Kansas City’s reign in the NFL continues after surviving another vibrant war against Buffalo. Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs will play in the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year after beating the Bills 32-29 on Sunday night. Kansas City will try to become the first team to win three Vince Lombardi trophies in a row. The Chiefs, playing in their seventh consecutive conference finals, are now 5-2 in that impressive streak of dominance in the AFC. Never has a team that won two straight NFL championships advanced to the next Super Bowl. On February 9 at the New Orleans Superdome they will face the Philadelphia Eagles againwho a few hours earlier defeated Washington to win the NFC. Kansas City beat Philadelphia in the Super Bowl two years ago, which was decided on the last play in favor of the Chiefs. Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes celebrates his second touchdown run of the AFC Championship Game against Buffalo after going 10 yards in the fourth quarter.Credit: Ashley Landis | AP Bills suffer another stab in the heart as their drought lengthens Buffalo was looking to break a three-game losing streak in the postseason against Kansas City. The Bills have not been able to return to the Super Bowl after having lost the XXV, XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII editions, a stormy streak that will continue to accompany them. The Chiefs broke a 29-all tie with Harrison Butker’s 35-yard field goal with 3:33 left in the game. The Bills then failed to convert their umpteenth fourth-down attempt on a long pass from Josh Allen (22-34, 237, 2 TD) under pressure. Kansas City secured the win with a pass from Mahomes (18-26, 245, 1 TD) to running back Samaje Perine for a first down and 10 within the final two minutes. Bills running back James Cook stretches his arm with a great effort to score from the 1-yard line in the third quarter and put his team ahead in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs.Credit: Ashley Landis | AP Second half from power to power in Kansas City Buffalo drove 80 yards in 7:05 minutes on its first possession of the second half to take the lead at a 4th. opportunity at the 1-yard line with a tremendous effort by running back James Cook, who stretched out his arm with the ball to break the plane and put his team up 22-21. The 2-point conversion attempt was failed again. However, Mahomes turned the score around with a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter minutes after Allen was stopped at 4th. chance and inches to advance on the Chiefs’ field. That play was controversial, but the officials decided that the Buffalo quarterback failed to move the chains. With the conversion, Kansas City went up 29-22. Like every time these teams face each other, the match became more and more dramatic, because Buffalo responded with another touchdown drive and scored again on fourth down with a pass from Allen to Curtis Samuel from 4 yards to tie the game 29-29 with 6:15 left. Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy outruns Damar Hamlin and goes for a touchdown against the Bills in the first half of the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.Credit: Ashley Landis | AP Chiefs went into halftime up 21-16 The Chiefs went into halftime up 21-16 thanks to a touchdown pass and a touchdown run by Mahomesin addition to a touchdown from running back Kareem Hunt. The Bills, forced to score points before halftime, closed the gap with a spectacular 34-yard reception by Mack Hollins with 23 seconds remaining. But Buffalo went for a two-point conversion after a penalty against the Chiefs committed on the extra point and Allen couldn’t convert it into a personal one. Saquon Barkley escapes on a 60-yard run for a touchdown for the Eagles in the first quarter. Philadelphia would add another six rushing touchdowns en route to a comfortable victory over Washington.Credit: Derik Hamilton | AP Barkley and Eagles rush for 7 touchdowns against Commanders In Philadelphia, Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jalen Hurts each scored three career runs and the Eagles won the NFC Championship with a 55-23 blowout over the Washington Commanders, whose amazing campaign finally concluded. The match was much closer than the score indicates, but the difference was three fumbles by the Commanders in their own field which were converted into 21 points by the Eagles, who return to the Super Bowl after losing to Kansas City two years ago. The Commanders got within 11 points late in the third quarter after a rushing touchdown by rookie quarterback extraordinaire Jayden Daniels, but on their next possession, Austin Ekeler fumbled on a short pass and Philadelphia recovered. Hurts then scored from the 1-yard line in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and the rest of the game was a feast for the home team in front of their fans. The 55 points are a new record in any conference final and Philadelphia’s 7 rushing touchdowns tie a record playoffs in the NFL. The Eagles totaled 229 yards rushing, 118 of them from Barkley, the 2,000-yard man in the campaign that reaches his first Super Bowl. Keep reading:– Patrick Mahomes rejects the idea that referees protect him differently than other quarterbacks– The Dallas Cowboys choose a local man without great pedigree as their new head coach– The list of candidates for NFL MVP in the 2024 season does not include Patrick Mahomes
