Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game for their fourth playoff game in five years.
Allen scored two touchdowns and the Bills beat Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 27-25 in a divisional game Sunday. Mark Andrews dropped a Jackson pass on a 2-point conversion that would have tied it with 1:33 left and Buffalo held on for the win.
The Chiefs have beaten the Bills three straight times in the playoffs, including in the conference title game four years ago in Kansas City. But Buffalo was the only team to beat starters Kansas City this season, a 30-21 victory at home in Week 11.
It will be Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles hosting Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.
The Eagles advanced Sunday with a 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams. They’ll be home next week because the sixth-seeded Commanders beat the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions 45-31 on Saturday night.
Barkley ran for 205 yards, including touchdowns of 62 and 78 yards and Philadelphia’s defense held strong on the final drive with Jalen Carter sacking Matthew Stafford for a 9-yard loss to the 22. Stafford then threw an incomplete pass at fourth and 11th. .
The NFC East rivals the Eagles and Commanders will meet for the third time this season, with each team winning at home. The Eagles defeated Washington 26-18 in a Thursday night game, November 14. The Commanders rallied for a 36-33 victory on December 22 in a game in which Hurts suffered a concussion in the first quarter.
Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett gave Philadelphia the win, but DeVonta Smith dropped a third-down pass that would have allowed the Eagles to run out the clock. Instead, Jake Elliott kicked a field goal for a 33-28 lead and Daniels led another impressive comeback in the final two minutes, throwing a 9-yard TD pass to Jamison Crowder with 6 seconds left.
The Eagles (16-3) will appear in the NFC title game for the second time in three years and the ninth time in franchise history. They are 4-4 and have won the Super Bowl once.
The Commanders (14-5) are in the conference championship game for the first time in 33 years and the seventh time in franchise history. Washington is 5-1 in the NFC title game and has won three Super Bowls. Rookie QBs are 0-5 in conference championship games, so Daniels will try to break that streak.
The Chiefs (16-2) advanced Saturday with a 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans. Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown to Travis Kelce, who had seven catches for 117 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite.
This will be the seventh straight AFC Championship Game for Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Chiefs. They went 4-2 and won three Super Bowls, including two in a row. Kansas City aims to become the first team in NFL history to complete a three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
The Bills (15-4) are 4-2 in AFC title games but 0-4 in the Super Bowl, losing four straight in the 1990-93 seasons.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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