It’s remarkable to believe given he’s been in the NFL for seven seasons now, but Patrick Mahomes has played in Buffalo just once, and it was without fans.
Suffice it to say he’ll be entering quite a different environment this weekend.
Despite running into each other either in the regular season or postseason with some regularity, each of the last five meetings between the teams has been in Kansas City. The one time Mahomes played in Buffalo was during the COVID-impacted 2020 season, so there were no fans in attendance.
Now, the Chiefs are set to meet the Bills in the playoffs yet again, with Sunday set to be the star quarterback’s first exposure to the Bills Mafia.
He said Wednesday in his weekly appearance on The Drive that he’s excited about the opportunity.
“I’m extremely excited, honestly,” Mahomes said. “I know it’s going to be a hostile environment, they have a great fanbase and it’ll be packed. I’ve watched on TV, but now I get to really experience that fanbase in person at the stadium in Buffalo.
“I’ve been a fan of the game, I think more than anything I like getting to go to different stadiums and experience that type of stuff and see what the things I watched growing up and those great games, see what it’s like and get to play in those environments.
“I know it’s going to be hostile, I know they’re going to be wanting to win that football game and I’m sure there will be some trash talking going on, but when you look back on it it’ll be a great memory to be able to go up there and play in a playoff game in a great environment.”