BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Patrick Mahomes will lead the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs into frosty Buffalo on Sunday, Jan. 21, to face Josh Allen’s Bills in the latest chapter of the NFL’s hottest playoff rivalry.
Mahomes and the Chiefs, chasing their third Super Bowl crown in five seasons, ended Buffalo’s playoff dreams in two of the past three campaigns. There were three lead changes in the last two minutes two years ago.
But this year, the Bills beat the Chiefs 20-17 last month in Kansas City to launch their current six-game win streak.
And unlike their prior post-season losses, the Bills will play the Chiefs this time in cold and windy Buffalo, where they are 8-1 this season.
“They’ve gotten the best of us in the playoffs the last few years,” Allen said. “We’ve finally got a home game and we’ve just got to go out there, put our best foot forward and play as hard as we can.”
The winner of the AFC showdown will advance to next week’s conference final against Saturday’s winner between AFC top seed Baltimore and upstart Houston.
NFC matchups send top seed San Francisco against giant killers Green Bay, who eliminated the Dallas Cowboys last week, on Saturday and the Detroit Lions, coming off their first playoff victory since 1991, playing host to Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Mahomes is excited to have his first AFC playoff game in an opponent’s stadium be against close pal Allen.
“We’ve played in a lot of big games. I’m excited for the challenge,” said Mahomes, who is 1-3 against Allen in regular-season meetings. “When you compete against your friends, you almost want to win even more.
“When two guys that are ultra-competitive, that are friends off the field, go up against each other, we obviously both want to win. We see each other in the off-season, and you want to have a little bit of those bragging rights.
“We’ve been lucky enough to get them in the playoffs, but they beat us earlier this year, so we understand we’re going to have to play our best football to win.”
Long-suffering Bills fans have never had a Super Bowl champion, losing the championship spectacle four times in a row in the 1990s.
At Baltimore, the Ravens come off a bye week while the Texans routed Cleveland 45-14. The Ravens beat Houston 25-9 in their season opener back in September and with an NFL-best 13-4 record, Baltimore is expected to win again and advance.
“We had some time off to regroup,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “We’ll be dialed in. I believe we’ll still be ready.
“We’ve changed a lot since week one, just getting better and better at our schemes, just being one unit. We’re definitely in sync.”
The Ravens added veteran running back Dalvin Cook on Thursday, hoping to add to a strong ground attack that includes Jackson’s run-pass threat.
Jackson has had a playoff hunger all season after years of frustration. A Ravens win would advance them to their first conference final since winning the 2013 Super Bowl.
“I don’t know if he has won the MVP already but he’s the leader and the heart and soul of this team,” receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said of Jackson.
Niners host Packers
At San Francisco, the 49ers come off a bye week and are one victory from their fourth conference final in five seasons. But Niners fans haven’t celebrated a Super Bowl crown since 1994.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy was the NFL’s top-rated passer in his first full season as the 49ers’ starter, leading the league in yards per attempt and ranking second in completion percentage.
The Packers, as the bottom seed on the road, will be huge underdogs despite ousting Dallas, but they boast Jordan Love, who since late November has thrown 19 touchdowns with only one interception.
Detroit supporters are still reeling after the Lions’ victory, but the club hasn’t won two playoff games in the same campaign since taking their most recent NFL title in 1957.
They face a Buccaneers squad sparked by Baker Mayfield, who threw for 2,044 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Tampa Bay eliminated Philadelphia last Monday and could doom the Lions’ fairy-tale run.
