Josh Allen vs Patrick Mahomes. With a spot in Super Bowl LIX on the line, this era’s Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will square off for the second time in the AFC Championship game, and third time in the AFC playoffs in the last five years. It’s the prime-time game, kicking off on CBS at 6:30 p.m. ET from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Game temperatures are forecasted around 30 degrees with minimal wind. Let’s jump in and take a look at this Bills vs. Chiefs AFC Championship game preview and predictions.
The Buffalo Bills outlasted the Baltimore Ravens last week at home to give themselves another chance at beating the Chiefs in the playoffs this week. They sit just one victory away from their first Super Bowl appearance since 1994. Safety Taylor Rapp is the Bills’ biggest injury question going into this game. Rapp injured his hip against Baltimore while colliding with teammate Damar Hamlin.
Buffalo Bills Injury Updates 🤕
🩼 HUGE for Benford having a limited practice, makes clearing the concussion protocol much more realistic in just a week
🩼 Glad to hear Milano isn’t dealing with anything too serious although hamstrings can be tricky
🩼 Rapp remains the biggest… https://t.co/47lrfY7oEK
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) January 22, 2025
The Kansas Chiefs are in their seventh straight AFC Championship game, just one shy of the New England Patriots record of eight in a row. The Chiefs are 4-2 in those six games including one win over Buffalo in 2021. The Chiefs only loss in 2024 (when they played their starters) was to the Bills at home in Week 9. Luckily for Chief fans, there’s very little to report on the injury front, Mecole Hardman’s season is over. Every other player practiced on Wednesday.
Kansas City Chiefs Injury Update 🤕
WR Mecole Hardman (knee) – Will NOT be activated off IR & his season is over. Hardman had been back at practice but with the emergence of Nikko Remigio as KR/PR, feels like he’s the odd man out
From the game winning catch in the Super Bowl to… https://t.co/FKBtPVdQ9j
— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) January 22, 2025
AFC Championship Game Preview and Predictions: Bills vs. Chiefs Video
AFC Championship Game Preview and Predictions: Bills vs. Chiefs
Travis Kelce Over 68.5 Receiving Yards (-115)
Maybe Travis Kelce has gotten older and isn’t as effective in the regular season as he once was. Come playoff time, Travis Kelce shows up when the lights are brightest. You have to go back to Super Bowl LIV, February 2nd of 2020 for the last time Travis Kelce had less than 68.5 receiving yards in a playoff game. The Chiefs have been in a couple of playoff games since then.
In 14 playoff games in a row, Kelce has hit this number. The Bills did hold him to just eight yards back in week 9, but that wasn’t the playoffs. Kelce has at hit this number against the Bills in three of their last five meetings, guess which three those were? You guessed it, the playoff games. Playoff Kelce is a thing, in a big way.
Kansas City Chiefs -1 (-120)
With the line set at one point, pick your winner. It’s hard to not bet the Chiefs this week. They’ve won two Super Bowls in a row, and have only lost a single game this entire season (when they played their starters). The fact that they lost that game to the Bills is something you have to love as a KC backer this week.
Beating this team twice in the same season won’t be easy, and the Chiefs have gotten the better of the Bills every time they’ve met in the Allen/Mahomes era. The Chiefs have covered all three of those playoff games. This Chiefs team hasn’t felt like the same team all season long, yet they’ve found a way each and every week with the exception of one game, now they get a chance to avenge that loss? I’m not betting against Mahomes and Reid.