There Is So Much On The Line This Weekend for Josh Allen

This weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills will meet in the postseason for the fourth time in five years, this time, with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

Naturally, the marquee matchup centers on the quarterback duel between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

Remarkably, this will be their fourth postseason showdown, putting them just one game shy of tying the record held by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who squared off five times in the NFL playoffs.

In this chapter of the Mahomes-Allen rivalry, stakes will be at an all-time high.

Mahomes and the Chiefs are on a quest to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls, while Allen and the Bills, who have had regular season success against these Chiefs with a 4-1 record in the Mahomes-Allen era, have still yet to beat Kansas City in the playoffs as the Chiefs have a record of 3-0 in these games.

For this to be considered an all-time rivalry, Buffalo and Allen will need to take down Mahomes and the Chiefs in the playoffs eventually and there’s no better time than now.

Allen has the opportunity to rewrite a narrative of a story that has followed him around his career. Although the Bills have shown they can beat the Chiefs during the regular season, careers and legacies for players of Allen's calibre are remembered for what they have done in the postseason.

Much of Allen’s football career has been about growth and silencing doubters. Going into this season, when expectations were the lowest they have been for the Bills over the last few years, Allen has become the best version of himself. He has reduced the turnovers, made better decisions, and constantly has put his team on his back. However, even with his impressive growth and amazing talent, Allen's postseason record still falls short of that of Patrick Mahomes, who has won two MVP awards, three Super Bowls, and has simply owned this "rivalry" when the games have been played in January.

If the Chiefs win on Sunday and eventually go on to claim their third straight title in two weeks, the gap between these two quarterbacks in the public eye could become insurmountable. Allen runs the risk of being a modern-day Dan Marino—a talented quarterback who was never able to win the big one—while Mahomes would stand alone as a guy battling for Tom Brady's spot in the GOAT debate.

There needs to be balance for this rivalry to be truly great. Both Manning and Brady were able to win against one another when it counted most. For Mahomes vs. Allen to join the discussion of all-time great QB rivalries, Buffalo must finally take down Kansas City and Allen must show that he can defeat the best quarterback of his generation when the stakes are at their highest.

Josh Allen isn't only playing for a Super Bowl berth this weekend. With a win, he can prove that he is worthy of being in the same conversation as Patrick Mahomes and if he guides the Bills to a Super Bowl victory this season, there could be a legitimate argument if people wanted to call him the best quarterback in football after his remarkable 2024 season.

Allen and the Bills look to stop a Kansas City "Three-Peat" Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium.