When the calendar transitioned to January, the Kansas City Chiefs flipped on the postseason switch.
Or, as running back Isiah Pacheco put it after Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills: “It was ‘go’ time.”
Before the Chiefs ran out the clock on their final possession in Buffalo, fans back home held their collective breath when Bills kicker Tyler Bass attempted a game-tying, 44-yard field goal with less than 2 minutes left.
Bass’s kick sailed wide right, reminiscent of the missed field goal from 47 yards that kept the Bills from winning a Super Bowl in 1991.
“During that moment, it hit big for us,” Pacheco said. “For us, being team players, we had no one looking left and right.”
Now, after a hard-fought divisional playoff win at Buffalo that featured five lead changes, the Chiefs will be playing in their sixth straight AFC Championship. They’re one victory away from reaching the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
“Our guys kept their composure through the highs and the lows of the game,” said Kansas City coach Andy Reid after the 27-24 win at Buffalo. “They supported each other.”
After a dreadful December that included home losses to the Raiders and the Bills, and a road loss at Green Bay, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, for one, is looking ahead.
“We don’t care,” he said on Sunday. “We still have got another opportunity to play in the AFC Championship next week, right?”
Where and when to watch the Chiefs game
The AFC Championship game will be televised in Kansas City on KCTV, channel 5, at 2 p.m. Central time. Streaming is available on Paramount+.
Tico Sports will stream a Spanish-language radio broadcast of the game at Tico-Sports.com.
How the Chiefs got here
Though the AFC’s No. 3-seed Chiefs had no playoff bye week to enjoy this season, the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, with nothing on the line, served as a significant opportunity for Reid to rest his biggest stars.
That’s especially true, Reid said, for standout tight end Travis Kelce, who caught both of Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown passes in Buffalo.
“I think that time off that he (Kelce) had there, before our last game and into that last game, helped him,” said Reid. “He was banged up a little bit and he was able to get over that.”
Instead of playing for a chance to surpass 1,000 reception yards for the eighth straight year, Kelce was inactive for the Jan. 7 game against the Chargers.
As it turned out, Mahomes and Kelce set their own record Sunday night for the most touchdown passes between a quarterback and receiver, with 16. The record was previously held by former Patriots legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
“We always emphasize getting the ball to Travis,” said Mahomes, “but passing anything that has Brady and Gronk in it is special because those are two of the greatest players.”
Pacheco’s presence also helped make the difference between the two Chiefs-Bills contests. After sitting out the Dec. 10 loss, the running back proved to be one of the Chiefs’ most valuable pieces.
Pacheco finished the game with 97 rushing yards on 15 carries, scored the Chiefs’ final touchdown, and sealed the win with two critical carries for 11 yards on the Chiefs final possession.
“Pacheco is a beast,” said Reid. “He runs so hard.”
What to watch for against the Ravens
Bills quarterback Josh Allen is skilled at both passing and running, and the Chiefs defense prevented him from completing any play for more than 20 yards in last Sunday’s divisional playoff game.
That unit will be called upon to duplicate their effort in Baltimore, where the Chiefs face another stiff test with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who directed his team to a 13-4 record in the regular season.
Jackson became the Ravens’ starting quarterback in the tenth game of his rookie season. Since that surge at the end of 2018, Jackson has shown himself to be a dynamic signal-caller who can change a game with his legs.
As a full-time starter in 2019 and 2020, Jackson became the first NFL quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in two seasons.
“He’s fast and one of the faster guys on the field when it’s all said and done,” Reid acknowledged during a Monday Zoom call with the press. “He’s shifty, where Josh (Allen) will go right through you.”
This season, Jackson has rushed for 821 yards and, at the same time, has become a better passer. His 67.2% pass completion rate and 3,678 passing yards were both career highs.
For all that Jackson has accomplished in his young career, just winning a playoff game was an accomplishment for the Ravens — before Sunday they had just 2 playoff wins in the last 10 seasons.
The Ravens were last a No. 1 seed in the 2019 season but Tennessee upset them in Baltimore, opening the door for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl in Miami.
When the Chiefs have the ball
The key to the Chiefs’ success against the Bills was for Mahomes to find someone to throw to besides Kelce and rookie receiver Rashee Rice.
Last Sunday, that was Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who’s been under his share of criticism this season for the number of dropped passes that stalled potential scoring drives. Against the Bills, Valdes-Scantling had two key receptions for 62 yards.
“He’s taken a lot of heat,” said Reid. “He just kept hanging in there and came up with some big catches.”
It offset the lack of production by veteran receiver Mecole Hardman, who caught just one pass for two yards. Hardman was also responsible for a fumble close to the goal line that prevented the Chiefs from adding to their lead late in the game.
"He was trying, and you give him the effort," Reid told the media. “You have to protect that football, and he'll get better for that."
For all the stellar offensive numbers the Chiefs compiled in the divisional playoff, they were flagged for just two penalties for a total of 15 yards.
What’s at stake
With the divisional playoff win, the Chiefs proved they can win in a hostile environment. And their sixth straight trip to the AFC Championship is only two short of the New England Patriots’ record stretch from 2011 to 2018.
The Ravens haven’t been to an AFC Championship since the 2012 season, when they won on the road against New England en route to winning the Super Bowl.
Still, the Ravens feel like they have something to prove, and only the defending Super Bowl champions stand in the way.
