The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoff game

Sunday, January 21, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills played in a divisional playoff game to determine who would advance to the AFC Championship Game.

The Kansas City Chiefs ultimately won the game, 27-24. Sunday’s divisional playoff game was the Bills’ first home playoff game versus the Chiefs at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, since the quarterback rivalry between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes began.

The Chiefs will face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 28, at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland. Depending on the outcome of the NFC Championship Game, the victors will face either the Detroit Lions or the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVII on February 11 in Las Vegas.

After their contentious regular-season game in December 2023, the Chiefs and Bills were scheduled to face off again. While the Chiefs were ready to win after Kadarius Toney scored a touchdown on Travis Kelce’s lateral pass, the officials called an offensive offsides penalty, overturning the scores. The Bills went on to defeat the Chiefs, with Mahomes, 28, clearly upset on the sidelines, yelling at officials and throwing his helmet.

Mahomes later vented his displeasure on Allen, 27, saying after the game, “Wildest f—king call I’ve ever seen. Offsides on that play were offensive, dude, and f—king nasty.”

Soon after his outburst, Mahomes apologized for his interactions with Allen and his behavior on the sidelines. “I regret acting like that,” he told Kansas City’s 610 Sports Radio in December 2023. “But more than anything, I regretted the way I acted toward Josh after the game because he had nothing to do with it.”

He continued: “I was still heated and emotional, but you can’t do that, guy. It’s not a good example for youngsters watching the game, so I was more concerned about that than about myself on the sidelines.”

Mahomes admitted that his enthusiasm for the game overcame him in the heat of the moment. “I care, man,” he clarified. “I really adore it. I love this game, I love my teammates, and I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win. However, that is clearly impossible. Can’t be that way with authorities or anybody in life.”

Mahomes stated that he learnt his lesson in the aftermath of the incident. “It’s tough when you play a hard-fought game and the game comes down to stuff like that,” he told reporters. “But that’s part of it, dude. It is part of the game. You’ve got to simply learn from it and try to be better from it, be better as a person and be better as a player. It’s something I’ll remember throughout my career and strive to improve the next time the opportunity occurs.”