Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the first time since the 2020 season, the Buffalo Bills are heading back to the AFC Championship Game.
It was a tight game coming down to the wire in a rematch with the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday in the AFC Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium. After taking a 27-19 lead with 3:29 to go in the fourth quarter, the Bills just needed a defensive stop to secure a victory and punch their ticket to the AFC title game.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens were able to stretch the field in just 1:56 of game clock, scoring a touchdown to pull to within two points with 1:33 to go in regulation.
However, on the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game, a short Jackson pass at the goal line to tight end Mark Andrews fell incomplete, allowing the Bills to recover the onside kick and eventually kill the clock.
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With the win, the Bills took care of business against a division winner in the AFC for the first time in the postseason during the Josh Allen era.
Buffalo also finished the 2024 season a perfect 10-0 at Highmark Stadium, including eight wins in the regular season and two more wins in the playoffs.
Now it's back to the AFC Championship Game this coming Sunday, and it'll take place, once again, against a familiar team at a familiar venue.
It will be the fourth time since 2020 that the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs will go head-to-head in the playoffs, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes getting the better of Allen in each of those three prior matchups.
It was during the 2020 season when the Bills and Chiefs met in the AFC Championship Game, only for Buffalo to get blown out, 38-24, in the first year of Allen's rise to NFL stardom.
This season, the Bills were one of just two teams to hand the Chiefs a loss in the regular season. It was back in Week 11 when Buffalo managed to earn a 31-20 win over Kansas City at Highmark Stadium, in a game that Allen sealed the victory with an electrifying 26-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
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For the first time since 2020, Howard Simon gets the chance to pick the Bills with a chance to earn a trip to the Super Bowl with a win. With the Bills returning to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, Howard has Buffalo ultimately slaying the dragon to punch their tickets to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX!
The Super Bowl then pins the Bills against the Philadelphia Eagles in another matchup against an NFC East team in the Big Game.
After losing in the 1990s to the New York Giants, Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys, Howard does not foresee the Bills getting swept in the Super Bowl by all four members of the NFC East. He has Buffalo getting its first win in the Super Bowl in franchise history, and finally earning the right to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Caesars Superdome.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, as well as watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" below: