Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen to join shortlist of quarterbacks to meet four times in playoffs

Pete Grathoff, The Kansas City Star on Jan 21, 2025

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Is Chiefs vs. Bills the best rivalry in the NFL these days?

One could make that argument, because the AFC championship game marks the fourth time in five seasons that the Chiefs and Bills will meet in the postseason.

That’s historic in one sense. The Associated Press’ Josh Dubow noted that Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will be just the fifth set of quarterbacks to face off at least four times in the playoffs.

These are the others:

— Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady: 5 times

— Brady vs. Joe Flacco: 4 times

— Ken Stabler vs. Terry Bradshaw: 4 times

— Brett Favre vs. Steve Young: 4 times

That means if the Chiefs win Sunday, Mahomes will be the first quarterback in NFL history to win four playoff games against the same quarterback.

Even-steven

The Chiefs and Bills have played 10 times since 2015 and the results have been completely even. Both teams have won five times and scored 251 points in those 10 games.

Not every game carries the same weight, of course. Of the Chiefs’ five wins against Buffalo in that span, three have come in the playoffs. That includes a victory in the 2020 AFC championship game and the epic “13-second” game in the 2021 AFC divisional round.

Since Mahomes and Allen entered the NFL, the Chiefs and Bills have played eight times with each team winning four games. The points scored in those games: Bills 213, Chiefs 211.