Patrick Mahomes looking to make memories for new generation in must-see Chiefs clash

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One of the biggest quarterback rivalries in the NFL today will be renewed on Sunday.

It’ll be the third time the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs face each other in the postseason since 2020.

Sunday though will be the first time since the 1994 that a playoff matchup between the two takes place in Buffalo.

Speaking of firsts, that is something both rival quarterbacks will be experiencing in different ways.

This weekend will be the first time Patrick Mahomes starts a playoff game on the road.

For his counterpart Josh Allen, it’ll be the first time he squares off against Mahomes in the playoffs in the friendly and snowy confines of Highmark Stadium.

Allen and the Bills will hope the third time is the charm against KC this weekend.

The New QB Rivalry

Anyone who followed the NFL, even on a semi-regular basis in the early 2000s, knew of the rivalry between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

When Brady and Manning were behind centre for the Patriots and Colts, respectively, they faced each other nine times in the regular season and twice in the playoffs.

Brady and the Pats won both playoff outings at home.

Manning helped the Colts erase a 21-3 deficit and win in Indy 38-34 during their third playoff battle.

When Manning joined the Broncos, they had two postseason clashes against each other in Denver, with Peyton winning both times.

Allen will hope the modern-day Brady/Manning rivalry follows the same trajectory.

“We’ve played in a lot of big games,” Mahomes told nfl.com about his rivalry with Allen.

“I grew up watching those [Brady-Manning] games and remember how many memories I have from that, and hopefully, we can play in these great games as well and give memories to the kids that come up behind us.”

The last time these two quarterbacks squared off in the playoffs in the 2021 Divisional Round, both were better than great, in fact it was arguably the best game in NFL postseason history.

Allen found Gabe Davis for a go-ahead score with 13 seconds remaining.

Mahomes had just enough time to take KC into Harrison Butker field goal range to tie the game.

In overtime, he found Travis Kelce for a game-winning score.

The Resolution

Anyone who enjoys theatre knows a play consists of three acts.

Act One establishes the main character relationships; in Act Two, the main character encounters obstacles; and Act Three is the resolution.

Like the Manning/Brady playoff rivalry, the first two playoff acts between Mahomes and Allen went to the home team.

“The Bills are a great challenge,” Mahomes said.

“I think everybody understands that they’ve gotten my number a lot of times. We’ve been lucky enough to get them in the playoffs, but they beat us earlier this year.”

Counting their playoff victory on Monday, the Bills are 8-1 at home this season.

There’s a saying in sports that it’s hard to beat the same team twice.

Buffalo won round one this season but neither have been as sharp against an opponent they faced twice in 2023.

The Bills beat the Dolphins twice and KC defeated the Chargers on a pair of occasions but no one else.

In the Bills/Chiefs playoffs Act Three on Sunday, Mahomes can create a Shakespearean tragedy.

By doing that he’d cause more heartache to a franchise that knows the feeling of second best all too well.