Divisional Round Takeaways: Chiefs haunt Bills again, Lions continue Cinderella story

Just about two years ago, on Jan. 23, 2022, Buffalo Bills fans felt the heartbreak of an overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Buffalo fans hoped this time around would be different as they hosted Kansas City at Orchard Park, which had to be shovelled out by volunteers and held over 70,000 fans on Sunday night while the Bills looked to wake up from the bad dream that was 2022.

The perfect opportunity for the Bills came as Mecole Hardman caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes, fumbled the ball, and it went out of the end zone for a touchback, granting possession to the Bills.

But the nightmare continued on what could have been a game-tying field goal, as Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard attempt, going wide right with 1:43 to play, giving the Chiefs the ball back while trailing 27-24.

An Isaiah Pacheco three-yard run for the first down with 1:37 to play all but sealed the game, meaning the Bills suffered their third consecutive post-season ending in the divisional round.

For the sixth straight year, the Chiefs will make an appearance in the AFC Championship, a game Mahomes has never not played in as a starter in his career.

The Chiefs will now face the Baltimore Ravens, who they are 0-1 against in the playoffs after the Ravens dominated in a 30-7 game during the 2010 wild-card round. The Bills end their season once again trying to figure out how to take down Mahomes after facing him three times in the post-season.

CHIEFS 27, BILLS 24

Don't count out #15

Many believed that since the Chiefs had to play on the road, the Bills would be able to get the stop on Mahomes. Instead, the Kansas City quarterback proved why he is consistently atop the AFC.

“This is a great environment, man," Mahomes said of Buffalo. “It really is. We did hear it all week, man, about playing a road game, and we’re here to prove a point and show that we can play anywhere.”

Mahomes finished 17-of-23 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, finding Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Marquez Valdes-Scantling all for receptions of over 25 yards. This included a throw to MVS to start the second half that put the Chiefs at midfield.

He also showed he can be a two-way player just like Allen, going for a 24-yard run on 2nd-and-7 to keep the drive alive, resulting in a Kelce touchdown to give the Chiefs a 20-17 lead.

Kansas City had over 300 yards of offence after three quarters, and much of Mahomes' magic was to thank for continually moving the chains, as the Chiefs had eight plays downfield of more than 20 yards.

The Mahomes-Kelce duo shines once again

Despite not scoring since Week 11 coming into this game, Kelce made sure to leave his name in the history books, along with Mahomes. The pair connected for their 15th post-season touchdown, tying them with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski for the most post-season touchdowns by a QB-receiver duo.

If the 22-yard touchdown between the duo wasn't impressive enough, they then proceeded to break the record. Kelce grabbed a three-yard score in the third quarter and tallied 75 yards on five receptions in the win.

Mahomes also passed Ben Roethlisberger (36) and Drew Brees (37) for the sixth-most career playoff passing touchdowns in NFL history.

Mistakes costly for Bills

After a dominant first half, the Bills allowed the Chiefs to come back into the game as they were unable to get their passing game going, with Khalil Shakir being the lone receiver to score.

Star receiver Stefon Diggs had dropped passes and only managed three catches for 21 yards throughout the entire game. Another costly play came on a fake punt attempt from Damar Hamlin that fell short.

The ground game for Buffalo saw solid action early but hit a wall in the fourth quarter. Despite the Chiefs allowing 182 rushing yards, the Bills, through three quarters, averaged 3.9 yards before contact per rush.

Allen missed a wide-open Shakir in the end zone on their final drive of the game, which could have avoided the missed field goal if caught. Instead, the Bills attempted a 44-yard field goal in January weather in New York.

Josh Allen makes Josh Allen plays

Despite the loss, Allen showed why the Bills have so much faith in his play. In the first half, Allen's use of his legs was enough for eight rushes tallying 51 yards and two touchdowns for a 17-13 lead.

Allen later threw a dart to Shakir, scrambling on third down to find his receiver for a 13-yard touchdown towards the front of the end zone to put the Bills ahead 24-20.

Finishing the game with 258 total yards — 186 yards and a touchdown through the air, and 72 yards and two touchdowns on the ground — Allen joined Mahomes as just the second quarterback in NFL history with at least 26 total touchdowns in their first 10 playoff games.

He wasn't perfect, as the pass game continued to be inconsistent, but Allen proved his competence as a two-way quarterback with this performance.

LIONS 31, BUCCANEERS 23

Jared Goff keeps the Cinderella story alive

If eliminating the guy you were traded for wasn't enough, the Lions' quarterback kept the fairytale going as the team reached their first NFC Championship appearance since 1991, and just their second in franchise history.

Goff went 30-for-43 for 287 yards and two touchdowns — throwing for two in a playoff game for the first time in his career. In the fourth quarter, he went 11-for-12 for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Only getting sacked twice in the matchup, Goff looked poised and had control, only facing pressure on 26 per cent of his dropbacks and throwing zero interceptions in the game compared to Mayfield's two.

The confidence and growth that Goff has gained in Detroit is apparent, and it's paying off with a trip to San Francisco in his future.

Detroit's defence comes in clutch

The biggest play of the matchup may have been Derrick Barnes' game-sealing interception, as he stepped in front of Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton to secure the pick and the win. 

Ifeatu Melifonwu finished with 1.5 sacks against the Bucs, while Aidan Hutchinson recorded his eighth sack in four games, including a crucial sack on a 3rd-and-4 play.

The two sacks in succession meant that Mayfield was sacked twice in under 3.10 seconds, and the Lions' defence recorded three sacks in a playoff game for the fourth time.

St. Brown, Gibbs, Reynolds make big plays

What made the Lions so special all year long, and continues to into their playoff journey, is the amount of talent they have who can produce on any given night.

Receivers, running backs, tight ends; they can do it all. Tight end Brock Wright grabbed a pivotal 29-yard reception setting up a do-or-die 4th-and-goal run where Craig Reynolds punched in the one-yard touchdown for the Lions' lead.

Jahmyr Gibbs took off with a massive 31-yard touchdown run capping off a five-play, 75 yard drive that took the Lions just under two minutes to secure a 24-17 lead.

Amon-Ra St. Brown converted on a massive 3rd-and-15, which later resulted in him scoring a nine-yard touchdown on the drive. Sam Laporta, meanwhile, established a new record for the most receptions in a post-season game by a rookie tight end with eight.

Overall, the talent is widespread with Dan Campbell's group and is a big reason why the team continues to find success.

Mike Evans is inevitable

Even in the loss, Evans showed why he is one of the best receivers in the NFL on multiple plays for the Buccaneers, and he was a huge part of why they stayed in the game for so long.

Just before the half, Evans took a deep ball one-on-one as the Lions rotated their two deep safeties to the middle, with Evans getting the ball to the two-yard line to set up a touchdown for Cade Otton to tie the game 10-10.

Another crucial moment came when the Bucs were trailing 31-17, and Mayfield found a contested Evans for a 16-yard touchdown on second down with 4:37 left to play, though the two could not connect on the two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game.