The Buffalo Bills finally host a home playoff game against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The only time during Mahomes' career he traveled to Buffalo was in the COVID-19-disrupted 2020 season -- played without fans in the stands (Kansas City won 26-17 as Mahomes threw for 225 yards and two TDs).
Sunday night marking the first game with the Bills Mafia attempting to rattle the MVP quarterback is not lost on Bills players.
"(Mahomes has) only been here once. So, he's never been here. Simple as that," left tackle Dion Dawkins said via ESPN. "Pat has never been to the Bills' stadium in full. ... The environment will be different and not to say it's in our favor, but the stadium is (in) our favor. Stadium is us. That helps us. I don't care what nobody says. This is the most dopest feeling I've ever had. We're having two back-to-back playoff games at home. Come on now, like we get to leave and go eat wings. It's cool. So good luck."
Bills fans hope those are celebratory wings not drown-your-sorrows wings on Sunday night.
Each of the last five matchups between the Bills and Chiefs has been played in Kansas City. Buffalo won all three regular-season matchups in K.C. but lost both postseason tilts -- 2020 AFC Championship Game and the 2021 Divisional Round.
In Week 14, Buffalo beat the Chiefs 20-17 in Kansas City -- the infamous Kadarius Toney offsides game. The victory jumpstarted six straight wins for the Bills to set up a home matchup between Josh Allen and Mahomes.
Mahomes noted earlier this week he wasn't fretting walking into a rowdy environment in Buffalo.
"Even though I know it's going to be hostile and there are going to be people talking trash and everything like that, I'm excited for it because it's one of the best environments in football," Mahomes said. "And you want to do that when you grow up watching these games in the best environments and see what it's like."
Sunday marks not only Mahomes' first playoff game in Buffalo but the first true road playoff game in his career -- the only playoff games not played at Arrowhead were Super Blows LIV, LV and LVII.
"They've been at the top of the mountain. They know what it takes to get there. We've yet to do that," Allen said of the Chiefs. "Again, as a competitor, as a player to be in a situation like this is something you dream about. I know guys on this team have been waiting for this moment for a long time. To think about how far we've come even from seven, eight weeks ago to where we are now to have an opportunity to host a game against -- they've won two championships in the last couple years -- you can't help but be excited about that."
The Bills have not beaten the Chiefs in the playoffs since the 1993 AFC Championship Game (won 30-13 at home) when Marv Levy and Marty Schottenheimer were the respective coaches and Jim Kelly and Joe Montana were the quarterbacks.
