This Sunday’s highly anticipated AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills features several intriguing storylines and matchups.

But there’s no getting around the fact that none will be discussed or dissected more than the head-to-head rivalry, albeit a friendly one, between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

For the first couple of seasons of their respective careers, Mahomes and Allen didn’t cross paths. The Chiefs and Bills met in 2017, but Mahomes was a rookie then and sitting behind Alex Smith, and Allen was still in his final season at Wyoming.

The two finally squared off for the first time during the 2020 regular season, with Mahomes and the defending champion Chiefs earning a 26-17 victory in Orchard Park.

Just over three months later, they collided again, this time at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC title game. And once again, Kansas City came out on top, taking a 38-24 win to earn a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

Since then, this generation’s version of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have battled on six more occasions, four times during the regular season and twice in the NFL Playoffs.

But while Allen won four of those six meetings, all of those victories occurred during the regular season, as Buffalo has beaten Kansas City in each of the past four campaigns. That streak includes a 30-21 win back in November, a game in which Allen essentially put the team on his back in the fourth quarter and carried the Bills to victory.

Sadly for the Bills, that success has not translated to the postseason. The Chiefs ended Buffalo’s 2021 season in a wild 42-36 overtime victory in the Divisional Round, which is now known as the “13 Seconds Game,” and also ended the Bills’ 2023 campaign, again in the Divisional Round, with a 27-24 win at Highmark Stadium.

So, while Allen can say he’s 4-4 against Mahomes, who’s now a three-time Super Bowl champion and a three-time Super Bowl MVP, he’s well aware his rival holds the advantage that matters, which is the 3-0 postseason record.

Getting past the records, let’s have a look at the stats for Allen and Mahomes in their eight previous head-to-head matchups, which we’ll separate into the regular season and postseason.

Regular season

As mentioned, the two have met five times during the regular season, with Allen holding a 4-1 advantage.

From an overall standpoint, Allen not only holds the advantage in the win column but also has the statistical edge, mainly due to Mahomes’ seven interceptions.

Postseason

While both have been absolutely outstanding in their three postseason contests, Mahomes wins the overall battle on the statistical side of things here.

As many teams know all too well, a list that obviously includes the Bills, the Chiefs are a completely different animal when January rolls around, and the same can be said of No. 15, who just takes himself to another level come playoff time.

Allen has performed beautifully in the playoffs against Kansas City, but Mahomes has played close to perfect football in his three postseason matchups with Buffalo.

What will the ninth meeting between Allen and Mahomes bring? We’ll find out soon enough.