The postseason divisional round matchup last year between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills was viewed as an all-time classic battle of AFC superpowers. The duel between quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen electrified audiences at the game and watching around the world, and now they get to do it again on Sunday afternoon.
The Chiefs have answered questions joyfully regarding the thirteen-second comeback victory all offseason. The Bills have again started the season as a Super Bowl contender led by Allen at quarterback. On Sunday, they’ll be looking to prove their team is over the shocking playoff losses at Arrowhead Stadium in the past two seasons.
Mahomes has spent time over the offseason with Allen as teammates in the fun golf exhibition called ‘The Match’ back in June and shared his thoughts during Wednesday’s press conference on their growing rivalry.
“Yeah, when you go up against the other great quarterbacks in the league, you always want to win,” said Mahomes. “You always want to compete. (Bills QB) Josh (Allen) is a great guy. He’s a great quarterback – physically talented; he can throw, can run, he can really do it all. But he’s a great dude too. And so, obviously, when we’re on the football field, we are competing against each other, and we want to beat each other’s teams, but I have a ton of respect for him, the player and person that he is.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs did suffer a significant loss to Allen’s Bills last season during the regular season at Arrowhead Stadium. Allen tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for another in the Bills’ 38-20 victory in Week 5 of the 2021 season. Allen too shared his thoughts on Mahomes during the Bills’ Wednesday press conference.
Josh Allen has plenty of respect for Patrick Mahomes on and off the football field #BillsMafia #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/0zOrF4agcl
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) October 12, 2022
“As a football fan myself, you know, when I’m watching games, I love watching him play,” said Allen. “He’s a fantastic player; he can do everything you want. His teammates love him, and I know he’s got a good grasp on the locker room over there and how we, how he carries himself the things that he does off the field for his charity. He’s just he’s a special football player and a special guy, and yeah, Anytime he’s playing, I think people are watching. So you know, us being able to go over there and play them and all that aside, you know, we’re just trying to execute a game plan.”
The respect for each other doesn’t cloud their competitive fire to be the best quarterback of their generation. The key for both teams might end up being which defense can manage to best slow the other down.
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