Bills get the monkey off their back, advance to the AFC Championship, 27-25

For the first time since 2020, the Buffalo Bills are going to the AFC Championship.

Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans cheer during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills have defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 27-25 and advance to the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs. After three straight seasons of divisional round losses and going against one of the most complete teams in football, the Bills put it all together in this game and came away with a monumental victory.

Below we'll take a look at the most inspired part of the game, the part of the game that requires some questions, the part of the game that requires a better performance, and the most irksome part of hte game.

Inspire-The Buffalo Bills Defense:

Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) is tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the first quarter in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

In many of the previous divisional round losses, the Bills' defense was often taken to task by teams like the Bengals and Chiefs.

This was anything but that.

With MVP candidate Lamar Jackson on the other side, and Derrick Henry often right next to him, the Bills had a very difficult task in front of them taking on one of the most efficient offenses in football. Multiple turnovers is what ultimately did the Ravens in, as an early interception by Taylor Rapp stole a possession away from the Ravens, and a Lamar fumble after getting ankle wrapped by Damar Hamlin allowed the Bills to score and maintain a lead.

After being given tough situations in the second half when the offense punted twice in a row, the Ravens were driving in the 4th quarter and a perfectly timed and placed punch on the ball by Terrel Bernard gave the Bills another chance to essentially ice the game. It didn't quite play out that way. A legitimately clutch drive by Lamar Jackson brought the Ravens to a two-point conversion that could have tied the game, but Mark Andrews dropped the ball a la Jackie Smith in Super Bowl XIII.

It is inarguably Sean McDermott's greatest postseason achievement to date. McDermott and Bobby Babich attacked the run early on, and while it's impossible to shut down Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson for all four quarters, they never let themselves get it out of hand. They fought hard, played one of the better games they've played all season.

Inquire-Tyler Bass:

Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills place kicker Tyler Bass (2) kicks an extra point during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Sunday marked one of the most clutch games of Tyler Bass' career, as he made all of his kicks, including all PATs and a 51-yard FG on the frozen turf. Bass has largely been good this year, with some strangely bizarre misses at times. Ultimately, Bass has come up very clutch for the Bills when they need him most, with this game and the Dolphins 61-yard game winner being the most obvious examples. Can Bass keep it going? Can Bass use this momentum, continue his ability to make big kicks, and take this play into Kansas City? If the Bills want to win the AFC Championship, he will have to do just that.

Require-Bills' Offense:

Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

It was certainly not a bad game from the Bills' offense, but the Bills' offense had many chances to essentially take this game out of reach, and couldn't. Despite the (constantly mentioned) mismatch of the Bills being "undersized" relative to the Ravens, the Bills' offensive line did a phenomenal job against a very talented, and well coached defense, doing their best to open up run lanes for James Cook (17 attempts, 67 rushing yards), Ty Johnson (5 attempts, 31 yards), Ray Davis (4 attempts, 29 yards 1 touchdown), and of course Josh Allen (10 attempts, 20 yards and 2 touchdowns).

The receivers had a less than stellar game, with Khalil Shakir, predictably, leading the way with six catches for 67 yards. Overall, the Bills clearly felt like maintaining the run and not forcing themselves to be one-dimensional offensively was the right move. While it certainly worked out, it felt a bit too conservative from Joe Brady at times, who could have unleashed the passing game a bit more. Overall, a solid game from the Bills' offense, but solid is not likely to cut it against the Kansas City Chiefs, or the winner of the NFC for that matter.

Irk-Nothing:

Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott greet one another after the game in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Really? Nothing?

Nope, not a single thing. Because the Bills are going to the AFC Championship.

What's Next for the Bills?

The Bills head to Kansas City for a showdown with the Chiefs. One of the Chiefs' two losses this year came against the Bills, with the other coming in the final week of the regular season when they rested their starters against Denver (whom the Bills beat in the wild card round).

It is the first time since 2020 that the Bills have been in the AFC championship, which also came against the Chiefs. While the quarterbacks and the head coaches have remained the same from that time, much has changed between these two teams since then, as they have regularly been two of the best teams in football during that time. These two teams have put together classics in the playoffs many times, and this upcoming AFC Championship will almost certainly be another classic chapter written in this rivlarly.

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