Allen vs. Mahomes: What to make of their first 3 playoff meetings

The fourth playoff chapter of the exciting rivalry between Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills takes place Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship Game.

Buffalo and Kansas City have played each other eight times since 2020, including the playoffs. The next blockbuster will be their fourth postseason meeting in five seasons. Their previous playoff tilts had different narratives and heroes, but the final outcome was the same. Mahomes is up 3-0 on Allen.

Let's recap their postseason bouts ahead of Sunday's clash.

2020-21 AFC title game: Chiefs 38, Bills 24

How they got there: The Chiefs defeated the Bills 26-17 during the 2020 season en route to securing the 1-seed in the first battle between Mahomes and Allen. Like this year, the Bills had to upset the Baltimore Ravens to reach the AFC title bout at Arrowhead. Mahomes was already an MVP winner by then, and Allen had just had his first of five straight 40-touchdown seasons.

The game: The Chiefs were clearly more ready for big-time matchups at the time. Buffalo had an early 9-0 lead after Mecole Hardman muffed a punt near his own end zone, but Mahomes threw three TDs - two to Travis Kelce - to help K.C. come back. Tyreek Hill led the Chiefs with 172 yards on nine catches and edge rusher Frank Clark came up clutch with two sacks.

What happened next: Kansas City reached Super Bowl LV but lost to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, it was clear that Buffalo's defense needed more to support Allen. The Bills used two high draft picks on pass-rushers in the following offseason, including 2021 first-rounder Greg Rousseau.

2021-22 Divisional round: Chiefs 42, Bills 36 (OT)

How they got there: The 2021 Bills built a top-five offense and defense that was enough to handle K.C. in the regular season. Kansas City had an uncharacteristic 3-4 start to that campaign but figured it out and finished 12-5. With the Tennessee Titans having a first-round playoff bye that year, the Bills embarrassed the Patriots with a seven-touchdown performance in the wild-card round, while the Chiefs rolled past the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The game: You may remember this one. Allen and Mahomes starred in one of the greatest contests in NFL history. Kansas City took a 26-21 fourth-quarter lead, but Allen led a 17-play drive that ended with a Gabe Davis TD with 1:54 left. Less than a minute later, Hill gave the Chiefs the lead again, only for Davis to score his fourth touchdown of the day to put the Bills up 36-33 with 0:13 left. Game over, right? Not against Mahomes, who somehow quarterbacked a 44-yard drive to set up a Harrison Butker field goal to force overtime. K.C. then won the coin toss and scored a walk-off TD with Kelce minutes later.

What happened next: That was the Bengals' year in the AFC, and Cincy eliminated Kansas City a week later. It was Hill's final game with the Chiefs, who traded him to the Miami Dolphins and used extra picks to draft key starters in corner Trent McDuffie and pass-rusher George Karlaftis. As for the heartbroken Bills, the postgame feeling was that a title run with Allen was a matter of when, not if. They kept adding to their defense and brought in Von Miller.

2023-24 Divisional round: Chiefs 27, Bills 24

How they got there: Kansas City was the reigning champion, but it felt like it was finally Allen's turn to beat Mahomes in the playoffs and lead Buffalo to the promised land. The Bills did have in-season ups and downs that resulted in an offensive coordinator change. But they defeated the Chiefs in the regular season in 2022 and 2023 before their January 2024 divisional-round clash. Plus, K.C. had to travel to Buffalo this time after going 11-6 with its offense ranking outside the top 10 for the first time with Mahomes.

The game: New year, same story. Buffalo and Kansas City traded the lead several times until Isiah Pacheco's go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Both teams then saw important drives end in disappointing fashion - Buffalo in the form of an unsuccessful fake punt and Kansas City after Hardman fumbled the ball in the end zone for a touchback. The Bills did have a chance to tie the game, but Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal with 1:47 left, crushing Buffalo's dreams again and evoking memories of Scott Norwood's infamous "wide right" SB XXV miss.

What happened next: A third consecutive divisional-round exit was a major disappointment for the Bills, who would later part ways with multiple veterans, including receiver Stefon Diggs. With an excellent defense and a clutch offense, the Chiefs grounded out another Super Bowl win, this time over the San Francisco 49ers.

Lookahead

The Bills, like most NFL teams, have been one big play short against the Chiefs in the playoffs. If outplaying Mahomes isn't hard enough, opponents have also had to deal with a great defense when facing Kansas City. The standout unit has helped K.C. build a dynasty and win games even when its superstar QB isn't at his best. Leading up to Sunday's AFC title game, the narratives are pretty similar to other years. Kansas City looks beatable, yet no one can beat them. Actually, Buffalo did take down K.C. ... during the regular season. Again. It's still the only loss suffered by Chiefs starters this campaign. The unstoppable Allen had 12 more total TDs than Mahomes in 2024. But that won't matter if he falls short at Arrowhead one more time. History gives the Chiefs the advantage here, but the Bills look sharper. Can Allen and Co. finally get over the hump?