Another season, another epic battle between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 30-21 in a showdown between two of the best teams in the AFC on Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Things did not start too pretty for the 29-year-old star quarterback Mahomes and the Chiefs, who came into the game as the NFL’s only undefeated team with a 9-0 record.
On the first possession of the game, Mahomes threw an interception and Buffalo took advantage of the costly turnover.
Bills running back James Cook got into the endzone on a three-yard rushing touchdown. Buffalo went up 6-0 after a missed PAT.
However, no deficit is too much for the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions after Mahomes found rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy on a 10-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-6 lead in the second quarter.
The Bills responded on the ensuing possession after Cook scored his second rushing touchdown on the game.
With just over seven minutes left in the first half, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw an interception into the hands of Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner which eventually led to a Mahomes touchdown throw to tight end Noah Gray. Kansas City would take a 14-13 lead.
That lead would not last very long after Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass made up for the missed extra point earlier with a 33-yard field goal as the Bills went into halftime with a 16-14 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Bills extended their lead to 23-14 after Allen threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Curtis Samuel.
Mahomes led the Chiefs offense down the field and capped it off with a touchdown pass to Gray - his second touchdown of the game to cut the lead to two points.
It was a tense atmosphere in Orchard Park for the Bills, a team all too familiar with tough losses to Mahomes and the Chiefs in recent years.
Allen led the Buffalo offense down to the Chiefs’ 26 yard line but was stopped on third down. The Bills decided to go for it on fourth down and proved to be the biggest play of the game.
Allen evaded the Chiefs pass rushers and scrambled into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown and put the game out of reach.
With Buffalo’s defense smelling a win, they forced Mahomes to throw his second interception of the game to seal it.
The Chiefs fell to 9-1 on the season while the Bills improved 9-2.
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Chiefs had won nine straight games while trailing by seven or more points - an NFL record, according to the CBS broadcast.
However, that streak was broken along with the Kansas City’s 15-game win streak, including the playoffs and a Super Bowl title.
Allen further solidified himself as an MVP contender, finishing with 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 57 yards and a score on the ground.
Meanwhile, Mahomes threw for 196 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
After the game, the two quarterbacks hugged it out on the field and the broadcast caught the two-time MVP Mahomes telling Allen, “We’ll do it again, baby.”
Allen then told the CBS broadcast that despite beating their rivals, it “was just another Week 11 win.”
“Knowing how things usually play out, we will see this team again at some point,” Allen said. “We have to get there first.”
The 28-year-old Allen is the only quarterback to beat Patrick Mahomes four times. He is 4-1 against Mahomes in the regular season but winless in three playoff games against him.
The Bills are on their bye next week before hosting the San Francisco 49ers on December 1. The Chiefs head to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the Panthers next week.
