The Bills have been here before. Three times in the last four years, in fact. Each of those three times, it hasn’t gone well for Buffalo. The Bills will have to go through the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, just as it’s meant to be.

It’s Kansas City. It’s always Kansas City. It seems like it will always be Kansas City. It’s been the hurdle that the Bills can’t seem to get past, certainly in the playoffs when it matters most. In order to get to where the Bills want to go, the road was inevitably going to go through the Chiefs, just like it seemingly is every year.

The last time the Bills were in Arrowhead for an AFC Championship Game, it was the most absurd back-and-forth, blow-for-blow fight that I can remember watching. It was the heartbreaking “13 seconds” game, the game that saw Mahomes and the offense get the ball in overtime and score without Buffalo getting to touch the ball. The game was such a big deal that it spurred the NFL to change their overtime procedures.

All year, the Chiefs have loomed as the big brother. They’ll remain that until the Bills can finally get past them when it matters most. This year, the Allen and the Bills will get another crack at it. Allen knows what they’re up against.

“We’re going to work hard. We’re going to have a heck of a week. We’ll enjoy this one tonight, and turn our attention tomorrow. We know who they are. They’re the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL. You’ve got to beat them to get pass them,” Allen said.

Kansas City remains Kansas City, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, the team that has lost only one game since Christmas Day of 2023, and that was Week 11 this season to the Buffalo Bills. They simply have perfected the art of winning, no longer looking like the high-flying offense that runs up the score on the back of Mahomes throwing the ball all over the field, but instead being a hard-nosed team with an aggressive defense.

Buffalo will have their hands full. But after beating the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL in the divisional round, Buffalo has every reason to believe that they have a team capable of going the distance.