With Monday’s Wild Card win over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, the Buffalo Bills have set up another Divisional Round matchup with the rival Kansas City Chiefs two years after the teams played in an epic playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.
The rematch will be played at 6:30pm EST on Sunday, January 21 in Orchard Park and will be broadcasted by CBS and Paramount+ in the US. The winner of that matchup will then play in the AFC Championship, which will take place on Sunday, January 28 at 3pm EST.
Two years ago, in a never-say-die showdown between two of the NFL’s top teams, the Chiefs rallied past Buffalo 42-36 in OT in the AFC Divisional Round – the last time the two teams met at this stage of the postseason.
In the end, Mahomes found Travis Kelce in the corner of the end zone with 4:15 left in the extra period to give the Chiefs a memorable playoff win while denying the Bills the football in overtime.
Concerned that the coin toss to begin the extra period has too much impact on postseason game results, the owners voted two years ago to permanently approve a proposal presented by the Colts and Eagles.
Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes battled in the 2022 AFC Divisional Round game in Kansas City
The NFL tweaked its overtime rules after a thrilling finish to the 2022 matchup at Arrowhead
Beginning with the 2022 postseason, if the team possessing the ball first in overtime scores a touchdown on that series, the opponent still gets a possession. In previous seasons, that touchdown would have ended the game.
Outcries began back in the February 2017 Super Bowl when Tom Brady completed an incredible comeback from a 28-3 deficit to tie the game. The Patriots won the coin toss, marched to a touchdown and beat the Falcons.
In the 2018 season, New England won the AFC title on the first series of OT without Kansas City getting the ball.
When the same thing happened in Kansas City during the 2022 Divisional Round game between the Bills and the Chiefs, won by KC, a groundswell became an uproar.
The Bills defeated Pittsburgh, 31-17, in a delayed wild-card game on Monday to play the Chiefs
The Bills beat the Chiefs 24-20 in a Week 6 matchup last season and again this year when Buffalo pulled out a 20-17 Week 14 victory over Patrick Mahomes & Co.
The Bills’ next playoff matchup marks the first time since the 1993 AFC title game that the Bills will host the Chiefs in a postseason game. The Bills won that game 30-13 to advance to Super Bowl XXXVII.
Buffalo has now advanced to at least the divisional round of the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and has won a home playoff game in each year during the streak. The Bills are 5-1 at home in the playoffs under Sean McDermott.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to a memorable 42-36 win after drawing level at the end of the fourth
On Monday, Josh Allen completed 21 of 30 attempts for 203 passing yards and three touchdowns in Monday’s Wild Card Round game in Buffalo, as the Bills will now shift their focus to their matchup against the Chiefs.
Bills-Steelers was pushed back to be played on Martin Luther King‘s Day after frigid weather conditions and up to 15 inches of snow hit Buffalo and its surrounding area this weekend.
Viral footage showed Bills fans clearing huge piles of snow at 4am on Monday for $20 an hour in a desperate attempt to get their playoff game against the Steelers on.
The good news for next week is that unlike Monday in Orchard Park, weather is not expected to be a factor.
