After watching quarterback Josh Allen power through two Kansas City Chiefs defenders before crossing the goal line on a 26-yard touchdown run, Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir joined the rest of the sold-out Buffalo crowd in celebrating with loud cheers.
Allen’s touchdown, coming on a fourth-and-2 with just 2:17 remaining, sealed the Bills’ 30-21 win. It kept the Bills (9-2) in the hunt for the top spot in the AFC and handed the Chiefs their first loss, ending their bid for an undefeated season.
“When Josh takes off, I find myself just watching, like, ‘Wow, he’s different,’” Shakir said. “When he took off today, I just started yelling. I couldn’t stop yelling. I was blanking in the head.”
Bills fans joined in, chanting “MVP! MVP!” as they watched a replay of Allen bursting through the middle to secure the win in another exciting matchup against the Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
This was the latest chapter in a fierce rivalry, with the Chiefs having knocked the Bills out of the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.
Allen’s win evened his record to 4-4 (including playoffs) against the Chiefs. He understood the importance of the moment when head coach Sean McDermott decided to go for it on fourth down rather than take a field goal.
“I appreciated coach for trusting us,” Allen said. He ran up the right side, shrugging off a hit from linebacker Nick Bolton, and still had enough momentum to reach the end zone even as safety Bryan Cook wrapped him up.
“Any time you give the ball back to Pat (Mahomes), that offense, down six with the game on the line, I like their odds in that situation,” Allen added. “So wanting six or seven (points) to try to make it a two-score game.”
The game ended when Buffalo’s defense intercepted Mahomes to stop the Chiefs’ final drive. Running back James Cook had two first-half touchdowns, and Allen threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel in the fourth quarter.
The Bills never gave up their lead after going ahead 16-14 with Tyler Bass’ 33-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The Chiefs, who were the NFL’s last undefeated team, finally couldn’t find a way to pull out a close victory. Kansas City had won 15 straight games, including playoffs, since their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on December 17, 2023.
“The undefeated thing was cool. But that’s not our ultimate goal. So we’ll keep building toward that,” Mahomes said. “That’s a good football team. Nothing to hang your head on losing to them,” he added.
“We feel like we can play better. So we’ll get back to work and try to use this as a spark so we can be a better football team in the end.”
It’s possible these teams will meet again in the playoffs, where the Chiefs have dominated the rivalry. While Buffalo has won four straight regular-season meetings dating back to 2021, the Chiefs have won three consecutive playoff matchups, including a 27-24 win in Buffalo during the divisional round last January.
“It’s a great game to learn from for some of our young guys. Two good teams play each other, the margin between winning and losing is small,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “We can all learn from it and take something out of it to make us better down the road there. And we’ll do that.”
Mahomes finished the game 23 of 33 for 196 yards with three touchdown passes — two to tight end Noah Gray and one to wide receiver Xavier Worthy — but also threw two interceptions.
The Chiefs had shown a lot of resilience in their previous games, with many wins coming in dramatic fashion. Four of their first nine wins were decided in the final moments, including a 16-14 victory over Denver last week where a blocked field goal helped them escape with a win.
This time, though, the Chiefs’ offense, which managed just 259 yards, couldn’t come up with a last-minute play to steal the win.
The Bills have now won six straight games and are closing in on their fifth consecutive AFC East title. They are 9-2 through 11 games, marking the sixth time in franchise history they’ve been that strong at this point of the season, and the first time since 1992.
“No statement,” McDermott said about the win. “This is not the finish line.”
The Bills will have a chance to rest and recover during their bye week. Wide receiver Amari Cooper played with a sore left wrist, making two catches for 58 yards. Wide receiver Keon Coleman (right wrist) and tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) were sidelined by injuries.
Allen, who had a sore throwing hand that was examined on the sideline, finished 27 of 40 for 262 yards with one touchdown pass, one rushing touchdown, and one interception.
His rushing touchdown was the 58th of his career, moving him into second place on the Bills’ all-time list, just ahead of O.J. Simpson and seven behind Thurman Thomas. Allen’s two touchdowns in the game brought his total to 244, tying Jim Kelly for the most in team history.
