In a growing rivalry AFC rivalry, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will find himself in uncharted territory in his first road playoff game. With that said, he's 2-0 against the Buffalo Bills in the postseason.
Hanford refuses to write off the reigning champions to the chagrin of our editor, O'Donnell, who's still casting his line in Lake Erie for walleye or a Bills title.
"This may be Patrick Mahomes' first road playoff game, but I'm not ready to bet against him here. Josh Allen and the Bills looked explosive out of the gate last week against the Steelers but found themselves in a battle in the second half when they couldn't put a Mason Rudolph-led team away. Failure to put Mahomes away, on the other hand, won't end well.
"Kansas City should be comfortable playing aggressive defense, leaning on Isiah Pacheco and making this game ugly in another cold-weather matchup, while the continued rise of Rashee Rice will provide just enough explosiveness to get the job done.
"Mahomes is 8-1-1 as an underdog against the spread in his career for a reason (and 7-3 straight up). Sorry to my colleague Wes O'Donnell, but it's time for the walleye to stop biting. Chiefs cover, win and leave all of us wondering if they might somehow find their way back to the Super Bowl yet again."
In Week 14, the Bills beat the Chiefs 20-17 in Kansas City, and Gagnon thinks they're going to deliver the knockout blow to their conference rival at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo.
"The Chiefs remain alive despite having an off year in general, but they haven't looked strong enough for me to believe they can sustain something right now," Gagnon said.
"Buffalo is playing its best football all season and hasn't lost in regulation in more than two months. The Bills beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead last month and should be able to do it again with the home crowd behind them on Sunday.
"That said, I'd wait for some clarity on the multitude of significant Bills injuries (linebacker Terrel Bernard, cornerback Christian Benford, safety Taylor Rapp and wideout Gabe Davis) before dropping much cash on this one."
Predictions
Davenport: Bills
Gagnon: Bills
Hanford: Chiefs
Knox: Bills
Moton: Chiefs
O'Donnell: Chiefs
Sobleski: Bills
Toporek: Chiefs
ATS Consensus: None
SU Consensus: Bills
Score Prediction: Bills 24, Chiefs 21
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