Will Josh Allen get revenge against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs?
The Sports Seriously crew whether or not they think Josh Allen and the Bills will get their revenge vs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs this weekend.
Sports Seriously
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is gearing up for his sixth straight divisional round playoff game, but unlike the previous five, this second-round contest will not be played at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs will head to New York to take on the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s AFC divisional round playoff game at Highmark Stadium, marking the first time Mahomes will play a postseason game on the road.
Although head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes doesn’t “listen to much of that stuff,” Mahomes said he’s heard the noise heading into Sunday.
“It is what it is,” Mahomes said matter-of-factly on Wednesday. “Obviously I’ve been really lucky to play a lot of games at home at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s just everything has fell that way.”
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The Chiefs are underdogs on the road Sunday, but don’t count them out. Mahomes said he’s “excited” to play in Buffalo, which he described as “one of the best environments in football.” The two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP said it will be business as usual, no matter the location.
“I go out every game with the same mindset and that’s to go out there and win,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to be a hostile environment and we’re playing a great football team that’s won (six) games in a row. We know it’s going to be a great challenge for us but our mindset is we’re going to prepare ourselves this week to go out there to win the football game, and that never changes.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Mahomes’ playoff career, including his first road game:
Has Patrick Mahomes ever played a road playoff game?
No.
Of the 15 postseason games that Mahomes has played in his career, 12 have been at Arrowhead Stadium. The other three games were Super Bowl appearances – Super Bowl 54, Super Bowl 55 and Super Bowl 57 – all of which took place at neutral sites.
The Chiefs’ last road playoff game was on Jan. 16, 2016 when they lost to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Chiefs drafted Mahomes out of Texas Tech with the 10th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. He took over as the starter in 2018. The rest is history.
Patrick Mahomes has never played road playoff game. How has that happened?
This season marks the first time the Chiefs have been lower than the No. 2 seed in Mahomes’ playoff career. Prior to this season, Mahomes never played a road game in the postseason because the Chiefs were always a higher seed than their opponent in the AFC playoff bracket. The higher seed in each matchup always hosts.
Here’s how the Chiefs stacked up each postseason during Mahomes’ career and the result:
- 2018-19: No. 1 seed – Lost AFC title game vs. New England Patriots
- 2019-20: No. 2 seed – Won Super Bowl 54 vs. San Francisco 49ers
- 2020-21: No. 1 seed – Lost Super Bowl 55 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2021-22: No. 2 seed – Lost AFC title game vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- 2022-23: No. 1 seed – Won Super Bowl 57 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
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Has Patrick Mahomes ever played at Bills stadium?
Mahomes has played the Bills six times in his career and all but one went down at Arrowhead Stadium.
He’s only played at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, one time. Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 26-17 win over the Bills in Buffalo on Oct. 19, 2020 — and fans weren’t allowed in the stadium at the time due to New York guidelines that prevented large gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We got a great opportunity to go on the road and play in a hostile environment, one that I haven’t been able to play with fans in the stands,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “Even though I know it’s going to be hostile and people talking trash and everything, I’m excited for it.”
Patrick Mahomes playoff record
Mahomes is 12-3 in the postseason in his career.
Mahomes and Allen are 3-3 against each other all-time, including the Bills’ controversial 20-17 regular season win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 14. But Mahomes has the upper hand over Allen in the postseason, winning both prior matchups.
“(Mahomes) is not an easy matchup for any team. They’ve gotten the best of us in the playoffs the last few years. We finally got a home game and just got to go out there … and play as hard as we can play,” Allen said Wednesday. “They’ve been at the top of the mountain, they know what it takes to get there. We’ve yet to do that.”