In 1966, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 31-7 in the AFL Championship. However, the Bills returned the favor defeating the Chiefs 30-14 in the AFC Title game in 1974. On Sunday, the postseason rubber match could shape the balance of power in the AFC for the foreseeable future.
Birth of the Super Bowl
As a child of the American Football Conference, and a die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan, I’ve never shied away from my loyalty and allegiance to the team that’s part of my DNA. However, until last year, I painfully waited 50 years for the Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills, another original member of the AFC, come to Arrowhead with the kind of team that can dethrone the defending Super Bowl Champions.
When Chiefs Founder, Lamar Hunt, created the AFL in 1960, it was his dream that the brave souls of the “Fools Club” would compete with the NFL someday. It didn’t take long for the NFL to come around as the two leagues finally merged in June of 1966. With that business done both sides decided the winner of the AFL Title game and the NFL Title game would determine who plays in the very first Super Bowl. That game resulted in a 35-10 resounding victory by the Green Bay Packers over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Back then it’s quite unlikely the men playing in that AFL title game, would understand the impact that single encounter would have on the popularity of pro football and the Super Bowl.
For Bills fans, that loss to the Chiefs in the AFL title game would be avenged at the tail end of the Bills’ amazing run of four straight AFC Championships when they defeated the Joe Montana-led Chiefs in a blowout.
Heartache, Hope, and the Champ
After that game, both franchises had moments of hope, but until Mahomes and Allen arrived in Kansas City and Buffalo respectively, mostly heartache filled their fan bases. The Chiefs Nation and the Bills Mafia are two of the most passionate fan bases in the NFL, and the reason, they live and die with their teams through the good and the bad waiting for better days.
However, thanks to the Bills trading first-round spots with the Chiefs in the 2017 NFL draft, KC selected Super Bowl LIV MVP, Patrick Mahomes II with the 10th overall pick. Despite that trade, a year later, the Bills found their quarterback of the future in Josh Allen. In the end, both teams won. On Sunday, only one of these quarterbacks will be heading to the Super Bowl.
The game itself of course hinges on the health and availability of Patrick Mahomes. Last week a chokehold in the third quarter, forced KC’s franchise QB to the sidelines and promoted him to the concussion protocol.
Now everyone understands, with Mahomes taking most of the snaps in practice this week, it’s clear, Kansas City’s superstar will be on the field to defend the Chiefs AFC Title. The Bills on the flip side, are mostly healthy, though there is some concern about the availability, or should I defer to, the ability to deal with nagging injuries for wide receivers, Gabriel Davis (Ankle) and Cole Beasley (Knee).
Should those two miss the game, the Bills’ chances of defeating the Chiefs are dramatically reduced. The same goes for Mahomes, who is also dealing with turf toe. Should that linger, his mobility will be limited.
The ChALLENger
Then again, Josh Allen is so gifted and talented, that like Mahomes, he can rise to any occasion. Granted, Allen doesn’t have a league MVP, or AFC title, or Super Bowl title on his resume, but that doesn’t mean he can’t guide the Bills to the upset victory. He, like Mahomes, is built with the same inner drive, with the likes of Elway, Bradshaw, Manning, and even fellow Bills QB, Jim Kelly.
In other words, despite the lack of hardware attached to his name, Allen’s rise to an elite quarterback, comes from extreme intellect and wicked talent. In my view, he’s every bit as good as Mahomes.
Still, it will be a daunting task for Allen, who played great in the teams’ first playoff game against the Colts, but against the Ravens last weekend, he didn’t have his best performance of the season.
On Sunday, I think we’re going to see the birth of a quarterback battle that will shape the next decade in the AFC. Sure, you can talk about Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield, and to a much lesser degree, Lamar Jackson, but Mahomes vs. Allen will be the featured event every season.
The Battle
So, who wins the first playoff matchup between the AFC’s best quarterbacks?
For the Chiefs, they were fortunate to be in their third consecutive AFC title game, after converting a 4th and inches, via the pass with a backup quarterback, Chad Henne, that had NEVER thrown a postseason pass in 13 NFL seasons. Let’s be honest, it took extreme guts, and Super Bowl swagger, for Chiefs head coach, Andy Reid to make that call from the sidelines.
For the Bills, they must embrace the moment. They must believe they belong in the conversation as the best team on the field Sunday. If Allen doesn’t repeat his performance against the Chiefs from Week 6, this will be a fourth-quarter game.
On the flip side, if Mahomes is healthy (or as close to it as possible) with a full assortment of playmakers including, running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and former Bills wide receiver, Sammy Watkins, at his disposal, the Chiefs are likely to win big.
However, the Chiefs defense struggled during the regular season in the fourth quarter to make the big stop. Yet in their first postseason game this year, and much like a year ago in their Super Bowl title run, they managed to stop the Browns forcing a three-and-out late in the game to help seal the deal.
But the Bills are not the Browns. They have better players, a far superior coaching staff, led by head coach Sean McDermott and they will be ready on Sunday to give the Chiefs their best punch. In the end, the better team will win.
History in the Making
While reviewing Sunday’s matchup, I can’t help but think back some 54 years ago when Len Dawson and Jack Kemp squared off in the 1967 AFL title game. That single game changed the shape of the AFC/AFL, even though it would take two Super Bowl losses, before the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs went back to back Super Bowl winners to end the 60’s.
As for this old school AFL fan, I hope we all remember the two men, Dawson and Kemp, who started this rivalry, and together we appreciate the game’s best two quarterbacks, Mahomes and Allen, for the great football we’re about to see over the next decade.
Final Score: Chiefs 38, Bills 27
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Main Credit Image: Embed from Getty Images
