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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — After enduring one of the most challenging performances of his career, Patrick Mahomes wasn’t keen on speculating about future encounters with the Buffalo Bills, especially when it came to playoff rematches.
“We’ve got to get there first,” Mahomes remarked after the Chiefs’ 28-21 defeat on Sunday, a game marked by one of his least impressive passing displays.
The Kansas City Chiefs, currently holding a 5-4 record, have struggled against Buffalo in the regular season, dropping their last five meetings. In contrast, the playoffs tell a different story, where the Chiefs remain undefeated at 4-0 against the Bills since the 2020 postseason, including a victory in last year’s AFC championship game.
Just as the Chiefs seemed to be hitting their stride, with wins in three consecutive games and five of their last six, they stumbled in this latest contest against Buffalo, casting a shadow over their recent progress.
Just when it appeared the Chiefs had found their groove while winning three straight and five of six, they took a step back against the Bills.
“We’ve had great moments and we’ve had bad moments,” Mahomes said. “We’ve got to be more consistent as a team. I’ve got to be more consistent at quarterback. And we’ve got to be able to battle.”
Mahomes closed a disappointing performance with three straight incompletions from Buffalo’s 40 and the two-time NFL MVP finished 15 of 34 for 250 yards with an interception. It was the first time in a nine-year career he completed fewer than 50% of his passes, and just the 10th time Mahomes failed to complete a TD pass in a regular-season game.
As for his interception, it ended Kansas City’s second-to-last possession with 4:18 left. Facing third-and-11 at the Chiefs 23, Mahomes was being pressured when he threw a pass up the right sideline that was intercepted by rookie Maxwell Hairston.
The Bills defense harassed Mahomes throughout with three sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
Mahomes was outdueled by Josh Allen, who set a team record by completing 88% of his passes (23 of 26) for 273 yards, and had three TDs — one passing and two rushing.
“You know it’s going to come down to a couple of plays, and they made those plays today,” Mahomes said. “Josh was amazing.”
The outing for Mahomes came on the heels of a three-game winning streak in which he completed 74% of his passes for an average of 281 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. It was a three-game run in which the Chiefs beating the Lions, Raiders and Commanders by a combined score of 89-24.
“They have good pass rushers and they had a good plan of doing some games up front and pushing the pocket,” Mahomes said. “I’ve got to be better at working the pocket and finding different lanes to step up into.”
He had a few highlights, such as completing a 29-yard pass to convert fourth-and-17 on a drive that Kareem Hunt capped with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 28-21.
There was also his 40-yard completion to Hollywood Brown at the Bills 1 in the final minute of the first half. The Chiefs, however, had to settle for Harrison Butker’s 19-yard field goal after Hunt was stopped for no gain and Mahomes threw two completions.
The bad, however, outweighed the good, including the Chiefs turning the ball over on downs in the second quarter, when safety Cole Bishop broke up Mahomes’ short pass over the middle intended for Rashee Rice.
The Bills took over at their 40 and built a 21-10 lead on Allen’s first of two 1-yard touchdown runs.
Rice had 80 yards on four receptions and ran for a 3-yard touchdown on a direct snap in the first quarter. Hunt also scored on a 2-yard run, while Butker was good on two field-goal attempts.
It wasn’t enough.
“Against a team like this,” coach Andy Reid said, “you’ve got to be able to score touchdowns. Not field goals.”
Mahomes was overheard rallying his teammates in the visiting locker room after the game.
“We’ve got to do it now,” Mahomes said. “There’s no easy games coming up and there’s no more chances where we can take losses. We’ve got to learn from it fast.”
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Kansas City gets a break by entering its bye week before facing current AFC West division-leader Denver (7-2).
“It’s going to be an uphill battle when we get back,” Mahomes said. “But I think our guys are up for it.”
