missing this weekend?
Is this finally Josh Allen’s time, the moment when he slays the doubting dragon that insists he’s overrated — and won’t ever reach the heights of Patrick Mahomes? Though offensive coordinator Joe Brady has seldom called on Allen to become Superman, we’ve seen how much he’s evolved in that role in games against the Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and even last week against the Baltimore Ravens.
Is this the weekend where it all comes together for Allen and the wide receiver room, where tights ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox show Kansas City why they deserve attention, and will the offensive line put Josh Allen and the running game on its shoulders for an opportunity at greatness?
We’ll find out soon enough. With so much content available to you here at Buffalo Rumblings, you can catch up below through direct links to all of our coverage of Bills vs. Chiefs and the AFC Championship Game!
