The most compelling quarterback rivalry we've seen since the days of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning is set to write a new chapter this weekend, as Patrick Mahomes and the 5-3 Chiefs will head to Buffalo on Sunday afternoon to take on Josh Allen and the 5-2 Bills.
Since their first meeting in 2020, the two perennial All-Pros have traded blows five times during the regular season and four times during the postseason—making Sunday's contest from Highmark Stadium the 10th time the two sub-30-year-old signal callers will face one another.
"To be that size and to be able to move like that, he's done so many great things as far as throwing the football," Mahomes said of his rival Allen on Wednesday. " ... The way he's able to extend plays and be close to the sideline and make these big-time throws down the field, that stuff is special. He's gotten better and better each and every year. I think that's something that I've seen in him and something I try to do for myself as well. He's a great football player."
"Anytime you're playing against a good team and a good quarterback, you have to play at the top of your game in order to win a football game," Allen said when asked this week about having another opportunity to go against Mahomes. "Not that you don't go out there and try to play your best all the time, [but] there is a heightened sense of awareness to that of understanding who's on the other side of the football. But yeah, you wanna go out there and our goal is to try to score on every drive and that's what we try to do."
Prior to kickoff, Sports Illustrated took a look at how Mahomes and Allen stacked up against each other statistically, along with a game-by-game breakdown of their matchups thus far:
Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes: Head-to-Head Stats
Regular Season
The Bills have undoubtedly had the upper hand over the Chiefs during their five aforementioned regular-season contests with Allen and Mahomes at the helm. After Kansas City took care of business in their first matchup back in October of 2020, Buffalo has gone an impressive 4-0 since.
Additionally, Allen has gotten the better of Mahomes statistically across these five regular-season meetings. He's 4-1 overall, has matched Mahomes in passing touchdowns while throwing four fewer interceptions, and owns a higher passer rating. Additionally, Allen has outpaced Mahomes on the ground, totaling more rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to Mahomes' zero. Here's a side-by-side look:
Playoffs
When the playoffs come around, however, Mahomes and the Chiefs turn into a different beast. Over their four postseason contests, Kansas City is an undeniable 4-0—two of which came in the AFC Championship Game—while outscoring Buffalo 139–113.
Statistically, it's also all Mahomes. While he and Allen have each thrown nine touchdown passes in their playoff matchups, Mahomes has yet to throw a postseason interception against the Bills, He also has more passing yards, a higher completion percentage, and a better passer rating. On the ground, Mahomes has found the end zone three times while Allen has yet to do so against the Chiefs’ defense.
Here's a side-by-side look:
Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes Timeline: Head-to-Head Game Log
With Sunday afternoon's contest marking the 10th such matchup between two of the league's best in Mahomes and Allen, here's a look back at their nine previous duels, dating back to 2020.
Oct. 19, 2020: The rivalry begins with a Chiefs victory in Buffalo
In the first of what would ultimately set up to be 10-plus meetings between the two—and hopefully the only one without fans in attendance—the 4-1 Chiefs traveled to Buffalo amid the COVID-19 pandemic to take on the also-4-1 Bills.
2020 marked both Mahomes and Allen's third season as their team's respective starters, with the former coming away victorious in Round 1. Behind a 21-for-26, 225-yard, two-touchdown performance from No. 15, the Chiefs beat the Bills 26-17 and improved to 5-1 on the season.
As for Allen's stat line? He went 14-for-26 passing for 112 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
All-time record: Mahomes 1, Allen 0
Jan. 24, 2021: Chiefs take down Bills in AFC Championship Game, advance to second consecutive Super Bowl
Meeting No. 2 between Mahomes and Allen came just over three months after their first, and this time on the biggest stage of all: the AFC Championship Game.
With Kansas City playing host from historic Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs came out on top 38-24 and advanced to their second Super Bowl in as many seasons. Mahomes was again sensational, throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns on 29 of his 38 pass attempts (76%), while Allen notched 287 yards and two scores, but was hurt by a costly fourth-quarter interception..
All-time record: Mahomes 2, Allen 0
Oct. 10, 2021: Allen strikes back with first career win over Mahomes
Finally! A Bills win!
After falling to 0-2 in his career vs. Mahomes the previous winter, Allen came back with a vengeance the following October and gave Buffalo their first win over Kansas City since 2017.
The Bills' start signal caller was just about flawless in this one, throwing for 315 yards and three touchdowns while running for 59 yards and an additional score on the ground. Mahomes, meanwhile, threw two second-half interceptions—including one that safety Micah Hyde returned for a pick-six.
Buffalo came away with a three-score, 38-20 win.
All-time record: Mahomes 2, Allen 1
Jan. 23, 2022: Chiefs, Mahomes top Bills in AFC divisional round with late-game dramatics
Thirteen seconds is all football fans need to hear to remember this one.
After a back-and-forth battle between the Chiefs and Bills in the AFC divisional round saw Buffalo down by four points late in the fourth quarter, Allen hit wide receiver Gabe Davis in the end zone for his fourth touchdown pass of the evening to take the lead with just 13 seconds to play.
