Chiefs Reaction: Mahomes Delivers Instant Classic

For the fourth straight season, the Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the AFC Championship Game. It did not come easy in the Divisional Round, however. Kansas City’s defense was occasionally on their heels, especially late, against a Buffalo Bills offense that was red hot. Yet, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense once again elevated their game to new heights.

In what felt like an instant classic, both Mahomes and Josh Allen had one of the more flawless combined quarterback outings in recent playoff history during a single game. They each fought hard to the end. Both quarterbacks also delivered countless times under pressure. Overall, this felt like just the beginning of a playoff rivalry between Mahomes and Allen and these two high powered teams. But once again, it was Kansas City who came out on top.

The Chiefs will now shift their focus for a rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals. Who like the Bills, they lost to in the regular season, before meeting them again in the playoffs. Though before that, let’s look back at the top highlights from Kansas City in this Divisional Round victory. What did we learn from the Chiefs in this victory over the Bills? We will list our top headlines following this wild victory. Let’s kick it off.

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Never Count Mahomes Out

If there is anything we have learned from Mahomes during the early portion of his career, it is that he will come back more aware of an opponent’s tendencies after losing to them earlier in the season. He arguably had the worst performance of his career against Buffalo earlier this year during the regular season. Many reasons were factors that led to that miserable night. A rapid pace of turnovers from previous weeks carried over with extra mental pressure. Meanwhile, Mahomes had a greater amount of misreads or inaccurate throws than we had seen in a long time against that Bills defense.

Fast forward to the Divisional Round, and Mahomes was locked in from the opening drive until the very end. He seemingly made the correct decision on every snap. Instead of forcing balls into coverage like he did the previous time against the Bills, Mahomes was more urgent with using his legs to navigate the pocket or to take off and run. His 34 yard scramble up the middle on the game’s opening drive gave him even more confidence and settled the Chiefs offense down after that third down. Elsewhere, Mahomes was potent with his ball placement and in how he attacked the Buffalo defense. Kansas City did well to make most of the tight catches in space. That never waivered throughout the entire contest.

However, Mahomes delivered an all-time performance, when it mattered most. He was aggressive when needing to get a score down 29-26. On a play with not much open, Mahomes fired a bullet into the middle of the field to Tyreek Hill. The speedster then raced by everyone for a lightning strike 64 yard touchdown with just 1:02 left on the clock. Kansas City unfortunately gave up another touchdown with just 13 seconds left. The game was out of reach, right?

Absolutely not. Mahomes worked quickly to hit Hill and Travis Kelce on two passes that combined for 44 yards. And in just 10 seconds, the Chiefs quarterback again gave his team a chance. Kicker Harrison Butker redeemed himself by tying the game to end regulation, following a couple of missed kicks. And finally in overtime, Mahomes again found the balance between being patient underneath, while still being aggressive to keep Buffalo on their heels. The game winning touchdown came on a play that was similar to the 64 yard one to Hill. Not much was open on the play. Nevertheless, Mahomes fit the ball into a tight window on Kelce’s back shoulder.

It was a tremendous game by Allen and the Bills offense on the other end. Mahomes reminded everyone that it is never over until the clock hits zero when he is on the other side, however. He essentially delivered what felt like three game winners on Kansas City’s final three drives. Mahomes responded blow for blow with the Bills offense. And Buffalo was honestly near perfect offensively. In the end, it still was not enough against the quarterback who has been the AFC’s best over the last few years. For a team that used to feel so snake-bitten in these high pressure moments, Mahomes continues to get more and more comfortable in these tight, crucial clashes.

Kansas City’s Offensive Line Reclamation Built For This Exact Opponent

Lost in all of the offense’s flash, the Kansas City offensive line handled the powerful Bills defensive line fairly well. It was a night where Mahomes was forced to escape pressure more often than he did last week. Overall, it was still a game where the Chiefs offensive line played clean and kept the quarterback even cleaner.

