Patrick Mahomes highlighted the Kansas City Chiefs’ togetherness as the reason behind their 27-24 defeat of the Buffalo Bills.
Playing in his first post-season road game, Mahomes threw 23 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns to help the Chiefs advance to the AFC Championship game against the Ravens in Baltimore next weekend.
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The Chiefs have been resolute away from Arrowhead this season and the win in Buffalo improved their record on the road to 8-2, including last night’s gutsy display.
Mahomes explained: “I think it’s that guys come together.
“I love being at Arrowhead and playing in front of that crowd. But when you’re on the road, it’s you versus them, it’s you versus everybody in the stadium, and you have to come together as a team, and the guys do that. You saw that in the game today.
“Through three quarters offensively, we were moving the ball up and down the field.
“But we got shut down in the fourth quarter, and I went over to the defense and I told them, ‘Y’all shut it down and we’ll win this football game. We’ll go to the AFC Championship Game.’ And they did.
“It was a team win, and that’s what you need in the play-offs.’’
HOW ‘BOUT THOSE CHIEFS!!! pic.twitter.com/vkmsPMwOlg
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 22, 2024
Much of the build-up focused on whether Mahomes, who had only played once in Buffalo previously, and that was without fans during the Covid pandemic, could cope in one of the most hostile atmospheres in the NFL.
But the 28-year-old thrived, displaying his usual cool-headed efficiency to get the job done.
“It was going to be a great environment being in here in Buffalo,” he added.
“I’d heard about it. Obviously, I played here but not with the fans. I knew the fans were going to be rowdy, going to be hostile. But you appreciate the greatness of organisations and going in week in and week out and packing the stadium and being fans.
“The guys took it as a challenge. We just came in with the same mindset, that we’re going to come together, put our best foot forward and see if we can come out with a win.
“And that takes the mentality throughout the week, it takes every single play executing, and we did a great job of that today and were able to score enough to win.”
