For years, the tier of quarterback rivalry that Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen has now crossed into remained reserved for Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
For these Patriots and Colts — after which Patriots and Broncos — showdowns.
For the six-game streak by Brady to begin their head-to-head, the comeback in January 2007 that modified the whole lot and all the unpredictable duels that adopted.
Allen and Mahomes slowly crept towards that time with three postseason conferences and 5 regular-season clashes.
They aren’t the one celebrity quarterbacks within the NFL, however every matchup carried a sure weight, a sure aura, a sure expectation for sudden chaos that others haven’t matched.
The pair will collide within the AFC Championship sport at Arrowhead Stadium, with Kansas Metropolis needing a win to maintain its bid for a three-peat alive and Buffalo needing a victory to get again to the Tremendous Bowl for the primary time because the 1993 season seeking its first title.
However actually, that is simply Half IV of Allen-Patrick Mahomes within the playoffs. That is simply Half IX of Allen-Mahomes since 2020. That is the newest chapter in what has turn out to be Brady-Manning 2.0.
Within the eyes of Allen, the stacking of showdowns with the Chiefs turned an occasion corresponding to Sunday right into a glorified “division sport.”
With their fourth playoff assembly, Allen and Mahomes will sit only one shy of matching the report held by Brady and Manning.
At 29 and 28 years outdated, respectively, they solely want eight extra matchups throughout the remainder of their profession to hit the frequency of the Brady-Manning rivalry.
“I really feel like we’ve performed them simply as a lot as we’ve performed the fellows in our division, and with that comes familiarity,” Allen instructed reporters this week. “New wrinkles right here and there all through the sport. However they know who we’re. We all know who they’re.”
Even with Allen (2,063 yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions) and Mahomes (2,220 yards, 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions) possessing near-identical stats in opposition to one another, there are some distinctions between the rivalries.
It took Manning six tries earlier than he ultimately defeated Brady and the Patriots in any setting.
It took till the AFC Championship sport throughout the 2006 season — 5 years after their first matchup — for Manning to earn his first postseason win in opposition to New England.
Allen hasn’t defeated Mahomes within the playoffs, however he has gone 4-1 throughout the common season, together with a Week 11 win this season punctuated by an acrobatic 26-yard landing run within the fourth quarter.
However Mahomes has triumphed on the largest levels and dished out loads of heartbreak, beginning in 2021 when he orchestrated a masterful outing with 325 yards and three touchdowns because the Chiefs defeated the Payments, 38-24, within the convention title sport.
One yr later within the divisional spherical, Allen and Mahomes produced among the finest video games in playoff historical past.
They mixed for 707 passing yards, seven touchdowns and nil interceptions.
Twenty-four factors have been scored after the two-minute warning, with the ultimate three following a three-play, 44-yard drive by the Chiefs that pressured time beyond regulation and led to the “13-second” label.
And when Mahomes linked with Travis Kelce on the game-winning landing within the further body and the Payments misplaced with out even touching the ball, it straight led to the league revisiting its time beyond regulation guidelines.
Then, a season handed with out Allen and Mahomes overlapping within the playoffs.
The Payments defeated the Chiefs throughout the 2022 common season however then misplaced in opposition to the Bengals earlier than what would’ve been a rematch within the AFC Championship sport.
As an alternative, the newest postseason chapter of the rivalry wanted to attend till January 2024, when Allen solely managed to throw for 186 yards and the Payments didn’t pressure time beyond regulation when Tyler Bass’ late discipline objective sailed proper.
“You simply must know you’re gonna must play your greatest soccer,” Mahomes instructed reporters this week. “I imply, I’ve performed in opposition to Josh sufficient instances to know that he’s gonna come on the market and play nice soccer, particularly in these massive moments. … And whenever you go up in opposition to an awesome quarterback, it takes your greatest as nicely.”
Mahomes has inherited Brady’s position amid his chase for Tremendous Bowl historical past.
Allen continues to be ready for his model of Manning’s comeback sport to interrupt by within the playoffs.
For the primary playoff matchup or two, the rivalry was budding. A piece in progress.
Then, after the Chiefs’ 13-second comeback, there was no query one existed — and no query there’d be loads of future matchups on these levels, too.
Sunday, 9 years after Manning escaped in opposition to Brady in what turned out to be their closing assembly, will simply mark the newest.