The 1972 Miami Dolphins are celebrating, as yet another undefeated team suffered a loss before the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs were 9-0 entering Week 11, but waiting for them were their playoff rivals in the Buffalo Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen. As has been the case throughout his career, you can never count out the Chiefs as long as Patrick Mahomes was starting at quarterback.
On Sunday, the Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-21. With that, Kansas City’s undefeated season reached it’s end, and were now 9-1. Credit can be given to Allen, who literally powered his way into the end zone on a 26-yard touchdown run to essentially put the dagger in the Chiefs’ chances of escaping Buffalo with a win.
While getting a win over the Chiefs is a huge accomplishment, recent history isn’t on the side of the Bills.
Recent history suggests win over Chiefs is a bad omen for Bills
Since 2020, the Bills are 4-1 in regular season matchups against the Chiefs. Let’s take a look at the results of those matchups:
|
Year |
Result |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
2020 |
Kansas City Chiefs def. Buffalo Bills |
26-17 |
|
2021 |
Buffalo Bills def. Kansas City Chiefs |
38-20 |
|
2022 |
Buffalo Bills def. Kansas City Chiefs |
24-20 |
|
2023 |
Buffalo Bills def. Kansas City Chiefs |
20-17 |
|
2024 |
Buffalo Bills def. Kansas City Chiefs |
30-21 |
So, the Bills are on a four-game regular-season winning streak over the Chiefs. That’s pretty good. However, when these teams met in the playoffs, it has been all Kansas City.
Here are the results of each playoff matchup between the Chiefs and Bills:
|
Playoff Round |
Result |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
2020 AFC Championship Game |
Kansas City Chiefs def. Buffalo Bills |
38-24 |
|
2021 Divisional Round |
Kansas City Chiefs def. Buffalo Bills |
42-36 (Overtime) |
|
2023 Divisional Round |
Kansas City Chiefs def. Buffalo Bills |
27-24 |
The Bills have had Super Bowl aspirations in recent years. They are known as the only team to lose in the Super Bowl in four consecutive seasons. With a literal unicorn at quarterback in Allen, the hope was that the team could win their first-ever Lombardi Trophy. However, the Chiefs have crushed their dreams three times since the 2020 season.
The AFC Championship Game in 2020 saw the Bills lose in a blowout. The 2021 Divisional Round saw the Bills seemingly on the verge to knock-off the Chiefs, only to see Mahomes lead them from deep to their own territory, to kicking a game-tying field goal with just 17 seconds left in regulation. The Chiefs used that momentum to win in overtime. Then last season, with the Chiefs on the road for a playoff game for the first time in the Mahomes era. Yet, the Chiefs escaped to advance.
Given the landscape of the NFL playoff picture, it feels like a matter of when, not if, these two teams meet again in the playoffs. For the Bills, they hope they can finally send the Chiefs home packing. However, recent history isn’t on their side.