Gang Green Nation
The conference championships round of the NFL playoffs concludes with the AFC
The conference championship round of the NFL playoffs concludes today with an AFC game. The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm EST.
The 16-2 Kansas City Chiefs come into this game as defending Super Bowl champions. The Chiefs are coming off a 23 - 14 victory over the Houston Texans in the divisional round last week. Other than a final week regular season loss to the Denver Broncos in which the Chiefs rested their starters, Chiefs have lost just once all season, to the #2 seeded Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs have lived dangerously this season, going 11-0 in one score games. Superstar Patrick Mahomes had arguably the worst season of his career, at least partially because he has lacked weapons with #1 receiver Rashee Rice out for the year, #1 running back Isiah Pacheco out for most of the year, and star tight end Travis Kelce clearly on the decline. As a result, the Chiefs have had to rely on an excellent defense this season, with the offense performing at middling levels most of the year.
The 15-4 Buffalo Bills are AFC East champions and the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Bills come into this game off a 27 - 25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round last week. The Bills have won 12 of their prior 14 games. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had an MVP quality season and was recently named 2nd team All Pro. Allen led a Bills team that many felt was starting to decline heading into this season to the second best record in the AFC. The key to the Bills’ dominance this year lies in turnovers. The Bills were #1 in offensive turnovers in the NFL and #3 in defensive turnovers, leading to an absurd +24 turnover differential, best in the NFL. Incredibly, the Bills have not had a game this season in which they lost the turnover battle. That’s a great way to win a lot of football games. The Bills have had regular season success against the Chiefs, but they have not found a way to get past them in the playoffs in the Patrick Mahomes era.
The Chiefs have home field advantage. They have gone a perfect 9-0 at home this season. The Bills have a 5-4 road record on the year. The Chiefs are 8-2 against playoff teams, including a regular season loss to the Bills in Buffalo. The Bills are 4-3 against playoff teams this season.
