As the Chiefs chase a Super Bowl three-peat, the Bills aim to spoil the party in Kansas City

Buffalo (15-4) at Kansas City (16-2)

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, CBS/Paramount+

BetMGM NFL odds: Chiefs by 1 1/2.

Against the spread: Bills 12-7; Chiefs 8-10.

Series record: Bills lead 30-25-1.

Last meeting: Bills beat Chiefs 30-21 on Nov. 17 in Buffalo.

Last week: Bills beat Ravens 27-25; Chiefs beat Texans 23-14.

Bills offense: overall (10), rush (9), pass (9), scoring (2).

Bills defense: overall (17), rush (12), pass (24), scoring (T11).

Chiefs offense: overall (16), rush (22), pass (14), scoring (15).

Chiefs defense: overall (9), rush (8), pass (18), scoring (4).

Turnover differential: Bills plus-24; Chiefs plus-6.

Bills player to watch

Josh Allen is enjoying his most efficient season, and the Buffalo quarterback has a track record of raising his level of play in the playoffs. He’s 7-5 in the postseason with a franchise-record 23 touchdowns passing against just four interceptions, and his seven TDs rushing in the postseason are tied for second on the NFL list among QBs, one behind Steve Young. In three playoff losses to Kansas City, Allen is a combined 81 of 126 for 802 yards with seven TDs passing, two rushing and just one interception.

Chiefs player to watch

Patrick Mahomes moved into a tie with Joe Montana for the second-most playoff wins as a starting quarterback in the divisional round against Houston. But while Montana was 16-7 for his career, the Chiefs’ two-time NFL MVP is 16-3, and two of the three losses came in overtime in the AFC championship game while the other came in the Super Bowl — the only Super Bowl he’s lost in four tries.

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Key matchup

The Chiefs defensive front against Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who beat them both rushing and passing in a loss in Buffalo in November. Allen threw for 262 yards and a touchdown in that game while running 12 times for 55 yards and another score — a 26-yard TD run with 2:17 left that sealed the 30-21 victory for the Bills.

Key injuries

Bills safety Taylor Rapp is questionable after being carted off the sideline with a hip injury Sunday. Starting linebacker Matt Milano’s status bears monitoring after he did not finish Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. Starting cornerback Christian Benford (concussion protocol) practiced on a limited basis early this week.

The Chiefs came out of their game against Houston healthy. That includes cornerback Jaylen Watson, who was playing for the first time since breaking his ankle Oct. 20 against San Francisco.

Series notes

Since meeting for the AFC title on Jan. 24, 2021, the Bills and Chiefs have met seven times, with Buffalo winning all four regular-season matchups and Kansas City winning each of the three playoff games. That includes a 38-24 win that sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl, a 42-36 overtime win in the divisional round the following year, and a 27-24 divisional win in Buffalo last year. The team also met for the 1993 conference championship with Buffalo winning 30-13 in the midst of four straight Super Bowl appearances, and the Bills won a divisional playoff game on Jan. 5, 1992. Kansas City beat the Bills 31-7 for the AFL title on Jan. 1, 1967, and would lose to the Packers two weeks later in the first Super Bowl.

Stats and stuff

The Bills are 4-2 in the AFC championship game with all four wins coming during the 1990-93 seasons. ... The Bills are 0-4 in road playoff games in coach Sean McDermott’s eight seasons and 3-12 overall. They’ve lost seven straight playoff road games since a 29-10 win at Miami in the AFC championship game in the 1992 season. That playoff road skid is the third longest in the NFL behind Dallas, Cleveland, Seattle and the New York Giants, who each dropped eight straight, and Detroit (12). ... McDermott’s 93 wins, including playoffs, are tied with Mike Holmgren for second most by a coach through his first eight seasons. Only George Seifert (108) won more. ...The Bills are the NFL’s first team without a turnover in four straight playoff outings. Buffalo hasn’t turned over the ball since Allen threw an interception in a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the 2022 divisional round. ... The Bills finished the season with a league-best plus-24 turnover differential, which they’ve increased to plus-27 through the postseason. ... Allen has completed passes to eight players in each of Buffalo’s first two playoff games this year. ... With two rushing TDs last week, Allen increased his playoff career total to seven, tied with Tom Brady for second on the NFL list, and one behind Steve Young. ... Allen’s 629 yards rushing in the playoffs rank second on the career list behind Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (641). ... The Bills are 8-1 when scoring a touchdown on their opening drive this season. Their only loss was a 44-42 decision at the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 8. ... The Chiefs are in the AFC title game for the seventh consecutive season with six of them having been played in Kansas City. New England holds the record with eight straight from 2011-18. ... Chiefs coach Andy Reid won his 300th career game last week in the divisional round against Houston. The only other NFL coaches to eclipse that mark are Don Shula (347), Bill Belichick (333) and George Halas (324). ... Chiefs TE Travis Kelce needs 226 yards receiving to break the playoff record of 2,245 set by Jerry Rice from 1985-04. Kelce also needs three TD catches to break Rice’s playoff record of 22. ... Kelce has nine playoff games with at least 100 yards receiving, including 117 against Houston in the divisional round. That is the longest streak in NFL history. ... The Chiefs had eight sacks against the Texans in the divisional round, the second most in a playoff game in franchise history. They had nine against Houston on Jan. 16, 1994. ... Chiefs DE George Karlaftis had three sacks against the Texans, tying the club playoff record held by Aaron Brown (at Oakland on Jan. 4, 1974) and Frank Clark (against Houston on Jan. 12, 2020). ... CB Trent McDuffie has a Chiefs playoff record 13 passes defensed despite appearing in just three postseasons. ... Chiefs K Harrison Butker needs four field goals to pass David Akers (39) for third most playoff FGs in NFL history.

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