On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs secured their spot in the AFC championship game for the seventh straight year. Now, the Chiefs know who they’ll face for a chance to go to Super Bowl LIX.
The AFC championship game between the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills will take place at 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, January 26, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+, with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling the action. The Chiefs will play in the final game of the day, following the NFC championship game at 2 p.m. CT.
The Chiefs will be hosting the team that is the only one to have beaten Kansas City’s starters in the 2024 season. The Bills won 30-21 against the Chiefs on November 17, marking Kansas City’s only loss until their Week 18 shutout, when they rested their key players.
The Bills finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 13–4 record. They went on to beat the Denver Broncos in the wild card round and then defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Chiefs have made several significant changes since the two teams last faced off, especially on the offensive line. If the Chiefs use the same starting offensive line from their divisional round win against the Houston Texans, Joe Thuney and Mike Caliendo will start at left tackle and left guard, respectively.
Even if the Chiefs decide to make a change and move D.J. Humphries back to left tackle, which would shift Thuney back to guard, Kansas City would still have a new left tackle for this rematch.
Additionally, the Chiefs will have their No. 2 cornerback, Jaylen Watson, back after being sidelined due to an ankle injury since Week 7. Watson made his return in the Chiefs’ divisional round victory over the Houston Texans.
After the Chiefs’ win over the Texans, tight end Travis Kelce discussed what the team needs to do to pursue an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl win.
“Well, in the playoffs, everything gets faster and everything gets a little bit more physical as you get further along in the playoffs,” Kelce said. “The AFC championship is always going to be one of the biggest challenges that you ever have. Looking at who the opponents would be, those are two of the best teams in the National Football League, for sure.
They’ve got a lot of talent all across the board, but especially at that quarterback position, so anything can happen. And how you get ready for it is you just, you don’t look ahead. You focus on what you can do throughout the week to get your body ready, to get mentally ready, and get ready to go out there and just play your tail off for the guy next to you.”
