The Buffalo Bills earned another shot to topple the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs.
Sunday night's thrilling 27-25 win over Baltimore punched the Bills' ticket to K.C. to face the back-to-back Super Bowl champs in the AFC Championship Game.
"We know what they are. They're the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL," Josh Allen said of the Chiefs, via The Associated Press. "You've got to beat them to get past them. So, you know, we're going to enjoy this one tonight."
The Bills bested the Chiefs in Week 11, with Allen scampering for the game-sealing touchdown in a 30-21 victory. The win marked the fourth consecutive time Buffalo beat Kansas City in the regular season. However, Allen's club has faltered against Patrick Mahomes in the postseason, losing three straight playoff games to the Chiefs (2020, 2021 and 2023).
Allen knows that the Chiefs aren't the same squad they faced in mid-November -- just as Buffalo has evolved.
"The regular season is what the regular season is, and it doesn't matter how well you perform when you get to the playoffs, it doesn't really matter," Allen said. "It's hard to beat a team twice. We understand that. We know that. It's a team that we beat early in the season, but it's not the same team. They got some guys back on their defense and their offense, and I can't tell you enough now. I don't know much about it because I've been focusing on the Ravens, so we'll get into that tomorrow."
Buffalo enters the championship game after using a balanced attack to best Baltimore. Allen's crew, which consisted of zero first-team All-Pros, did enough to earn the right to try and knock off the defending champs.
"What a complete win," Allen said. "All year, this team has heard we've got no talent, we're too small, we can't stop the run, we're not good enough to compete. We've just put our head down and worked hard. I'm so proud of our defense. I'm so proud of our offense and special teams."
They'll have to put their heads down for another week to finally fend off their perennial nightmare.