Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 32-29 Win Over the Buffalo Bills

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game, and there was plenty to take away from the Sunday playoff contest.

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) reacts with fans after a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the first half in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

All week long, the Kansas City Chiefs' weekend contest against the Buffalo Bills got hyped up as the game the world was waiting for. The match(up) made in football heaven wound up providing plenty of sizzle to close out the conference side of the bracket.

After Kansas City got out to a lead, Buffalo came roaring back and made things quite interesting deep into the second half. The fourth quarter brought the close that many had hoped for, with it ending in familiar fashion. The Chiefs' 32-29 win punches their ticket to Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday's game.

Andy Reid's opening script was just as advertised

Throughout his illustrious career, Andy Reid has built a resume as one of the game's best play callers and offensive brains. This season, however, his team has been known to start slow on occasion and has largely struggled in the red one overall. The divisional round against the Houston Texans was a perfect example, as the first quarter saw the home team average just 3.3 yards per play while going 0-for-2 in the critical 20-yard scoring window. Luckily for the reigning champs, they snapped out of their funk for most of their two opening possessions on Sunday.

On the debut drive for the Chiefs' offense, quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with wideout Marquise "Hollywood" Brown multiple times for chunks and even had a 31-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. On possession No. 2, there was a tremendous look to Brown that didn't convert and a good swing route to rookie Xavier Worthy. Halfback Kareem Hunt added a 12-yard run of his own, giving Kansas City five plays of 10-plus yards in two series. A Mahomes fumble wound up eliminating potential points, but there's no denying what Reid and offensive coordinator did. They put their offense in good positions to succeed early on.

The margins made a difference and allowed the Bills to hang around in the first half

In countless instances over the years, Reid has delivered a message that very rarely changes: NFL margins for error are slim, so his team has to take care of business and avoid mistakes. It's something that football fans and media alike take for granted but in many cases, it's true, especially in a postseason environment. The Chiefs' dominance over the past several seasons has blurred that line yet at the same time, clutch wins as of late drive the point home. Two key areas were lost by Kansas City in the first two frames of play and ended up allowing Buffalo to keep the game relatively close because of it.

That aforementioned Mahomes fumble proved to be one of the biggest plays from a win probability standpoint. According to rbsdm.com, it contributed a loss of 5.7 expected points added. Losing the turnover battle was partially a testament to some insane Bills turnover luck – Allen gifted some would-be interceptions early – but also a lapse on offense. Third downs were also stressed by Reid as something the defensive staff was working to emphasize, but Buffalo went 4-for-7 in the first half. Conversions on third-and-9 to Amari Cooper and third-and-13 to Khalil Shakir, specifically, stood out on a touchdown drive. There's an argument to be made that the game never should've been that close at the intermission with the home team outplaying the visitors, although those pesky margins came into play.

Things tightened up coming out of the break and into the fourth quarter

Coming out of the locker room, the Chiefs had a chance to expand their lead and take momentum back in a major way. On the offensive side of the ball, they did the exact opposite of that by punting twice. Despite Mahomes finding Brown for 15 yards on a third-and-4 on their first second-half possession, he later missed Smith-Schuster and took a long-developing sack. On the next drive, the offense was out of rhythm and a false start call on left guard Mike Caliendo helped cut another possession short. Kansas City, a team with a flair for the dramatic, gave their opponents a chance in the third frame with poor offensive execution.

The other side of the ball didn't help, either, in spurts. Even while throwing just one time in the third quarter, the Bills took advantage of that. Running back James Cook had seven carries for 58 yards and the duo of him and quarterback Josh Allen picked up a pair of fourth-down conversions. They seemed to be rolling on their next drive, too, getting another pickup on fourth down. Their last try of the possession, however, was sniffed out by Steve Spagnuolo's defense to force a turnover on downs. After a critical scoring drive, capped off by a Mahomes rushing touchdown, the late down came back to bite Kansas City on defense when Allen hit Curtis Samuel on fourth-and-goal. With things then being tied up at 29 all, the classic Chiefs-Bills finish was set up.

In the end, the Chiefs' quest for a championship three-peat lives on

Given the ball back with just over six minutes left in regulation, the Chiefs benefitted from a facemask penalty on Bills linebacker Matt Milano and later had gains of 11 and 23 yards to Travis Kelce and Worthy. A sack on Mahomes and two incompletions forced a made field goal by Harrison Butker, prompting Buffalo to have 3:33 to influence football history. Naturally, a fourth down was faced but it was the consecutive Super Bowl winners who flashed their championship DNA. Spagnuolo flexed his muscles with a brilliant pressure to force a turnover on downs and with Samaje Perine later gaining a first down, Kansas City went on to seal the deal.

As highlighted earlier on Sunday, a Chiefs win makes them the only back-to-back champion to reach the Super Bowl in their third try. This makes Reid's group closer to a three-peat than any other franchise in league history. Regardless of circumstances or adversity, this team borders on having an inevitable feel at times. The Bills proved this year that they won't be going away but for the time being, the conference still clearly belongs to Mahomes and company.

Read More: Clark Hunt on What 'People Don't Really Know' About Andy Reid's Greatness