Josh Allen alongside Patrick Mahomes Oct 10, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) before warm ups at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
ArticlesFeaturedNFLOriginalsBy Reice Shipley on

The Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs are set to face off in a Divisional Round matchup on Sunday with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line in what should be a showcase for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

It will be the seventh time that Mahomes and Allen will face off in their careers. Thus far, each quarterback has won three games against the other, meaning that Sunday’s game will be the tiebreaker in their head-to-head records against one another.

Ahead of the matchup, let’s rank each matchup that the two have taken part in against one another based on several factors like overall entertainment, importance, and the performance of the two stars in said matchup.

6. 2020 Week 6: Chiefs 26, Bills 17

This was the first matchup between the two, and you could argue that it was simply a bit too early in Josh Allen’s career for him to perform on this kind of stage.

The 2020-21 season was right when Allen began to take a major step in his career. But this matchup in particular was one of Allen’s worst in this entire season, throwing for 122 yards while completing just 52% of his passes.

As far as the Chiefs offense goes, Mahomes arguably wasn’t even the star of the game for his team in this game. That distinction goes to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who rushed for 161 yards on 26 carries.

Simply put, this game wasn’t a great showcase for either quarterback and is largely the most forgotten-about matchup between the two because of this.

5. 2022 Week 6: Bills 24, Chiefs 20

This matchup featured far more firepower from both Allen and Mahomes, with Allen getting the better of Mahomes both individually and as the winner of the game.

Allen was spectacular, throwing for 329 yards and three touchdowns on the day with a number of highlight plays in the game to boot.

Meanwhile, Mahomes made a couple of mistakes in the game, including a game-sealing interception with 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

This matchup would potentially be higher on this list if it hadn’t been early on in the season last year with not much on the line. But it was a great showcase for Josh Allen in particular that shows he’s every bit as good as Mahomes is when he’s playing his very best.

4. 2021 Week 5: Bills 38, Chiefs 20

This is the third matchup between Mahomes and Allen. And up until this point, Mahomes and the Chiefs had a 2-0 record against Allen and the Bills.

If Allen had gone on to lose this game, there likely would have been a big narrative around him that he simply couldn’t beat Mahomes.

Instead, Allen played one of the best games of his career to that point, throwing for 315 yards and three touchdowns while also adding in 59 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground.

Mahomes performed pretty well on the other side, but he did have two costly turnovers in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.

This was another early-season matchup between the two sides, so it may be forgotten by some when you think of the great matchups between the two.

However, this win for Allen and the Bills was huge in proving that they were able to defeat a Chiefs team that had won a Super Bowl just two years prior.

3. 2023 Week 14: Bills 20, Chiefs 17

This is the most recent matchup between the two teams, which was a massive one for the Bills in particular.

Going into the matchup, the Bills were largely a non-contender in the AFC with a 6-6 record on the year. Most considered it a must-win game for Buffalo to keep its postseason hopes alive.

It wasn’t the prettiest performance from Allen or the Bills offense overall. But they were able to come away with a victory in large part thanks to a defensive stop from the Bills’ defense.

The ending did have its fair share of controversy; the Chiefs were called for an offensive offsides penalty on what would’ve been a touchdown to take the lead on their final possession.

After this victory, the Bills would go on to win their next four games to not only make the postseason but win the AFC East. If the Bills hadn’t won this game, chances are these two teams would not be facing off in the Divisional Round this Sunday.

2. 2020 AFC Championship: Chiefs 38, Bills 24

This was a rematch from their Week 6 matchup earlier in the year. By this point, both quarterbacks were playing at a near-MVP level, which wasn’t the case in their previous game. It certainly showed on the field, as both quarterbacks had terrific games in their own right.

Allen threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 88 yards in the game. Meanwhile, Mahomes was the star of the show, throwing for 325 yards with three touchdowns and zero turnovers.

This matchup was the most important game between the two to date, as a trip to the Super Bowl was on the line. Ultimately, Mahomes proved to be a little more polished than Allen at this point, which showed slightly on the field and resulted in a Chiefs victory.

1. 2021 Divisional Round matchup: Chiefs 42, Bills 36

It should come as no surprise to see this iconic matchup between the two teams ranked as the best matchup between the two.

While there was more on the line a year before in their AFC Championship game, this matchup was simply one of the most entertaining playoff games in recent memory.

Both quarterbacks had unbelievable games, combining for 844 all-purpose scrimmage yards and eight total touchdowns.

This game was a back-and-forth slugfest of epic proportions, especially down the stretch of the game while featured 17 points scored in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.

Mahomes in particular stunned fans by marching his team down the field in 13 seconds to set up kicker Harrison Butker for a game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime.

The game truly came down to who had the ball last, as neither offense seemed like they could be stopped. Ultimately, it was the Chiefs who received the ball in overtime, converting on a game-winning touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.

The ending had Bills fans furious about the overtime rules at the time, which prompted the overtime rules to be changed just a year later to where both teams now receive at least one possession.

Fans to this day still call this matchup of the best games that they have ever seen, truly showcasing how elite both Allen and Mahomes are when they’re playing their best.

Hopefully this weekend’s Divisional Round matchup matches the 2021 Divisional Round in terms of entertainment. If it does, fans watching at home are certainly in for a treat.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley