Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have met four times in the NFL playoffs. Mahomes’ Chiefs have defeated Allen’s Buffalo Bills every time. The latest triumph, a 32-29 victory in Sunday’s AFC Championship, has the Chiefs on the verge of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl.
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Mahomes spoke with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson moments after the victory. Like the true leader that he is, he made sure to give his teammates the credit they deserved for the win after the matchup.
“I’m so proud of my teammates… it’s not about one guy [and] it’s not about a couple guys. It’s about the whole entire team. And when we needed the defense to get stops, they got stops. [Offensively], we made plays. That’s why we’re so special. It was a team effort.”
Mahomes is always the first player to receive credit when Kansas City prevails in a thrilling contest. However, he frequently gives credit where credit is due when at the podium. On the field with Wolfson, he did the same.
The Chiefs needed Mahomes to be at his best to keep their dreams for a three-peat alive. As expected, he delivered. His passing statistics – 18/26 (69.2%), 245 yards, one touchdown – weren’t overwhelming, but they also don’t give the full picture of his performance.
Mahomes played 112 regular season games and 19 playoff contests prior to the AFC Championship. He had only recorded double-digit carries in two of those affairs (Week 6, 2020 at Buffalo; Week 16, 2023 vs. Las Vegas). On Sunday, Mahomes ran a career-high 11 times.
Patrick Mahomes excels as a rusher in AFC Championship
He totaled 43 yards on those attempts. More importantly, he picked up a critical fourth-down conversion and scored two touchdowns with his legs.
CBS play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz joked Mahomes’ “worst pass of the night” was his attempted spike following his second rushing score. The comment, while tongue-in-cheek, may not have been wrong. Mahomes didn’t dominate the stat sheet as a passer, but he played one of the best games of the season according to Sheil Kapadia, analyst for The Ringer.
That’s over a 99th percentile game for Patrick Mahomes in terms of dropback success rate.
There were only four games this entire season where a QB produced a successful play at a higher rate.
It’s the highest dropback success rate of Mahomes’ entire career!
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) January 27, 2025
Simply put, Mahomes – as he often is – was at his best when his team needed him the most. It’s a big reason why Kansas City is so hard to topple during the playoffs.
The Chiefs sit one win away from the first Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history. To pull it off, they must beat a familiar foe: the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kansas defeated Philadelphia 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII, the first of their two consecutive Super Bowl wins. The Chiefs opened as 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles this time around. Kickoff for Super Bowl LIX is 6:30 p.m. E.T. on Feb. 9.
