Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs defense come up big in dominating win over Buffalo Bills

The Kansas City Chiefs began the season with the stated intent to “run it back.” With a dominant win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game on Sunday, the Chiefs have officially done just that.

After a convincing 38-24 win at Arrowhead, the Chiefs officially punched their ticket to Super Bowl LV. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be waiting for them after watching Patrick Mahomes throw for 3 touchdowns and the Chiefs defense put on a clinic against a heralded Bills offense.

The Chiefs were in control from the beginning, even as they were down 9-0 in the first quarter. From dropped interceptions on defense to dropped passes on offense, miscues on the part of the Chiefs helped put the Bills up early, including the biggest mistake of all—an unexcusable fumble by Mecole Hardman on a Bills punt in the first quarter:

From there, the Bills would score on a short pass from Josh Allen to Dawson Knox for the first touchdown of the game.

Fortunately, Hardman was given chances for redemption from that point on, and he stepped up to deliver for the Chiefs. On the next drive, Hardman scored on a short pass from Mahomes to bring the Chiefs back within two points for a 9-7 deficit. On the next drive, Hardman took a handoff for 50 yards to give the Chiefs further offensive momentum.

A Darrel Williams run would put the Chiefs up by 6 and give them a lead they would never give back, 14-9. The Chiefs would add another nice 9-play, 77 yard drive together before the half, one that ended with a short touchdown run by Clyde Edwards-Helaire to give them a 21-9 lead. A short Buffalo field goal would make it 21-12 at halftime.

After trading field goals to start the half, the Chiefs blew the game open on a drive that featured Tyreek Hill taking it 71 yards on a slant pass.

From there, a short underhanded toss to Travis Kelce in the end zone from Mahomes gave the Chiefs a 16-point lead at 31-15.

From there, the Chiefs put the game away with a strong performance from their defense—which was lights out for all four quarters—including an interception by cornerback Rashad Fenton. From there, Mahomes orchestrated a 58-yard drive that ended with Kelce’s second touchdown reception of the game.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they lost a couple key players late in the game to injury. L’Jarius Sneed left the game early in the fourth quarter with a head injury and was being evaluated for a concussion in the locker room. A few plays later, left tackle Eric Fisher went down with a leg injury that looked serious as well.

With the win, the Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now the final two teams left standing in the 2020 season and will compete in Super Bowl LV on February 7.