The dream of three games is still alive.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year and fifth time in the past six seasons. The back-to-back champion now has a chance to accomplish a feat no other NFL team has accomplished: winning three consecutive Super Bowls.
The Chiefs beat a familiar foe and moved one step closer to history, again drawing comparisons to the Buffalo Bills, which is Kansas City’s biggest win over Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Allen came up with his fourth win in a playoff clash and took a knee and a knee as the clock ended to settle the score 32-29.
It’s fitting since the only team standing between the Chiefs and a familiar rival in football history. The Philadelphia Eagles are the Chiefs on football’s biggest stage, running back Jayden Daniels’ stellar rookie campaign with a huge 55-23 NFC Championship victory over Washington. A game.
The Chiefs and Eagles went head-to-head just two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, with Kansas City coming away with a 38-35 victory and its first back-to-back championships. Before we dive into a two-week discussion of what this game means for both sides, we’re gathering the top takeaways from Sunday’s big championship game that gave the Chiefs and Eagles victory.
First to fall? Maybe we’ll never really know
Every time the Chiefs and Bills met, there was a definite play that turned the tide for one side, or a victory for the other. In a Week 11 meeting, Josh Allen rolled his way to the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown. It was a kick that sailed right in last January’s divisional round. Before that, it was a 13-second drive that changed the Chiefs’ fortunes and the overtime rule book.
Sunday night’s AFC Championship game is filled with moments that could ultimately change Buffalo’s fortunes against the Chiefs. Take, for example, Mack Hollins’ 34-yard TD catch against cornerback Trent McDuffie to end a rather lopsided first half against Kansas City. Then came the Bills’ next score – running back James Cook’s acrobatic outstretched right arm announcing himself to change the lead by six points to open the second half. Or a quick three-down drive forced by Buffalo’s defense to keep Mahomes & Co. There were no third quarter scores.
But, instead, it might just be a pair of failed fourth-down conversions in the fourth quarter that define this loss for the Bills. It started with a controversial call that Bills fans may remember best. With two minutes to go in the fourth quarter and Buffalo facing fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs’ 41-yard line, Kansas City’s game history will surely haunt them, head coach Sean McDermott said. Decided to go for it and put Ball in Allen’s hands as a quarterback sneak.
According to officials at the scene, his case was short-lived, however, a scroll through social media will show you some screenshots suggesting other cases. A review of the calls did not reveal enough evidence to overturn the decision. Thus, the ball was handed to Patrick Mahomes, who scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession.
Is that the right call? It’s a debate that’s sure to rage all week, especially considering the Chiefs’ recent win over Houston last Saturday has been in the spotlight.
Should McDermott go for this? It’s also a debate, one of many stemming from this game and his decision to try another QB sneak earlier in the game. The Chiefs had a brief attempt on Bills’ play in a critical situation. (Note to Philly: Better step up the brotherly push.)
Does this call have the power to change the outcome of the game? We’ll never really know. After the Chiefs regained the lead with a field goal, the Bills connected with a catch from Curtis Samuel. There is enough time. In what would have been a tense ending, Dalton Kincaid’s fourth down on Josh Allen in the fourth inning with two minutes remaining in regulation — another game-defining game — It launches a lot of people – we might talk about the bill, despite how the bill is earned on the phone.
That’s what makes this game so fun, so frustrating, and so much fun.
Mahomes beats Allen at his own game
No team will score more points than the Bills in 2024. Running back James Cook leads the way in scoring and Josh Allen runs for more TDs than any other AFC QB (only Jalen Hurts has more TDS points in the league) .
However, it was Allen who was the quarterback opposite of Allen in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Allen was held twice on no-rush TDs last week against the Ravens’ highest-rated defense, but Mahomes ran for two scores – his first in his career career, actually more than one rushing TD.
Although both QBs had very similar rushing numbers – 11 carries on both carries, with Mahomes holding on for 43 yards to Allen’s 39 – Mahomes’ clutch Scampers won him on another tight end. Mahomes’ Chiefs have now won 17 games in a row.
In fact, Kansas City’s own offensive splash came when facing one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses in the Bills — the Chiefs’ 32 points on Sunday night marked their highest offensive output all season.
