Mahomes adds the victory in Buffalo to his historic career

There wasn’t even a hint of surprise in Warren Moon’s voice because, well, he’s seen this show many times.

By now, Moon, the only black quarterback enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, thought even casual NFL fans know that Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes is eliminated with challenges. So in the run-up to Sunday’s AFC divisional playoffs, Moon often laughed when league observers asked him how he would fare against Mahomes in his first road postseason test.

With Patrick Mahomes in top form, the visiting Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in a 27-24 thriller at Highmark Stadium, sealing the victory after Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal that would have tied the game at less than two. There are minutes left in the fourth quarter. Kansas City’s first road playoff game of the Mahomes era ended the same way most of its postseason games concluded on the team’s home field and at neutral sites: with the Chiefs celebrating and their opponents despondent.

According to Warren Moon, there is nothing new here.

“You just have to understand who he is,” Moon told Andscape by phone Sunday night. “The surprise wouldn’t have been if he played well, the Chiefs would have played well and were in a position to [win]. The surprise would have been if he didn’t play well.”

“When you look at everything he’s done in his career up to this point, and it’s already been an incredible career, he loves challenges. And he especially loves challenges he hasn’t faced before. This was a great challenge, and another one he overcame. ”.

Patrick Mahomes caught 17 passes on 23 attempts. He had 215 passing yards and connected with All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce for two touchdown passes.

For Mahomes, it felt like he was home all night.

“That was fun,” Mahomes agreed. “I love Arrowhead, but it’s always fun when you come together as a team and it’s us against everyone and you get the win. “It’s always great to be in great environments and find a way.”

The rest of Kansas City’s offense followed Mahomes’ lead in perhaps the group’s most complete performance of the season. And defensively, the Chiefs overcame the loss of several sidelined starters to injuries, making enough key plays in a resilient performance against a powerful offense led by Buffalo’s Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen.

Thanks to his efforts, the defending Super Bowl champions accomplished another surprising feat with Mahomes at the helm: The Chiefs will make a sixth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship Game when they travel on Jan. 28 to face the Baltimore Ravens in the M&T Bank Stadium. in Baltimore.

The Chiefs are excited to hit the road again, Mahomes said.

“The guys took it as a challenge,” he said of facing the Bills on Sunday night in Western New York. “You saw it today.”

The Chiefs hosted the previous five conference championship games at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Which means, obviously, that Mahomes will make his first road appearance in a conference championship game.

According to Moon, anyone who questions whether Muhammad will rise to the challenge must do so at his own peril.

“These are the things, these types of games, these are the things that motivate him,” Moon said. “He entered one of the most difficult environments. He went up against one of the best teams in the league with a full [stadium] and all the energy from that crowd. When you talk about playing away from home, there is nothing more difficult than that.”

“But those aren’t things he worries about. Those are all the things he feeds off of. Those are the things he wants. Facing a really good team, all that crowd noise and knowing that [his teammates] “They’re counting on him. …it just brings out the best in him. All that outside talk doesn’t matter to him. It’s just another thing on his list.”

In the postseason, the Bills have been eliminated repeatedly.

The Chiefs defeated the Bills in the 2020 AFC Championship Game, the Bills’ only appearance in the conference title game since the 1993-94 season. The following season, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in the divisional round, winning 42-36 in overtime after the Bills took a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds left on the clock in the regulation game.

This time, however, the Bills thought things would be different.

They’ve been on a roll (at one point this season, the Bills were 5-5), winning five straight to close out the regular season and overtake the Miami Dolphins for first place in the AFC East division. The Bills increased their winning streak to six with a victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round.

Finally, the Bills would be on their home field for the first time to face the Chiefs in a Mahomes-Allen matchup. The thing is, though, a quick look at Mahomes’ historical stats reveals that he’s tough to beat wherever the Chiefs play.

Over six seasons as Kansas City’s starter, Mahomes has a 38-11 road record in the regular season. That’s a .776 winning percentage, the best mark in NFL history among quarterbacks who have played at least 14 road games. Hall of Famer Otto Graham, who played 36 road games, ranks second all-time with a .764 winning percentage.

What’s more, Mahomes’ visiting passer rating of 107.6 also tops the charts. With 119 touchdown passes outside of Kansas City, Mahomes ranks behind only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Joe Montana, respectively.

In 16 playoff starts, Mahomes is 13-3. He has an incredible .813 winning percentage, which ranks first among quarterbacks who have started at least 10 postseason games. For reference, Brady, the most successful quarterback in NFL history, has a playoff winning percentage of .729.

Even playing on their home field in front of their raucous crowd, the Bills still had a lot going against them, Moon notes.

“He had the best road record of all time before the game, and now he’s playing for the [AFC] championship for the sixth year in a row. He’s only been [the Chiefs’ starter] for six years. When you think about what he’s done, really, other than Brady… it’s just incredible.”

Next, another big challenge: facing Lamar Jackson and the Ravens for a spot in the Super Bowl.