Kansas City Chiefs head to Tampa Bay for Super Bowl LV, where they will take on the home-town Buccaneers, looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the 2003-04 New England Patriots – who had the very same Tom Brady at quarterback
Last Updated: 25/01/21 4:58am
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce celebrates with teammate Tyreek Hill after catching one of his two touchdown passes
Patrick Mahomes passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns as the Kansas City Chiefs repeated as AFC champions, beating the Buffalo Bills 38-24 to book back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
Mahomes, cleared from concussion protocol to play after being knocked out of the divisional round win over the Cleveland Browns, had the Chiefs offense operating at its explosive best in seeing off the Bills, amassing 439 total yards.
- Chiefs passing: Patrick Mahomes, 29/38, 325 yards, 3 TDs
- Rushing leader: Darrel Williams, 13 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving leader: Tyreek Hill, nine catches, 172 yards
2:52 Take a look at Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s best catches from the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills where he set a franchise record with 13 receptions.
Tight end Travis Kelce had 13 catches for 118 yards, reeling in two of Mahomes’ touchdown throws, while Tyreek Hill had a massive 172 yards on nine receptions – including one 71-yard gain in the third quarter to set up the first of Kelce’s scores.
2:15 Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes react after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game to book their place at Super Bowl LV.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen completed 28 of 48 passes for 287 yards and two TDs, while rushing for a further 88 yards. With his Bills trailing by two scores going into the fourth quarter, Allen tried to put the team on his back, but he’d throw a costly interception from down at the Kansas City 20-yard line that all but ended the game.
- Bills passing: Josh Allen, 28/48, 287 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing leader: Josh Allen, seven carries, 88 yards
- Receiving leader: Cole Beasley, seven catches, 88 yards
It was all a far cry from the start of the game, which saw the Chiefs go three-and-out on their opening series of offense, while Buffalo broke out into a 9-0 after a 51-yard Tyler Bass field goal – the first of four successful attempts for the kicker – and a muffed punt return by Mecole Hardman set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Dawson Knox.
2:16 Kansas City Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman botches a catch from a punt and the Buffalo Bills recover the ball before Josh Allen tosses the ball Dawson Knox for an easy score.
That merely stirred the defending Super Bowl champs from their slumber, however, as Kansas City quickly overturned that deficit with three-straight scoring drives of 82, 80 and 77 yards in the second quarter.
Scoring summary
| FIRST QUARTER | |
|---|---|
| Bills 3-0 Chiefs | Tyler Bass 51-yard field goal |
| Bills 9-0 Chiefs | Josh Allen three-yard TD pass to Dawson Knox (failed extra point) |
| SECOND QUARTER | |
| Bills 9-7 Chiefs | Patrick Mahomes three-yard TD pass to Mecole Hardman (extra point) |
| Bills 9-14 Chiefs | Darrel Williams six-yard TD run (extra point) |
| Bills 9-21 Chiefs | Clyde Edwards-Helaire one-yard TD run (extra point) |
| Bills 12-21 Chiefs | Tyler Bass 21-yard field goal |
| THIRD QUARTER | |
| Bills 12-24 Chiefs | Harrison Butker 45-yard field goal |
| Bills 15-24 Chiefs | Tyler Bass 27-yard field goal |
| Bills 15-31 Chiefs | Patrick Mahomes one-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce (extra point) |
| FOURTH QUARTER | |
| Bills 15-38 Chiefs | Patrick Mahomes five-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce (extra point) |
| Bills 21-38 Chiefs | Josh Allen six-yard TD pass to Isaiah McKenzie (failed two-point conversion) |
| Bills 24-38 Chiefs | Tyler Bass 51-yard field goal |
Hardman atoned for his earlier error by grabbing the first of Mahomes’ scoring strikes, while he opened the Chiefs’ next drive with a 50-yard run, helping set up a six-yard Darrel Williams rushing TD. Clyde Edwards-Helaire would go in from the goal-line on their next series for a 21-9 lead.
In fact, take away a one-play kneel down to end the first half and Kansas City actually scored on six-straight possessions in the game, going 5-for-5 on touchdowns in the redzone, with the Buffalo defense unable to find any answers.
1:33 Watch some of Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s best plays from his 172-yard performance against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game.
In contrast, the Bills converted just 2 of 5 redzone opportunities into TDs, otherwise settling for field goals. Bass’ second kick shortly before half-time and his third, following a Kansas City FG to open the scoring after the break, pulled Buffalo back to within nine of the Chiefs at 24-15.
But that’s precisely when Kansas City began to streak clear, with Hill’s massive 71-yard catch and run coming on their next possession and, in looking to answer Kelce’s subsequent touchdown, Allen was picked off on Buffalo’s next series.
0:39 Patrick Mahomes finds Travis Kelce with an underhand shovel pass for the one-yard touchdown.
The Bills did score a late touchdown – Allen to Isaiah McKenzie from six yards – and a final Bass field goal after a successful onside kick to add a bit of respectability to the scoreline, while the game itself descended into a rather farcical conclusion with various penalties for altercations between the players.
Kansas City now move on to Tampa Bay, where they will take on the home-town Buccaneers, looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the 2003-04 New England Patriots – who had the very same Tom Brady at quarterback.
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