01/24/21 09:34:00
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01/24 21:32 CST Reigning champion Chiefs dump Bills 38-24 in AFC title game
Reigning champion Chiefs dump Bills 38-24 in AFC title game
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- It took the Kansas City Chiefs five frustrating
decades to make their second Super Bowl appearance.
Now, the defending champs are headed there for the second straight year.
Showing no lingering effects from his concussion, Patrick Mahomes sliced up
Buffalo's secondary with ruthless efficiency Sunday night, helping the Chiefs
roll to a 38-24 victory over Josh Allen and the Bills in the AFC championship
game.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP finished with 325 yards passing and three
touchdowns, most of it to favorite targets Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, who
complemented their star quarterback with a record-setting night of their own.
The Chiefs will face a familiar foe --- Tom Brady --- and the NFC champ
Buccaneers in two weeks in Tampa, Florida.
"It was just trusting each other. The best thing about this team is we believe
in each other," said Mahomes, who was also dealing with a toe injury. "But the
job's not finished. We're going to Tampa; we're trying to run it back."
Kelce finished with 13 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Hill added
nine catches for 172 yards, becoming the first duo in NFL history with
consecutive games of at least 100 yards receiving each in a single postseason.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams added short TD runs for the Chiefs,
who will try to become the eighth franchise and first team since the Brady-led
New England Patriots in 2003 and '04 to defend the Lombardi Trophy.
Allen, who had his worst game of the season in a Week 6 loss to the Chiefs,
again struggled against the blitzing Kansas City defense. He finished with 287
yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception, but a big chunk of his
numbers came as the Bills tried to rally from a 38-15 deficit in the final
minutes.
Their frustration boiled over with 3:19 to go, when Allen was getting sacked by
Tanoh Kpassagnon. Alex Okafor finished off the tackle, and Allen pitched the
ball in his face in resentment. Offensive linemen Jon Feliciano and Dion
Dawkins rushed in and leveled Okafor, resulting in a flood of offsetting
personal foul penalties.
It capped a bitter loss for the Bills, who had reached their first AFC title
game since beating Kansas City at home on Jan. 1, 1994. They had won 11 of 12
since their loss to the Chiefs earlier this season --- in fact, they hadn't
trailed in the second half since Week 8 --- and were riding a wave of
confidence that this might finally be their championship year.
Instead, after finally conquering the Patriots in the AFC East, the Bills have
a new roadblock to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs actually spotted the Bills a 9-0 lead, thanks in large part to
Mecole Hardman's muffed punt inside their 5 that gifted Buffalo a touchdown.
But the reigning champs were hardly rattled; the Chiefs, after all, rallied
from double-digits in each of their postseason wins last season, including
their Super Bowl triumph over San Francisco.
Mahomes and Kelce soon found their groove. And the rest of the Chiefs offense
followed suit.
They surgically took apart Buffalo's defense on a 14-play, 80-yard drive that
ended with a short TD throw to Hardman --- no hard feelings over that fumble.
Then, the Chiefs cruised 82 yards in just five plays, the big one Hardman's
50-yard end-around that set up Williams' touchdown tumble. Finally, they made
it three TDs in three possessions when Edwards-Helaire --- in his first game
back from an ankle injury --- capped a 77-yard drive with a short plunge.
The only answer from Buffalo was Tyler Bass's chip-shot field goal that made it
21-12 at the break.
You don't beat Kansas City by kicking field goals from the 3-yard line, though.
Or from the 9, where the Bills settled for another one to close within 24-15
late in the third quarter.
That became painfully clear on the ensuing drive. Mahomes hit Hill in stride
and the All-Pro wide receiver promptly made the Bills secondary look downright
foolish. Weaving in and out of woebegone defenders, Hill was finally caught
inside the 5-yard line after a 71-yard gain, ultimately setting up Kelce's
short TD catch a few plays later.
Any hopes the Bills had of a comeback were dashed when Rashad Fenton picked off
a tipped pass deep in Kansas City territory. The Chiefs breezily marched the
other direction, and Mahomes and Kelce kicked off the celebration of another
trip to the Super Bowl when they connected for their second score of the game.
"I'm proud of these guys," said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who moved into a tie
with Joe Gibbs for fourth on the career list with his 17th playoff win. "They
did a phenomenal job, and hats off to the Buffalo Bills and the great job they
did all year, and most of all, listen, we have the Lamar Hunt Trophy back in
Kansas City.
"Now we have to get the big one."
INJURIES
Chiefs: RG Andrew Wylie hurt his knee early in the second half and LT Eric
Fisher limped off in the fourth quarter with an injury to his Achilles' tendon.
... CB L'Jarius Sneed and SS Armani Watts were evaluated for concussions.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs and Buccaneers have only played 13 times, and Kansas City had lost
five straight before a 27-24 win in Tampa on Nov. 29 --- a game that wasn't as
close as the final score. Brady is 5-5 in his career against the Chiefs,
including an overtime victory with the Patriots in the AFC title game at
Arrowhead Stadium two years ago.
___
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