'We heard it all week': Mahomes' message to doubters as superstar ...

Before Monday, Patrick Mahomes had never played a road game in the postseason.

“We did hear it all week about not playing a road game,” Mahomes told Kaylee Hartung, “we were here to prove a point”.

And they did just that, with the two-time MVP from helping Kansas City to a sixth straight AFC Championship game as the Chiefs pipped the Buffalo Bills 27-24.

It ended a stunning surge towards the playoffs for a Buffalo team that was beat up on defence but had a more balanced offence and, of course, a freakish quarterback in Josh Allen.

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Josh Allen made some big plays. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

Allen completed 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in the loss while adding 72 yards and two scores on the ground.

Mahomes, meanwhile, was efficient as he completed 17 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns — both to star tight end Travis Kelce.

Both teams opened Monday’s game settling for a field goal before the Bills methodically worked 75 yards up the ground and eventually into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.

It came on the ground — as did 55 of those 75 yards in the drive — with Buffalo quarterback Allen running it in after big plays from Ty Johnson and James Cook in the lead-up.

The scoring drive continued what has been a consistent theme for the Bills during their win streak at the back-end of the season, making a more concerted effort to establish the run and in turn ease the pressure on Allen to produce the kind of big plays in the air that at times instead led to turnovers.

The Chiefs then slotted another field goal on the next drive to reduce Buffalo’s lead to 10-6, although Kansas City could have had its first touchdown of the game only for Mahomes to overthrow an open Kelce in the rear corner.

Mahomes didn’t make the same mistake just before halftime though, finding an even more open Kelce for the go-ahead score as the Chiefs took a 13-10 lead.

Brother Jason, who is reportedly considering retiring from the NFL, was pictured shirtless as he wildly celebrated the touchdown in the box alongside Taylor Swift, who the star Kansas City tight end made a heart gesture towards.

It ended up being a short-lived lead for the Chiefs as Allen ran in another touchdown, this time taking defenders along with him as he finished the half with eight carries for a team-high 51 yards.

The Chiefs opened the third quarter with a bang as Mahomes connected with Maquez Valdes-Scantling for a big 30-yard gain on the first play of the period.

Mahomes then scrambled for 24 yards to put Kansas City inside the Buffalo red zone and later connected with Kelce once more for the tight end’s second touchdown of the game.

With it, the duo passed Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski [15] for the most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver duo in NFL postseason history with 16.

Travis Kelce celebrates after scoring a touchdown. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

The Chiefs were dealt a crushing blow early in the third quarter though as Willie Gay, who had been playing spy on Allen, was ruled out with a neck injury.

Meanwhile, the Bills picked up where they left off as they once again patiently worked their way down the field on their first drive of the third quarter before a scrambling Allen found Khalil Shakir for a spectacular touchdown on a 3rd-and-goal.

It was an athletic play from Shakir too, who got his knees down just in time as Kansas City’s L’Jarius Sneed allowed his first touchdown in coverage since Week 15, 2022.

But what always promised to be a seesawing shootout was proving as much as the Chiefs responded right away with their second touchdown of the half to regain a 27-24 lead.

While Kansas City finished the regular season as the league leaders in drops, Mahomes was actually getting more reliable production from his receiving corps on Monday as Valdes-Scantling made another big catch in the lead-up to the Isiah Pacheco touchdown.

The Chiefs cleverly used speedster Mecole Hardman to execute a misdirection end-around play on the Pacheco run, but didn’t have the same success as they went back to him on their next drive.

Isiah Pacheco added a rushing touchdown. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Having already fumbled the ball earlier in the game, this time around Hardman lost possession on the jet sweep as he tried to force his way into the end zone for what would have been a decisive Kansas City touchdown.

Instead, a touchback was ruled as the Bills were let off the hook after a gamble of their own backfired when Damar Hamlin failed to convert on a 4th-and-5 fake punt.

Buffalo looked to have gifted the Chiefs prime field position again when Allen fumbled the ball on a 3rd-and-10 run, only for Spencer Brown to desperately dive on the ball with Kansas City defenders swarming.

It proved an even more important play as Allen then found Shakir for the first down on the 4th-and-3.

Buffalo eventually had to settle for a game-tying field goal but the 44-year field goal attempt from Tyler Bass drifted wide to the right.