Travis Kelce combines with Pat Mahomes twice for Kansas City Chiefs touchdowns to beat Buffalo Bills

It’s probably been decades since Taylor Swift was relegated to the warm-up act.

But the 12-time Grammy Award winner appeared to finally have been given second billing to boyfriend Travis Kelce, who notched up two touchdowns and an extremely public display of affection for Swift in the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional playoff win against the Buffalo Bills, 27-24, at a typically frosty Highmark Stadium on Sunday night.

All eyes were already on the pop music superstar during her entrance to a suite overlooking the west end zone, and located just below the name of Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy’s name on the stadium’s Wall of Fame.

But in case anyone forgot about her presence during the game, Kelce reminded them after receiving a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The star tight end threw the football into the crowd, then turned and made a heart gesture with his hands toward the suite where Swift was seated in the opposite corner of the stadium.

Among those in the suite celebrating the touchdown with Swift was Jason Kelce, who was caught by cameras shirtless and holding a can of beer. Kelce is the former Eagles center, who told teammates in confidence after Philadelphia’s playoff loss to Tampa Bay last week that he’s retiring after 13 seasons.

It was one of two touchdown passes thrown by Patrick Mahomes and caught by Kelce as the Chiefs advanced to their sixth straight AFC championship game. The first marked the 15th time Mahomes and Kelce connected in the playoffs, matching the NFL record set by Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The Chiefs duo broke the mark early in the third quarter with the next TD, this one a 3-yard pass that gave Kansas City a 20-17 lead.

Isiah Pacheco scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run 40 seconds into the fourth quarter in a game during which the teams traded leads five times. The Chiefs clinched the win by running out the clock after Buffalo’s Tyler Bass was wide right on a 44-yard field goal attempt with 1:43 remaining.

The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (13-6) move on to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the conference’s top-seeded Ravens, who beat Houston 34-10 on Saturday.

Kansas City is 0-1 in the playoffs against the Ravens, following a 30-7 loss in the 2010 wild-card round. Baltimore defeated Kansas City 36-35 in their most recent regular-season matchup in Week 2 of the 2021 season.

“There’s no weakness there,” Mahomes said of the Ravens. “It’s going to take our best effort. Defense, offense, special teams, they do it all. It’s always a great challenge and that stadium’s going to be rocking, so we’re excited for the challenge.”

Buffalo and Kansas City traded unlikely turnovers, with the Bills (12-7) failing to convert on a fake punt when Damar Hamlin was stopped for 2 yards on a fourth- and-five at Buffalo’s 32. The Chiefs then gave the ball right back two plays later when Mecole Hardman lost a fumble into the end zone for a touchback.

The game wasn’t decided until the Bills’ final drive stalled at the Chiefs 26 when Allen threw a pair of incompletions, leading to Bass’ miss. It came a week after he had a field-goal attempt blocked and also missed from 27 yards in a 31-17 win over Pittsburgh.

“I wish he wouldn’t have been put in that situation,” Allen said. “You win as a team, you lose as a team. One play doesn’t define a game.”

Kansas City has never lost in the divisional round since Mahomes took over as starter in 2018, and the Chiefs have now won five consecutive playoff games since a 27-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati in the AFC championship game during the 2021 season.

Mahomes, a two-time NFL MVP, can also check off another first on his record by winning his first road start in the playoffs - not counting Super Bowls - and improving his postseason mark to 13-3.

“First of all, this is a great environment, man,” Mahomes said of Buffalo. “It really is. We did hear it all week, man, about playing a road game, and we’re here to prove a point and show that we can play anywhere.”

The Bills had their third consecutive postseason end in the divisional round, following losses to Cincinnati last year and the Chiefs in 2021. And the Chiefs ended Buffalo’s season for the third time in four years, including a 38-24 decision at Kansas City in the AFC championship game in the 2020 season.

It was another disappointing finish for a Bills team that won its fourth consecutive AFC East title, and was on a six-game roll since a 20-17 win at Kansas City on Dec. 10.

Buffalo’s Josh Allen finished 26 of 39 for 186 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for two scores. Allen finished with a team-leading 72 yards rushing to increase his career playoff total to 563, the second most among NFL quarterbacks in league history and trailing only Steve Young (594).

Buffalo scored on four of its first five possessions, with Allen’s 13-yard TD pass to Khalil Shakir putting the Bills up 24-20 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

The Chiefs scored on five of their first six possessions, including a kneeldown to end the first half. Pacheco’s touchdown capped an eight-play 75-yard drive.

CHILLED OUT

The game-time temperature was 26 Fahrenheit (minus-3 Celsius), with gusting winds making it feel like 15F (minus-9C), but nothing like what the two teams faced in their respective playoff openers.

The Chiefs’ 26-7 home win over Miami was the NFL’s fourth-coldest game, with a game-time temperature at minus-4F (minus-20C). Buffalo’s 31-17 win over Pittsburgh on Monday featured a temperature of 17F (minus-8C), and 12 points colder with the wind chill.