The 2021 Buffalo Bills–Kansas City Chiefs Divisional Round playoff game was a
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) game held on January 23, 2022, as part of the
2021–22 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2021 season. This was the first time that the league featured a 17-game regular season schedule, and consequently the start of the playoffs was pushed a week later to January 15, 2022. The postseason ...
. The
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
defeated the visiting
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
42–36 to advance to the
AFC Championship Game
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
. Noted for the quarterback play of Buffalo's
Josh Allen and Kansas City's
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...
, it was the first NFL game in which both quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions and rushed for at least 50 yards.
The game had four lead changes and 25 points scored in the
final two minutes of regulation, the second-most among games in the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
era. After scoring on their opening drive, the Bills did not regain the lead until the fourth quarter when Allen threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with under two minutes remaining. Mahomes responded with a 64-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead with less than a minute remaining, but Buffalo's next possession ended in another touchdown pass from Allen. With 13 seconds left, Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 44-yard drive, which set up a game-tying field goal to force overtime. The Chiefs received the overtime kickoff after winning the coin toss and scored a touchdown to secure the victory.
[ Despite the loss, Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis set the NFL playoff game record for receiving touchdowns at four.
The performances of both teams, particularly Allen and Mahomes, drew praise from commentators, who considered the game to be one of the greatest in the modern NFL playoffs. It is colloquially known as 13 Seconds after the Chiefs' game-tying drive and considered an example of the Buffalo Sports Curse. The game also renewed scrutiny of the NFL's overtime rules, which were changed beginning with the 2023 postseason onward to ensure both teams receive possession of the ball in overtime.]
Background
The Chiefs finished the regular season with a 12–5 record to clinch the #2 seed of the American Football Conference
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC). The Bills obtained a 11–6 record and were the AFC's #3 seed. At the end of the regular season, the Bills had the highest point differential
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
and