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Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will write another chapter in their historic rivalry this Sunday in Buffalo, as the Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Highmark Stadium to face the Bills. And while this matchup is circled every May when the schedule is released, combined with the fact that these have been the two best teams and two best players in the sport for half a decade, this game in particular will mean positively nothing when you look at the bigger picture that is the 2025 NFL season.
The Bills have been here before
The instant argument many will make against me here is that of playoff seeding. If the Bills win and it comes down to a tiebreaker between them and the Chiefs, they'll get the higher seed, and thus have home-field advantage when they inevitably face off in the playoffs for the fifth time.
And sure, that's a fine point to make, but did we forget that the Bills hosted the Chiefs in the postseason two years ago? In that game, the Chiefs ran the ball for 146 yards on over six yards per carry and punted once. With the exception taking a knee at the end of the first half and running out the clock to win the game, the only drive the Chiefs didn't score on ended in Mecole Hardman fumbling at the goal line after Sean McDermott faked a punt and ran the ball with Damar Hamlin. The Bills lost 27-24 after Allen took the offense down the field and Tyler Bass missed the game-tying field goal.
— Sideline Daily (@sideline_daily) January 22, 2024The Bills have lost to Kansas City both at home and at Arrowhead. I'd argue they've played better in the latter two road playoff games than they did in the 2024 divisional round. The 13 seconds game in 2022 we all know they should have won if not for coaching malpractice from Sean McDermott or Leslie Frazier (depending on who you ask) and the 2025 AFC Championship Game featured the Bills being the only team all season to allow the Chiefs to score 30 points while the offense failed to take the lead late in the game when the opportunity was presented.
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 23, 2025The Bills are the biggest threat to the Chiefs
Regardless of seeding, the Bills pose the biggest threat to Kansas City. Sure the Colts are fun. You going to bet on Daniel Jones to beat Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game? I love Drake Maye, but he's yet to start in a playoff game - he's not going to run the gauntlet his first time through. Who else is beating the Chiefs in the AFC? Denver? Mahomes is 13-1 in his career against Denver, and their defense isn't nearly as good as advertised. The Chargers? Justin Herbert's good, but he has the same number of playoff wins as Daniel Jones. The 2-5 Ravens? With that defense, absolutely not. The Steelers? Old Man Rodgers is playing like his old self one cranky tantrum after a dropped pass at a time (that's a compliment, by the way, cranky Aaron is the best Aaron), but the Steelers' defense is last in the NFL at stopping the pass.
If the Bengals somehow get in, I'd listen to the argument of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins winning a shootout, but they just lost to the Jets and a loss this Sunday would put them at 3-6.Who's left in the AFC after that? The Dolphins, Jets, Raiders, Titans, and Browns are all looking at mock drafts, and the Texans and Jaguars aren't real threats due to offensive inconsistencies - Chris Jones would sack C.J. Stroud four times in the first quarter with that Texans offensive line blocking for him. Sure Jacksonville beat the Chiefs earlier this season, but if not for an uncharacteristic red-zone interception by Mahomes, we aren't having that conversation.
When all is said and done, it doesn't matter what seed the Bills or Chiefs are. They are on a collision course to face one another in the postseason for a fifth time. That chapter of this novel will be interesting, but as for what will be written this Sunday, it will be completely useless for the larger plot at hand.
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