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Adam Teicher
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Houston Texans might think Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are getting favorable calls from the game officials, but Mahomes disagrees.
“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes said Wednesday as the Chiefs began preparations for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing everything they can to call the game.” as fair and appropriate as possible. And all you can do is go out and play the game you love as hard as you can and live with the results. … I think that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.
“There are new referees every year, new circumstances arise and you can never know because every play is different and that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I’ve kept playing and I’m just trying to do it.” Win, and whatever happens, happens.”
The Texans were penalized twice for hitting Mahomes in last week’s divisional round game. Both happened on Chiefs scoring drives, one of them on third down to extend the drive.
“We knew it was going to be us against the referees before this game,” Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said after the 23-14 loss.
Chiefs versus Bills has become one of the NFL’s biggest rivalries. This will be the fourth time in five seasons that the teams have met in the playoffs and their second meeting in the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs won the first three, but the Bills have won the regular-season matchup between the teams in each of the last four seasons.
The Bills handed the Chiefs one of their two losses this season, winning 30-21 in Week 11 in Buffalo.
“It’s two really good football teams facing each other,” Mahomes said. “They have great players at all levels on both sides of the ball and they are well coached. And so when you play against great football teams like that, it usually ends up with that kind of split deal. We’ve been able to beat them in the playoffs and they have us in the regular season. If you look at the games, they are all close, so a play comes up here or there that has an impact on the outcome.
“When you look at the big rivalries in the NFL, it comes with this. It comes with playing each other every year in the regular season and it comes with playing in the playoffs.”
Mahomes and his Buffalo counterpart, Josh Allen, have had some classic matchups. None were better than the divisional round game in 2021, when the quarterbacks combined for seven touchdown throws and more than 700 passing yards as the Chiefs won 42-36 in overtime to advance to the AFC Championship Game .
“I’ve played against Josh enough times to know that he’s going to go out and play great football, especially in those big moments,” Mahomes said. “I have to play my best football whenever I have the opportunity and try.” to put our team in the best position to succeed. “If that’s limiting turnovers, if that’s changing field position, whatever it is, you’ve got to find a way to win that day.”
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman, one of the stars of last year’s playoffs for the Chiefs when they won their second straight Super Bowl, won’t get a chance to repeat his performance. Coach Andy Reid said Hardman, who has a knee injury, will not be activated from the injured reserve list, meaning his season is over.
Hardman caught the winning touchdown in overtime in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Francisco 49ers last year.