Skip to content
Skip to Content

Chiefs punch ticket to third straight Super Bowl with win over Buffalo

0:00/ 0:00LIVEQuality1  AudioSubtitleSpeedNormal  

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from the NFL's first-ever three-peat.

Head Coach Andy Reid's team earned the right to represent the AFC in New Orleans at Super Bowl LIX, following a 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.

You can watch the full postgame press conferences with Coach Reid, CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt, General Manager Brett Veach, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive tackle Chris Jones in the slideshow above.

Sunday's victory marked Kansas City's fifth AFC Championship win in six seasons, propelled by another standout playoff performance from Mahomes. The two-time league MVP finished the game 18-for-26 with 245 passing yards and one touchdown through the air. He also recorded his second-best rushing yardage total of the 2024-25 season (43 yards) and tallied two touchdowns on the ground.

After Kansas City's defense forced a three-and-out on Buffalo's opening drive, Mahomes led the offense on a 9-play, 90-yard drive, ending with the seventh rushing touchdown of Kareem Hunt's postseason career. Mahomes was a perfect 4-for-4 on that possession and recorded 61 passing yards, including a 31-yard completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The Bills responded with a 53-yard field goal from Tyler Bass on their next drive to cut their deficit down to 7-3. Then, Buffalo added seven more unanswered points to the scoreboard. The Chiefs committed their first turnover since Week 12 on a fumble from Mahomes, leading to a 72-yard touchdown drive from Buffalo to take its first lead 10-7 at the 10:25-mark of the second quarter.

With the exception of Kansas City's first half fumble, its offense was nearly flawless in the first 30 minutes of the contest. The Chiefs scored two unanswered touchdowns on an 11-yard pass to Xavier Worthy and a 1-yard run from Mahomes to gain a 21-10 advantage with less than two minutes until halftime. The team finished the first half with three touchdowns on four possessions and more than 200 total yards of offense.

However, the Bills did not return to the locker room without finding the end zone again. Josh Allen successfully led Buffalo's two-minute offense and connected with Mack Hollins for a 34-yard touchdown pass with seconds before the break. The Chiefs stuffed the Bills on their two-point conversion attempt to salvage a 21-16 halftime lead.

Buffalo stalled Kansas City's first drive of the second half with a 5-yard sack from Matt Milano in its own territory, forcing the Chiefs to punt for the first time in the contest. The Bills capitalized on that defensive momentum. Allen marched his offense 80 yards downfield to Kansas City's goal line and pitched the ball to James Cook on fourth down to retake a 22-21 lead, following the team's second failed two-point conversion of the game.

The Chiefs were unable to manufacture any yardage on their next possession, posting a three-and-out and losing five yards on the drive to create another punting situation. The Bills milked the rest of the third quarter clock and reached Kansas City's side of the field, but Allen was stopped for no gain on a 4th-and-1 attempt by an army of Chiefs players to force a turnover on downs at the 41-yard line.

Kansas City's defensive stop supplied the boost that the offense needed. After a 29-yard completion to Smith-Schuster, Mahomes utilized his running ability again to rush for his second touchdown run of the game. Following that possession, the Chiefs padded their lead to 29-22 with a successful two-point conversion.

Allen and the Buffalo offense did not shy away from the pressure, though. The Bills reached the red zone with a 32-yard pass from Allen to Hollins on 3rd-and-8, and then, Allen converted a game-tying fourth down throw to Curtis Samuel for his second touchdown pass of the game.

It only took one Kansas City drive to break the knot. Mahomes got the Chiefs into field goal range with a pair of first down passes to Travis Kelce (11 yards) and Worthy (23 yards), setting up a successful 35-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to put the team ahead 32-29 with less than four minutes to play.

The Bills had one more chance to tie or take the lead, but the Chiefs forced Allen to throw an incomplete pass on fourth down to keep the Lamar Hunt Trophy home.

Worthy paced Kansas City's production through the air, posting a team-best six catches for 85 yards. Hunt handled the bulk of the carries on the ground, recording 17 rushing attempts for 64 yards.

Fresh off its eight-sack performance against the Texans in the NFL Divisional Round, the Chiefs defense. followed up that performance with two sacks from Tershawn Wharton and Mike Danna. Chris Jones also added a pair of quarterback hits.

Up next - The Chiefs will battle the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII. Super Bowl LIX is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m. on FOX 22.

Article Topic Follows: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Championship
andy reid
athletics
buffalo bills
geha field at arrowhead stadium
kansas city
kansas city chiefs
national football league
NFL
NFL playoffs
Patrick Mahomes
Press conference
professional football
scores
sports
Travis Kelce

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Kyle Helms

I joined ABC 17 News in August 2023 as a videographer. I am currently a Multimedia Journalist and Anchor for the ABC 17 Sports team.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

ABC 17 News is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.