- The Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs have met in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
- The Chiefs edged the Bills 32-29 at home in the 2025 AFC Championship Game.
- The Bills have now lost all four of the postseason meetings, including twice in the conference title game.
The Buffalo Bills had a fantastic season, winning the AFC East by five games with a 13-4 record. They thumped Denver 31-7 in the wild-card round, then held off Baltimore 27-25 in the divisional round.
However, the Bills couldn’t overcome their kryptonite, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game. The Bills have now lost to the Chiefs in four of the last five postseasons.
Bills Outgain Chiefs, Win Turnover Battle, and Still Lose
The Bills seemingly did everything right against the Chiefs, and there were only one or two plays between the two teams.
Buffalo outgained the Chiefs in yards 274-268, and they didn’t have a turnover to one for Kansas City. They were 5-of-14 on third down, and 4-of-6 on fourth down. However, the Bills couldn’t convert on their final fourth-down attempt, when Dalton Kincaid was unable to haul in Josh Allen’s heave.
The Chiefs got the ball back, and are now on their way to Super Bowl 59. Allen was 22-of-34 for 237 yards and two touchdowns, while James Cook ran 13 times for 85 yards. Both players were likely included in a few NFL same-game parlay contests. But the Bills were frustrated after the game. Allen said after the game:
"It's not fun. But to be the champs, you've got to beat the champs, and we didn't do it tonight."
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott added:
"[The Chiefs are] a good football team. They've won two Super Bowls, been to seven straight AFC Championship Games. That's no excuse. This is a good football team. We've got to keep working to get over that hump, there is no doubt about it. We've won a lot of tough games this year against really good opponents, really good coaches. I'm proud of this football team.
This is obviously a challenge for us. We’ll figure it out.”
The Bills have a long offseason to figure it out. Meanwhile, look forward to picking the Chiefs among your Super Bowl squares in two weeks.
How Can the Bills Beat the Chiefs?
The Bills might simply be unlucky to be this good in the Mahomes-Chiefs era. Kansas City is on the cusp of being a dynasty, much like Tom Brady’s Patriots were before this. The Bills made plays when they needed to last night, but the Chiefs made a couple more.
Buffalo should go into the offseason looking for a true #1 target for Allen, so they can take some pressure off the rushing game. The defense was middle of the pack, but they played well in the AFC Championship game, despite giving up 32 points.
However, Bills’ fans want to see their team in the Super Bowl, and the road to the big game goes through Kansas City. Buffalo has a lot to consider for the offseason, and it’s interesting to see if the front office finds a solution