Mahomes’ wide receivers also stepped up, and the Chiefs’ passing game was a more dynamic passing game than what we saw last week. Eight different players caught at least one pass from Mahomes, including four wide receivers who left the scoresheet in the divisional round. That gives Buffalo’s offense — Allen’s balanced passing attack has been one of the Bills’ biggest strengths all year. Even though Buffalo’s offense was strong – Allen threw for 237 yards, just eight yards to Mahomes and connected with nine passers – none of the QBs threw a pick. It comes down to the details, and in that regard, Mahomes simply can’t be beat.
Mahomes has carved out his legacy from improving his game in his biggest moments, and Sunday night brought even more proof of that.
let us hear history
Maybe you’re tired of seeing the team in red on football’s biggest stage… again. Maybe you’re not so obsessed with No. 15 heading to Super Bowl 5 in search of No. 4 trophy and his third consecutive ring.
We only have one year left in the New England Patriots’ run of excellence until the Chiefs take over all dynasty talk. But no matter your rooting interests, we’re looking at something truly special.
Mahomes is now 4-0 in the postseason with Allen on his bill, and teams that beat him in the regular season have been unable to beat him in the postseason more than any other opponent. It’s a testament to how locked-in Mahomes is in the playoffs. Sunday’s win was Mahomes’ 17th postseason victory in 20 games – second-most among quarterbacks behind Tom Brady (35). His fifth Super Bowl appearance puts him tied for second behind Brady’s nine (at 29, he has plenty of time to grab it).
We are witnessing history and can make more history in two weeks.
Barkley steals show as Eagles get past Commander
The Washington Commanders open Sunday’s NFC Championship game in their longest game of the season, an 18-player stretch that included two successful fourth-down conversions that ended with a field goal and seven rests in the process. minute. It was only three points, but the message to the NFC East Foes felt like the play-caller’s intent dictated the pace of the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles had just one play to respond to their message.
Jalen painfully returned the ball to Saquon Barkley for a flight to the Eagles MVP. Barkley opened the scoring for his first career NFC title game with a thrilling 60-yard touchdown run that sent the home crowd wild and set the tone for Sunday’s Matinee Matchup.
All this, in just 18 seconds. That was just the beginning – Barkley cashed in four more minutes later with a four-yard dash into the end zone to give Philadelphia a 14-3 lead to end the first quarter. He finished the game with three touchdowns. The Eagles’ running game was unstoppable on Sunday, scoring six of Philadelphia’s seven touchdowns on the day. According to ESPN, this ties them with most TDs of the 1940s.
Since he’s been out all season, Barkley was the biggest driving force in the Eagles’ rushing attack against Washington, racking up 118 yards and three TDs on 15 carries. He was also a clutch blocker a few times, played a supporting role on Hurts’ three-point touchdown run, and was the first to celebrate running back Will Shipley’s late-game score. (Shipley, who entered the game in relief of injured Kenneth Gainwell, capped off his electric 57-yard dash on a drive to set up a TD against Barkley the best impression.)
Barkley now has five touchdowns in two games since being left off the scoresheet on wild-card weekend.
Too many mistakes, Commander’s offense
Commander quarterback Jayden Daniels has been lighting up opposing defenses all season long, and after his stunning performance against the Detroit Lions last week, the rookie can also shine in another way. performance to defeat the second seed.
Daniels showed up in Philadelphia with his signature and dynamic game, but he couldn’t muster the magic needed to overcome the Eagles’ defense.
Instead, Daniels’ Cinderella run ended at the hands of a division foe, a lost battle with turnovers that proved to be the biggest difference in Daniels’ hopes of matching Philadelphia’s production.
A fumble by Dyami Brown at Washington’s 48-yard line put Philly in position to score on their next drive to take the first-quarter lead. The advantage improved to 14-3. A fumbled kick put the ball back in the hands of the Eagles for a successful TD drive in the second quarter. A third down in the third quarter halted the Commander’s momentum – any hope of a late-game surge was extinguished from there, and the Eagles ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.
The turnover battle actually favored the Commanders in their first two playoff wins until Sunday, when they had not turned the ball over in those playoffs and forced errors by opposing offenses. But they started their off-season by just overshooting Philadelphia on Sunday by forcing a fumble to match Faladelphia.
