We now know who awaits the KC Chiefs next round ... but only if they beat Pittsburgh
It’s all chalk so far in the AFC playoffs.
The Chiefs wouldn’t mind seeing that continue another day, of course — but they would have a difficult opponent waiting next weekend.
If the Chiefs defeat the Steelers on Sunday and advance to the Divisional Round, they would host the Buffalo Bills one week later at Arrowhead Stadium.
The third-seeded Bills made easy work of the Patriots on Saturday night — and looked as though they’ll be a tough out this postseason.
If the Steelers win in Kansas City, on the other hand, they would head to the top-seeded Titans next week, and the Bills would host the Bengals, who beat the Raiders.
The Bills thoroughly outplayed the Patriots in a 47-17 victory, scoring touchdowns on all four first-half drives and earning the game’s initial 27 points. It was never competitive.
A Chiefs win Sunday would set up a rematch of another game the Bills dominated — one in Kansas City. In Week 5, the Bills beat the Chiefs 38-20, which, at the time, was the worst lost of Patrick Mahomes’ career. It was topped two weeks later, though.
In that game, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed only 15 passes, but they went for 315 yards and three concluded in the end zone. Patrick Mahomes threw 54 yards and managed only 272 yards. He was intercepted twice, one of which was returned for a score. That’s typical against the Bills secondary. They have the No. 1-ranked passing defense and No. 1-ranked total defense.
Using its DVOA metric, Football Outsiders rates the Bills as the toughest team in the AFC.
It shouldn’t be easy this year, obviously. But if the Chiefs indeed advance, their toughest path to the Super Bowl of the past three seasons awaits.
This story was originally published January 15, 2022 at 10:24 PM.