The Bills handled the Steelers to set up another classic Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes showdown

This time, the Chiefs have to head to Josh Allen’s house in Buffalo. It’s gonna be loooouuuud.

When Josh Allen picked apart the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, he didn’t just earn a playoff win. He earned a shot at revenge.

Allen’s Buffalo Bills stomped an outmatched Steelers team early, then held on for a 31-17 win. Now Buffalo gets to face the rival that knocked it out of the playoffs two of the last three seasons. And, unlike in 2021 and 2022, the Bills get the opportunity to face the Kansas City Chiefs at home.

Arrowhead Stadium was the backdrop for the the last four clashes between the two recent AFC powerhouses. The 2021 Conference Championship was a rote affair between a scrappy Bills team and a much stronger Chiefs side in a 38-24 Kansas City win. The 2022 Divisional Round matchup between the two, however, is one of the most thrilling postseason games of the millennium; a game where the Bills took a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds to play and still lost.

A 2023 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals ruined Buffalo’s plan for a rematch last winter. That left this feud on simmer through two regular season matchups — both in western Missouri, both one possession Bills wins. That includes a potential game-winning score negated by Kadarius Toney’s inability to understand the rules of football.

That leaves the latest round of this heavyweight fight the most highly anticipated game on the Divisional Round slate. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t quite been himself. A combination of uncharacteristic throws and a weak supporting cast — his targets combined for a league-high 44 drops in the regular season — made the two-time MVP look mortal in stretches despite an AFC West championship.

Allen, on the other hand, has looked a lot like Josh Allen. This embodies all the good and bad that comes with it. His 18 interceptions were a career high. But just looking at his turnovers fails to take into account how he can change a game with just one broken play.

That’s what we’ve got on tap next weekend. Let’s take a look at the four games that preceded it in order to understand why the hype meter is so high.