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Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs' Wild OT Win over Bills: 'We Believe No Matter What'
January 24, 2022
Most quarterbacks wouldn't be holding on to much belief if their teams were trailing by three with 13 seconds left and starting a possession at their own 25-yard line, but Patrick Mahomes isn't most quarterbacks.
"We believe no matter what," the Kansas City Chiefs' signal-caller told reporters after Sunday's dramatic 42-36 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills.
He continued, saying, "If you're not going to go down fighting, then you don't deserve to be here."
While the Chiefs were facing long odds, Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for 19 yards and Travis Kelce for 25 yards to set up a Harrison Butker field goal that forced overtime. The rest was history, as the Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime and scored a touchdown with Kelce hauling it in to send his team to the AFC Championship Game.
Perhaps the only thing wrong with the game was Josh Allen and the Bills offense didn't get a chance to counter in overtime thanks to the NFL's rules.
The ending sequence capped off perhaps one of the greatest NFL games in league history, especially considering the stakes. Kansas City's field goal with fewer than nine minutes remaining in regulation gave it a 26-21 lead, and the teams traded touchdowns on the next three possessions to set up the 13-second situation.
The first Buffalo touchdown after the field goal came when Allen finished an unbelievable 17-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock with a fourth-down strike to a wide-open Gabriel Davis in the end zone. Stefon Diggs hauled in the two-point conversion to give the Bills a three-point lead.
Then Mahomes needed all of 52 seconds to answer with a touchdown when he hit Hill underneath and watched the speedster do the rest to put the Chiefs up four.
Buffalo struck back in 49 seconds with Allen finding Davis again for the receiver's fourth touchdown catch of the game. It looked to be the winning play, but the Chiefs forced overtime and finished it without giving Allen another opportunity.
In all, Mahomes threw for 378 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while Allen went for 329 passing yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. The quarterbacks fittingly led their respective teams in rushing yards as well with Mahomes accounting for 69 yards and a score on the ground and Allen running for 68 yards.
Kansas City's reward is a date with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, so it may be in for another shootout.
The Bengals defeated the Chiefs 34-31 in Week 17, although that game was in Cincinnati. The rematch will happen in Kansas City.