With Tom Brady retired, no active quarterback matches the intimidation Patrick Mahomes strikes into the heart of opposing fan bases.
Mahomes already has more accolades than most quarterbacks can ever hope to earn, with two Super Bowl wins and two MVPs under his belt, and one more playoff win would place him top 10 all-time at the position despite still being just 28.
Bills fans know better than any that beating Mahomes on the biggest stage isn't easy. While Buffalo has gotten the job done against the Chiefs in the regular season, Josh Allen and Co. have yet to pick up a playoff victory over Mahomes.
Here's a look at Mahomes' playoff record and why he will do something on Sunday against the Bills that he hasn't yet done in his illustrious career.
Has Patrick Mahomes played a road playoff game?
Sunday's divisional-round game against the Bills will be the first true road playoff game of Mahomes' career.
It took six seasons as a starter for Mahomes and the Chiefs to go on the road in the playoffs, but the writing was on the wall for Kansas City after late-season struggles that dropped the team to the No. 3 seed in the AFC. If the Chiefs win in Buffalo and reach the AFC championship, they would have to go on the road again and face the Ravens in Baltimore.
Why hasn't Mahomes played on the road in the playoffs until now? The Chiefs have been good enough to avoid it, earning the conference's No. 1 seed in 2018, '20, and '22. Some luck also factored in. The Ravens earned the No. 1 seed in '19 but were upset by the Titans in the divisional round, while the Titans earned the No. 1 seed in '21 but lost to the Bengals. Both allowed the Chiefs to host the AFC Championship game.
Not all of Mahomes' playoff games have been home games, either. Super Bowls are neutral-site games, so the 28-year-old signal-caller has been away from Kansas City for all three appearances.
One of Mahomes' Super Bowl appearances was a de facto road game, with the Buccaneers playing Super Bowl 55 in their home stadium, though a limited-capacity crowd and the NFL's prioritization of frontline workers for that game's limited number of tickets meant Tampa didn't have a true home crowd advantage in what would be Mahomes' only Super Bowl loss to date.
Bills fans are hoping to make life as difficult as possible for Mahomes during Sunday's game, though it's worth noting the Chiefs performed better on the road than at home in the regular season this year.
Patrick Mahomes playoff record
Mahomes is 12-3 over 15 career playoff starts. His 12 playoff wins place him tied for 10th all-time among quarterbacks.
| Season | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2018 | Divisional | Colts | W, 31-13 |
| 2018 | AFC championship | Patriots | L, 37-31 |
| 2019 | Divisional | Texans | W, 51-31 |
| 2019 | AFC championship | Titans | W, 35-24 |
| 2019 | Wild-card | 49ers | W, 31-20 |
| 2020 | Divisional | Browns | W, 22-17 |
| 2020 | AFC championship | Bills | W, 38-24 |
| 2020 | Super Bowl | Buccaneers | L, 31-9 |
| 2021 | Wild-card | Steelers | W, 42-21 |
| 2021 | Divisional | Bills | W, 42-36 |
| 2021 | AFC championship | Bengals | L, 27-24 |
| 2022 | Divisional | Jaguars | W, 27-20 |
| 2022 | AFC championship | Bengals | W, 23-20 |
| 2022 | Super Bowl 57 | Eagles | W, 38-35 |
| 2023 | Wild-card | Dolphins | W, 26-7 |
| 2023 | Divisional | Bills | TBD |
It takes a special quarterback to beat Mahomes in the playoffs based on what he's done in his career. Two of Mahomes' playoff losses came against Tom Brady -- once in the AFC championship and once in the Super Bowl -- while the other came at the hands of Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
The Bills believe Allen is the kind of quarterback who can finish the job, but the pressure will be on Buffalo until he gets that elusive playoff win over his AFC rival.
