Kansas City Chiefs bash Buffalo Bills, return to Super Bowl for meeting with Tom Brady, Bucs
The Kansas City Chiefs knew the NFL had their number all season. They didn’t blink.
The Chiefs used stellar coaching and a stable of talent to answer nearly every challenge and engineer a second consecutive Super Bowl berth.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes posted a spectacular AFC championship performance just one week after entering the NFL’s concussion protocol. He cleared protocol on Friday and returned to lead his team to a decisive 38-24 win over the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday night.
The Chiefs will face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Tampa for Super Bowl 55 on Feb. 7. The Bucs beat Green Bay in Lambeau Field 31-26 in the NFC championship game and will become the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
The Chiefs will aim to become the first team to defend their Super Bowl title since Brady and the Patriots after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. And they'll have to beat Brady, who reached his 10th Super Bowl in 20 seasons, to do so.
The AFC Championship, for much of the night, wasn’t a close contest.
The same Chiefs team that had won its previous eight games by an average of four points fell into a 9-0 hole after second-year receiver Mecole Hardman muffed a punt halfway through the first quarter. Buffalo recovered at the 3-yard line and promptly scored a touchdown the following play. But by halftime, the deficit — and Hardman’s blunder — were mere memories. The Chiefs scored 21 unanswered points, Hardman pitching in to set up Kansas City’s first touchdown with a resounding 50-yard jet sweep.
Perhaps a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive summed up the Chiefs’ day best. Mahomes was sacked for no loss, then nailed Hill closing in on a slant route just as he gained the first down. Hill didn’t stop there. He zigged and zagged, breaking tackles and outracing defenders at a top speed of 20.76 miles per hour, per NextGen Stats.
By the time defenders at last managed to drag him out of bounds, Hill had moved the chains 71 yards to the 3. Three snaps later, Kelce would muscle a shovel pass Mahomes up a crowded middle of the field for a 1-yard touchdown.
The Hill-Kelce duo overwhelmed Buffalo defenders, Hill scurrying for 172 yards on nine catches while Kelce had 118 yards and two touchdowns on a championship game-record 13 catches. The method – a low shovel, a high loft each to the end zone– mattered less than the player, Kelce seemingly unstoppable as the Chiefs posted their highest-scoring game in three months. A week after beating the Browns, Hill and Kelce became the first teammates in postseason history to post multiple 100-yard games each, according to CBS.
The Bills, in contrast, couldn’t find rhythm. Star receiver Stefon Diggs struggled mightily until it was too late. Allen’s arm was strong at times, inconsistent at others. The sturdy Bills quarterback took advantage of his scrambling acumen, taking off for 88 yards on seven plays. But the Bills couldn’t sustain drives, converting just 5 of 14 third-down conversions and settling for field goals twice in the red zone.
That might work against some, but not against Mahomes, whose Chiefs entered the red zone five times and exited with five touchdowns.
Mahomes, who said Friday he had no further concussion symptoms nor did doctors expect lingering issues, finished an efficient 29-of-38 for 325 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein
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