Instant analysis of Chiefs' divisional-round win over Bills

This game lived up to the hype.

A back-and-forth battle between two AFC heavyweights ends in triumph/heartbreak for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was exactly the offensive firefight that many expected, with both teams exchanging blows on offense for a full 60 minutes. In the end, the Chiefs’ offense and Patrick Mahomes were just too much for the Bills to contend with.

Final score: Chiefs 42, Bills 36

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

A high-scoring affair that ended in overtime, this game was everything that it was cracked up to be. Big plays by two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL led to a halftime 14-14 tie and a 36-36 overtime tie. The Chiefs won the toss in overtime and got the ball to receive. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce did their thing, which sent Kansas City to their fourth consecutive AFC championship game.

Weekly awards

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Chiefs Wire Game Ball: QB Patrick Mahomes Harrison Butker Rookie of the Game: LB Nick Bolton Casey Wiegmann Veteran of the Game: DE Melvin Ingram Jamaal Charles Offensive Player of the Game: WR Tyreek Hill Bobby Bell Defensive Player of the Game: DT Jarran Reed Morten Andersen Special Teams Player of the Game: WR Tyreek Hill Otis Taylor Play of the Game: Tyreek Hill’s 64-yard touchdown reception. Wesley Roesch Stat of the Game: 69 rushing yards by Patrick Mahomes Quick-hitting observations and analysis

AP Photo/Ed Zurga

The opening defensive drive really felt like a feeling-out drive, but it kind of went off the rails when Tyrann Mathieu suffered an injury. They were scrambling to get the right personnel in there often and it resulted in 7 for Buffalo. You can’t say enough about Jerick McKinnon, he came out of nowhere for Kansas City in the wild-card round and has really become a key piece in the offense. His pass-catching has really been his best attribute for the team and has opened up the passing game in a new way. Speaking of running backs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire looked spry in his return from injury. His legs looked fresh and he looked quite explosive. He forced a few missed tackles in the open field. Continuing on the topic of running, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had his best career game running the ball on Sunday. He finished the game with 7 carries for 69 yards, ousting his previous high of 61 yards that he set against the Bills back in Week 5. He also set a Chiefs postseason record for the most rushing yards by a QB. Byron Pringle had a great touchdown reception on Sunday night, but he also had two really egregious drops. One of them put the Bills and Josh Allen back on the field. If the ball hits you in the hands, you’ve got to come down with it. Frankly, the Chiefs are probably lucky that wasn’t picked. Mecole Hardman really has unique speed and he showed it off on his 25-yard touchdown run. He just scorched the Bills defenders on the edge, accelerating past them with ease. The Bills punt on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter really felt like a big momentum swing. Sean McDermott believed in his defense, but it cost him six points. I came away really impressed by the play of Jarran Reed and Melvin Ingram in this one. They brought some juice on the defensive line when the team needed it on some key downs. Special teams had a rough night for Kansas City, save for a long punt return from WR Tyreek Hill. Harrison Butker had an off night, but he redeemed himself to send the team to overtime. The punt coverage unit struggled a bit. Definitely some things to clean up there. Some absences in the secondary with Rashad Fenton inactive and Tyrann Mathieu knocked out of the game, really showed up late in the game. Hopefully, they’re both back and healthy for next week. Up next:

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

The Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game. It’s the fourth consecutive AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium. This will be a rematch of the Week 17 game between these two teams, but this time it’s in Kansas City. It’ll also mark the first time these two teams have ever met in postseason play.