We have come off of witnessing arguably the greatest playoff season in NFL history. During this year’s playoffs, we also have witnessed one of the greatest playoff games of all time.
The Chiefs and Bills put on a show for the ages in the divisional round, with the Chiefs coming out on top, 42-36, in overtime. 25 points were scored within the final two minutes of regulation, including Harrison Butker’s game-tying field goal when the Chiefs took just two plays to tie the game in 13 seconds.
Josh Allen passed for 329 yards and four touchdowns, all of them to Gabriel Davis, who had 201 receiving yards on 8 catches. Patrick Mahomes, on the other side, passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns, with Tyreek Hill making up for 150 of those yards. Both quarterbacks combined for 221 passing yards in the last two minutes of regulation.
Questions were rising on if Mahomes vs. Allen would be the next Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.
This was the fourth time the two quarterbacks met in the last two seasons, including a second consecutive time in the playoffs, and both quarterbacks are playing at the peak of their game.
Games like these show that the onus is on the quarterback and on the offense. But these teams are equally dynamic.
For Mahomes, the first half of this season was filled with turnovers. He turned things around in part of his “take what the defense gives you” approach more often. And after weeks of shorter throws bouncing off and going through receivers’ hands, the Chiefs are executing better.
Lately, the Bills were playing coverage, daring the Chiefs to beat them with sustained drives. It worked in Week 5 in the regular season. Not so much in the divisional round. The difference between this season and the 2020 season was Allen’s performance.
Back in October 2020, the Bills fell short because Allen was scattershot those games. Now, it is a whole different story, as he is a top 3 quarterback in the league today. When the Bills defeated the Chiefs in Week 5, he didn’t have to throw a lot, but when he did, he threw it well, especially down the field.
Another staple was the Bills’ increased usage of fullback Reggie Gilliam, who both forces the opposing defense to play heavier personnel and, unlike some of the two-tight end looks, seems to give the Bills a more consistent run game to regulate the offense.
That caused opponents to stop going after the Bills with split-safety looks, and helped open up more opportunities in their frequently-used play action game. Overall, Allen has been spectacular.
“What you see with Josh as he gets better and better every single year is he’s not satisfied with where he’s at,” said Mahomes. “He works through his throwing motion, he works on his feet, he does different types of stuff to give himself an edge and I think that’s what all the best quarterbacks do.
“You’ve seen that with Josh. They put a lot on him. They make a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage to make all the right decisions, throw the ball, run the ball, do all that different types of stuff. I think that’s what’s put them at this level where they’re a dominating team. He’s definitely gotten better and better each and every year and I’m sure we’ll have lots of battles as both of our careers go on.”
Mahomes has won a Super Bowl and an MVP award. Allen aspires to do that as well. Allen was the runner-up for MVP to Aaron Rodgers in the 2020 season, and the Bills were one game short of the Super Bowl when they lost to the Chiefs, who have been to four straight AFC Championship Games.
“[Mahomes has] done all the major things that you want to accomplish in your career,” said Allen. “And obviously, he wants more, too. It’s cool because I know the type guy Pat is, we’ve talked to each other a few times. He’s an awesome dude and I know he’s got his foundation set up that helps a lot of people and that’s something I really admire about him as well, that he’s a real good person off the field.”
Mahomes and Allen rank 5th and 6th in overall QBR, as well as when they are not blitzed, respectively. When they are pressured or when they are facing 3rd down, they rank 3rd and 2nd, respectively.
In their first four meetings, Mahomes had an advantage, winning three of those meetings.
Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen, Head-to-Head
Week 6, 2020 Season
Mahomes: 80.8 completion%, 225 yds, 2 TD, 81.7 QBR; 36 rush yds
Allen: 51.9 completion%, 122 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 79.7 QBR; 42 rush yds
2020 AFC Championship Game
Mahomes: 76.3 completion%, 325 yds, 3 TD, 94.3 QBR; 5 rush yds
Allen: 58.3 completion%, 287 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 52.0 QBR; 88 rush yds
Week 5, 2021 Season
Mahomes: 61.1 completion%, 272 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT, 48.6 QBR; 61 rush yds
Allen: 57.7 completion%, 315 yds, 3 TD, 94.0 QBR; 59 rush yds, 1 TD
2021 AFC Divisional Round
Mahomes: 75.0 completion%, 378 yds, 3 TD, 96.0 QBR; 69 rush yds, 1 TD
Allen: 73.0 completion%, 329 yds, 4 TD, 90.2 QBR; 68 rush yds
Jeff Saturday, who played with Peyton Manning as the Colts’ center for years, and now is an analyst at ESPN, says that wile both Mahomes and Allen are in the early stages of their careers, he sees the same greatness in them the same way he did with the quarterbacks he played with.
“I love that Patrick Mahomes had some difficulty this year, that everything wasn’t so easy for him,” said Saturday. “When defenses started to adjust he had to alter his style of play and learn and develop patience and poise in moments when you can’t strike big. He had to take the checkdown. Sustaining drives has to be put on the forefront. It’s not always going to be big plays. I love that development in him.
“Then flip it over to Josh Allen. His story is absolutely remarkable. People were thinking he wouldn’t be able to do it and then he makes a big jump last year and adds to it this year. How incredible is this that these guys are working on their craft and honing their skills and their abilities and still elevating their teams to victories and have opportunities to chase the ring.”
And what gives this rivalry such great potential to be among the greatest and for many to mark it as the next Brady vs. Manning can allude to how much the quarterback position has changed.
“I love the idea that there is kind of a modern Brady-Manning type rivalry,” said former Patriots defensive end and current ESPN analyst Rob Ninkovich. “I think the more exciting thing is ... the chess match, so to speak, and how to play the game has evolved to what we know now—a mobile-quarterback-driven league where the pocket quarterback is sort of the dinosaur.”
This is not to say that they will be better than Brady and Manning, but with how the two are playing at a high level, they’re on par with them. This has all the elements to be one of the greatest rivalries of all time.
“If you look at Peyton and Tom, there was similarities that were attached to those guys that weren’t just about themselves individually,” said former journeyman quarterback and now-ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky. “Both of them were parts of really good organizations that were built the right way and had a track record of drafting well, and obviously long-term established, successful head coaches. ... There’s a consistency that’s happening in Buffalo right now and that’s been the case for probably the last five, six years. Obviously, that’s happened in Kansas City for a while now.”
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