Josh Allen finally beating Patrick Mahomes in AFC Championship Game can spark another iconic NFL rivalry for the next decade
Rivalries are what make sports great. Michael Jordan had Isiah Thomas. Magic Johnson had Larry Bird. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier. Tiger Woods had Phil Mickelson. And in football, Tom Brady had Peyton Manning. I remember growing up watching the Brady vs. Manning rivalry. Whether regular season or postseason, when the two legends went toe-to-toe it […]
Rivalries are what make sports great. Michael Jordan had Isiah Thomas. Magic Johnson had Larry Bird. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier. Tiger Woods had Phil Mickelson. And in football, Tom Brady had Peyton Manning.
I remember growing up watching the Brady vs. Manning rivalry. Whether regular season or postseason, when the two legends went toe-to-toe it was appointment television, leading to classic games of insane competitiveness. The two drove each other to new levels.
In this generation of football, the rivalry between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen has taken on a similar vein, with this Sunday's meeting in the AFC Conference Championship bound to be another classic chapter in this story that grows by the year. There's plenty of reasons to draw the comparison between the Mahomes/Allen rivalry and that of Brady and manning.
This weekend, Allen and Mahomes are set to become the fifth set of starting quarterbacks to face each other in at least four postseason games since 1950. The other Brady and Manning (five), Terry Bradshaw and Ken Stabler (four) Brett Favre and Steve Young (four) and Brady and joe Flacco (four).
Manning and Brady played each other a whopping 17 times in their careers including the playoffs, with Brady owning the head-to-head record at 11-6. But the regular season is the only place where Brady found that level of success against Manning. The two met five times in the playoffs, with Manning winning three of them. Four of the five matchups were in the AFC Championship Game, which Manning won three of. Out of those five AFC Championship Games, the winner between the two went on to win the Super Bowl four times.
Allen and Mahomes are on a similar trajectory. Both quarterbacks are 29 years old or younger, and the two have already played against each other eight times. The AFC Championship Game on Sunday will be the ninth meeting, and with next year's NFL opponents are already set, the two sides are scheduled to meet for a 10th time.
In the regular season, Allen has a 4-1 record against Mahomes, including this year's Week 11 victory in Orchard Park. As it's well known, though, he has yet to beat Mahomes in the playoffs, with Mahomes winning all three prior meetings, including once in the 2021 AFC Championship Game.
In their three playoff matchups, Allen has 1,030 total yards, 9 total touchdowns, and one interception, and Mahomes has 1,011 total yards, 9 total touchdowns, and zero interceptions. These two square off and bring their best every time.
Their first playoff meeting was the 2020-21 AFC Championship Game, which wasn't particularly close. Kansas City won 38-24. Their next two meetings, though, were the infamous "13 seconds" game, where Mahomes led a 13-second game-tying drive to force overtime. They won the coin toss, got the ball first, and scored without Allen touching the ball. That outcome led to the league changing the overtime rules to make sure both teams get a possession. Last year's Divisional Round matchup saw the Bills have an opportunity to tie it late, but Tyler Bass missed the field goal. The Chiefs won by three.
Rivalries aren't rivalries unless both sides have success. Otherwise, it's just one team standing in the way of the other. The Bills need a win, and if they get one, Allen and Mahomes will be on their way to solidifying themselves as one of the best NFL rivalries of all time.
Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
