Chiefs to face Eagles in Super Bowl 2025, one step from historic three-peat after crushing Bills’ hearts again – New York Post
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — History awaits in the Big Easy. Buckle up, Bourbon Street. The Chiefs are comin’ to town. The Chiefs vanquished the Bills for the fourth time in the past five seasons, surviving a 32-29 thriller in the AFC Championship game on Sunday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The win sends the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where they’ll play the Eagles with a chance to win an unprecedented third consecutive Lombardi Trophy. No team — not even the dynastic New England Patriots and Tom Brady — has won three consecutive Super Bowls. Now the Chiefs, with their magician behind center, Patrick Mahomes, their lovable cheeseburger-chowing head coach, Andy Reid, have a chance to outdo the remarkable things the Patriots and Brady and Bill Belichick did when they owned the NFL. “Some of these games are gut-wrenching,’’ Reid said. “And I’ve got a lot of gut to wrench.” No one’s guts were wrenched more than the Bills, who’ve never won a Super Bowl and were last in one in the 1993 season. Their star quarterback Josh Allen is now 0-4 against the Chiefs in the postseason despite being 4-1 against them in the regular season. “To be the champs, you have to beat the champs,’’ Allen lamented, “and we didn’t do that tonight.” Incredibly, as great as Mahomes was on Sunday night, it was defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s Kansas City defense that made the two biggest plays of the game. Of the season. The Chiefs clinched victory when they stopped the Bills on a fourth-and-5 from their 47-yard line with 1:50 remaining and Spagnuolo sending the house on a blitz. The pressure forced Allen to heave a desperation pass down the field which tight end Dalton Kincaid failed to haul in despite getting two hands on it. “Fourth down to go to the Super Bowl,’’ Kansas City defensive end George Karlaftis said. “It doesn’t get much bigger than that. It was how-bad-do-you-want-it type of thing.’’ Allen credited the Kansas City defensive call, sending Trent McDuffie — the Chiefs’ best cornerback — on a weakside blitz that flushed him from the pocket and forced the heave. “They gave a good look,” Allen said. “[I] didn’t see anything in my first cadence. They were sliding left. The corner came.’’ Ballgame. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs stoned Allen, who’s virtually automatic on short-yardage runs, on a fourth-and-1 with Buffalo leading, 22-21, and 12:55 remaining in the game. But the stop was not without controversy. One line judge appeared to be ready to spot the ball for a first down, but the ball was placed just short of the line to gain. The spot was reviewed on replay and upheld. “I thought he had it,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “We’re up one point at the time [with] a chance to go up maybe multiple scores at that point. It’s a big call. It’s absolutely a big call.” The stop and the call gave Kansas City, which had been getting hurt by the Buffalo rushing attack, possession and life. “This game was literally a game of inches,’’ Reid said. “This came right down to an inch. Literally. That’s what the stop was.’’ The Chiefs made the Bills pay for the failed fourth down, taking a 29-22 lead 2:41 after the stop on a 10-yard Mahomes scoring run with 10:14 remaining in regulation. Because this was the epic game it was, the Bills would march the length of the field on the ensuing series to tie the game at 29-29 with 6:15 remaining. The tying score came on an a 4-yard Allen scoring pass to Curtis Samuel on fourth-and-goal. The Chiefs took the 32-29 lead on the next possession with a 35-yard Harrison Butker field goal with 3:33 remaining in regulation. That made Butker 11 of 11 in the postseason in the fourth quarter or overtime. And it set the stage for Allen to don his Superman cape and slay the dragon. But alas, he couldn’t, being eliminated by Kansas City for the fourth time in the playoffs. Allen finished 22 of 34 for 237 yards and one TD passing and 11-for-39 rushing. “You can either get it done, or you can’t, and we didn’t get it done,’’ Allen said.
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Never miss a story. For Mahomes, it was his 17th career playoff win, surpassing Joe Montana and placing him behind only Brady. He finished 18 of 26 for 245 yards and one TD passing and 11-for-43 rushing with two TDs on the ground. The anticipated matchup did not disappoint across the first 30 minutes, with the first half ending with the Chiefs leading 21-16. Even with the Bills’ clutch scoring drive late in the first half to cut a 21-10 deficit to 21-16, that hardly fazed the Chiefs. They were in their comfort zone: In a close game. Kansas City has now won a remarkable 12 one-score games this season and, dating back to last season, 16 in a row. Now they go to New Orleans with a chance to make history. “We’re not done,’’ Reid said. “Chiefs Kingdom,’’ Kansas City owner Clark Hunt crowed to the euphoric home crowd in the postgame ceremony, “We’re headed to New Orleans to make history.’’Advertisement