On the other end, however, Mahomes made the amazing happen. In just two plays, he drove Kansas City down the field with chunk gains to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, and set up kicker Harrison Butker for a game-tying field goal that sent it to overtime.
The Chiefs then won the coin toss and only needed one drive in the final frame, with Mahomes again finding Kelce, this time in the end zone, for the winning score—one that also changed NFL overtime rules forever.
Side note: Mahomes and Allen combined for eight (!) total touchdowns and zero turnovers in this one.
All-time record: Mahomes 3 - Allen 1
Oct. 16, 2022: Allen delivers his own signature, late-game moment vs. Chiefs
Returning to Arrowhead mere months after their tragic overtime defeat, the Bills made their own late-game heroics happen in Week 6 of the 2022 season.
Down 20-17 with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Allen led Buffalo's offense on a 12-play, 76-yard drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox with 1:09 remaining.
Then, on the Chiefs' ensuing possession, cornerback Taron Johnson intercepted Mahomes—the quarterback's second pick of the day—to seal it for the Bills, giving them a 24-20 victory.
All-time record: Mahomes 3, Allen 2
Dec. 10, 2023: Bills, again, steal one late in first meeting vs. Chiefs in over a year
After missing each other in the postseason for the first time in two years, the Bills once again traveled to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead in what would become another iconic matchup.
Buffalo went up 14-0 early in the second quarter, but allowed the Chiefs to claw their way back and tie the game at 17 in the fourth. Then, for the second time in as many meetings against Kansas City, Allen finished a late scoring drive with a pass to a tight end—this time Dalton Kincaid—before Tyler Bass hit a field goal to secure a 20-17 victory for the Bills.
All-time record: Mahomes 3, Allen 3
Jan. 21, 2024: Buffalo comes up short with a trip to the AFC Championship on the line
Facing off in the postseason for the first time in nearly two years—this time at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium—the Chiefs and Bills gave football fans yet another thriller in the 2023-24 AFC divisional round.
Down by four at halftime and again in the fourth quarter, Mahomes did what he does in the playoffs, leading Kansas City on two second-half touchdown drives to secure his third win over Buffalo when it matters most. He finished 17-for-23 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon, and posted a dominant 131.6 passer rating.
Allen, meanwhile, turned in a solid performance of his own with three total touchdowns, but failed to score in the final frame of what was ultimately a 27-24 Chiefs win.
All-time record: Mahomes 4, Allen 3
Nov. 17, 2024: Bills stop undefeated Chiefs in their tracks
Riding a 15-game winning streak that dated back to the season prior, the Chiefs went into Buffalo in Week 10 of 2024 and were stopped dead in their tracks by the Bills.
While this one didn't have as many late-game fireworks as their matchups of old, it did see Buffalo again be able to beat Kansas City in the regular season—even as they sported a 9-0 record to begin the year.
Statistically, Mahomes was 23-of-33 passing for 196 yards, three touchdowns, and two bookending interceptions on the Chiefs' first and last drives of the game. Allen, meanwhile, was 27-for-40 for 262 yards, one touchdown, an interception of his own, and a score on the ground with just over two minutes to play that secured a 30-21 Bills win.
All-time record: Mahomes 4, Allen 4
Jan. 26, 2025: Chiefs, Mahomes advance to fifth Super Bowl in six seasons
Death, taxes, and the Chiefs representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Back on their home turf at Arrowhead, the Chiefs welcomed the Bills to Kansas City this past January for a chance to take over as kings of the conference—and instead won their third consecutive AFC Championship Game, their fifth in six years.
Buffalo led 22-21 heading into the fourth quarter, but a rushing touchdown from Mahomes—his second of the day—stifled the Bills' momentum. They then managed to tie the contest at 29 with just over six minutes to play, but Mahomes once again orchestrated a late-game drive that set up a 35-yard Butker field goal, marking the final score of the game and a 32-29 Chiefs win.
Again, both signal callers played near flawless football. Allen was 22-for-24 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns, while Mahomes went 18-for-26 with both a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns.
All-time record: Mahomes 5, Allen 4
Needless to say, it's been a dog fight between these two from the moment they first took the field against one another.
"I think other than like two games that we've played against each other, I think every single game comes down to like one play here or there that someone has to make ... " Mahomes said of his matchups with Allen. "I think it just comes down to players making plays in big moments ... to me, it's just about the next time and it's about going out there and playing against a great football team."
"It's the next one," echoed Allen. "Every game is different, every year is different, everything presents itself in a different way. Nothing that happened last year, or the year before, or the year before that carries over or matters this week ... at the end of the day, we've gotta come out and play the best football that we can play.
So what will happen next in this storied rivalry? Tune in to find out. Sunday's contest from Buffalo's Highmark Stadium is set for a 4:25 p.m. ET kick off and will air on CBS.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes: A Look Back At Their Legendary Chiefs-Bills Showdowns.