New York’s Orchard Park — The Kansas City Chiefs, under the leadership of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will play in their first-ever postseason game at Highmark Stadium in what has grown to be a legendary rivalry with the Buffalo Bills.
In 2020, Orchard Park hosted the Chiefs for a regular season game; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no spectators there. The Chiefs and Bills have faced off six times since Mahomes and quarterback Josh Allen took the field, with five of those meetings taking place in Kansas City.
The Bills are not overlooking the chance to play Mahomes in the postseason for the first time.
“This is Mahomes’ only visit to this place. He’s never been here, then. That’s as easy as that, said left tackle Dion Dawkins. Pat has never visited the Bills stadium in its entirety. The stadium is in our favor, even though the environment will be different and not necessarily in our favor. We are the stadium. That is beneficial to us. It doesn’t matter what people think. This is the happiest feeling I’ve ever experienced. We have two consecutive home playoff games. Come on, act like we’re about to head out and grab some wings. It’s awesome. So, best of luck.”
The Bills’ current six-game winning streak began last month when they defeated the Chiefs 20-17 at Arrowhead Stadium. Buffalo has won three of the last four regular-season games between Kansas City and Buffalo, while Kansas City has won both of their postseason encounters since 2020—the 2020 AFC Championship Game and the 2021 divisional round.
Despite losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in their home playoff game at the end of the 2022 season, the Bills have a strong track record in home playoff games, with a 14-2 record since 1970—the best in the NFL among teams that have played at least five home games during that span.
The Bills are practicing normally on this short week after the wild-card round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed, despite the fact that they are getting ready for this game in the middle of the second lake effect snowstorm to hit the Buffalo area in a week. For the second week in a row, the team has already asked the public to assist in clearing snow from the stadium on Friday.
“Having your supporters behind you is good. Former Chiefs center Mitch Morse stated, “I think little nuances, like not having to use silent cadences, is always a plus.” “I believe having home-field advantage is incredibly great, especially after such a short week. However, we also know that these teams who have advanced this far in the playoffs are accustomed to hardship and unfavorable circumstances.”
Mahomes and Allen will become the fourth QB duo to face at least three times in the playoffs within their first seven seasons if they win this game. According to ESPN BET, as on Thursday, the Chiefs are a 3-point underdog. This is Mahomes’ second postseason underdog experience; the first was in the Super Bowl last year.
With a victory, Mahomes would make his sixth AFC Championship Game appearance and Allen his second.
They have reached the summit of the mountain. They are aware of the route there. We still haven’t done that,” Allen stated. “Again, being in this kind of circumstance is something you fantasize of as a player or competitor. I am aware that the guys on this team have been anticipating this day for a very long time. You can’t help but be excited about the prospect of hosting a game against a team that has won two championships in the last few years when you consider how far we’ve gone even from seven or eight weeks ago.”