At offensive tackle, both Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie displayed more power at the point of attack. That was extremely necessary against a very stout Bills defensive end group. Buffalo has a solid mix of length from Gregory Rousseau and AJ Epenesa, as well as swift, active hands in Jerry Hughes and Ed Oliver. Brown Jr. and Wylie did not just match that power and hand quickness. In fact, they actually showed a more relaxed look with both their hands and feet. It was a bounce back performance from last week for Wylie. And for Brown Jr., he continues to get more and more comfortable in this playbook on Mahomes’ blindside.

The interior of the Chiefs offensive line started a bit slow. Once again, they found a way to improve as the game went on and punished the Bills upfront. This offensive line group has dominated throughout most of the season. So much so, that it is absurd how easy it has come to expect that week to week. Given where Kansas City’s offensive line was to end last season, much of that expectation is a nice thing for the Chiefs to currently have in their back pocket. The one year rebuild at that position group is both unbelievable and unheralded. And it still seems like the Chiefs reclamation project at offensive line will never get the true respect that it deserves.

Secondary Weapons Continue To Shine

The moments at the end of the game for Hill and Kelce should not overshadow their performances for their entire game. All in all, both primary weapons arguably took their games up a notch among Kansas City playoff history. It is almost expected for those two to have those kinds of outings at this point.

What may not be expected for the Chiefs offense, is the continued improvement of the secondary weapons. We are seeing more attention to detail, greater focus and a newfound sense of fundamental or situational awareness from Kansas City skill players not named Hill or Kelce. In this particular game, we saw guys like Byron Pringle and Mecole Hardman step up once again at wide receiver. To see the growth they each have shown in the latter stages of the season is a sight to behold. Both of them found the end zone this week against the Bills.

At running back, Jerick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire infused a thunder and lightning type of power against Buffalo’s defense. CEH churned out long run after long run in his return to the lineup. Meanwhile, McKinnon gladly took advantage when getting more opportunities in the passing game. His late catch on a screen pass in overtime set Kansas City up in Buffalo territory.

The Chiefs offense was already difficult to defend. When these secondary pieces get rolling, we see more and more explosive plays. Kansas City has also proven that they can stay patient and win methodically, at the same time. That extra layer has opened up the Chiefs offense even further.

Tyrann Mathieu’s Absence Loomed Large

Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu was hurt early in the contest. After being evaluated for a concussion, the team’s defensive leader was ruled out for the remainder of the game rather quickly. This led to many errors in the back end of the Kansas City defense. Those involved a fair share of both mental missteps and a lack of finishing or fundamental execution.

Gabriel Davis had four touchdown catches in this game. The savvy route running that he displayed was truly remarkable. Though, the Chiefs also failed to provide much resistance against him in the red zone. This was due to a couple of reasons. Mathieu’s instincts and physicality at the catch point as help over the middle of the field was completely erased and unmatched once he was gone.

Without his leadership and ability to diagnose plays, it left other members of the secondary guessing. Miscommunication occurred more often. On top of that, wide open receivers were available for Josh Allen as a result. Kansas City will obviously hope to see him clear concussion protocol and return to the field next week against a deep opposing offense.

Nick Bolton Continues To Grow

Giving up 36 points is never something you want to see from your defense. There were the aforementioned blown coverages and miscommunication from the secondary. Multiple times, the Chiefs defenders failed to finish on opportunities to take Allen down in the backfield. It was also a rather quiet night from the Kansas City pass rush.

One player continues to ascend for this Chiefs defense in more ways than one, however. Rookie Nick Bolton was all over the place in this game. He made run stops at or behind the line of scrimmage. He showed more comfort when covering routes in the quick passing game. Finally, Bolton’s perfect tackling form and punishing style was able to make a difference more than once. Whenever the Chiefs were able to get off the field, it was generally because of the rookie linebacker from Missouri.

Kansas City has not received much consistent production from this linebacker position since the late career of Derrick Johnson. For Bolton to make as many momentous stops and plays in space in a limited role as a rookie, it gives Kansas City more stability in the middle of the defense. He seems to only get stronger as the game goes on. Inversely, the Chiefs are able to gain more energy, the more Bolton gets involved.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs playoff articles throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.