Chiefs vs Bills: Head to Head History

by James Idayi
Chiefs vs Bills: Head to Head History

Once the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, and the Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen with the 7th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, a rivalry was created between two historic franchises that has — and will continue to — deliver for years to come. While only one of these two quarterbacks has produced a Super Bowl trophy for their team (two trophies, to be exact), every time these two teams face off, the game seems to be a classic. And there’s certainly still time for Josh Allen to bring the city of Buffalo their first ever Super Bowl trophy. Yet, in order to do so, he will need to topple the dynasty that Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs have created.

In this article, we’ll discuss the head to head history between the Chiefs and Bills, talk about the background to their rivalry, break down the infamous 2022 AFC Divisional Playoff matchup between these two teams, and predict whether we’ll see them square off in the 2024 NFL playoffs.

Chiefs vs Bills Head to Head History

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have played each other a total of 53 times (including 5 postseason games). In those, the Bills lead the all-time series, 28-24-1. In the playoffs, however, the Chiefs have a 3-2 edge.

The first game ever played between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs franchises was on November 6, 1960, when the Dallas Texans (the former name/location of the Chiefs franchise) beat the Bills, 45-28. The most recent game between these two teams occurred on October 16, 2022, when the Bills beat the Chiefs 24-20.

In this series, the longest winning streak is held by the Buffalo Bills, who won 7 straight games against the Chiefs from December 2, 1962, to December 12, 1965.

Chiefs vs Bills Game Logs

DateVisitorVisitor ScoreHomeHome ScoreResultNotes
12/10/2023Buffalo Bills–Kansas City Chiefs––Scheduled
10/16/2022Buffalo Bills24Kansas City Chiefs20W–
01/23/2022Buffalo Bills36Kansas City Chiefs42L/OT*
10/10/2021Buffalo Bills38Kansas City Chiefs20W–
01/24/2021Buffalo Bills24Kansas City Chiefs38L†
10/19/2020Kansas City Chiefs26Buffalo Bills17L–
11/26/2017Buffalo Bills16Kansas City Chiefs10W–
11/29/2015Buffalo Bills22Kansas City Chiefs30L–
11/09/2014Kansas City Chiefs17Buffalo Bills13L–
11/03/2013Kansas City Chiefs23Buffalo Bills13L–
09/16/2012Kansas City Chiefs17Buffalo Bills35W–
09/11/2011Buffalo Bills41Kansas City Chiefs7W–
10/31/2010Buffalo Bills10Kansas City Chiefs13L/OT–
12/13/2009Buffalo Bills16Kansas City Chiefs10W–
11/23/2008Buffalo Bills54Kansas City Chiefs31W–
11/13/2005Kansas City Chiefs3Buffalo Bills14W–
10/26/2003Buffalo Bills5Kansas City Chiefs38L–
11/17/2002Buffalo Bills16Kansas City Chiefs17L–
11/19/2000Buffalo Bills21Kansas City Chiefs17W–
09/14/1997Buffalo Bills16Kansas City Chiefs22L–
12/22/1996Kansas City Chiefs9Buffalo Bills20W–
10/30/1994Kansas City Chiefs10Buffalo Bills44W–
01/23/1994Kansas City Chiefs13Buffalo Bills30W†
11/28/1993Buffalo Bills7Kansas City Chiefs23L–
01/05/1992Kansas City Chiefs14Buffalo Bills37W*
10/07/1991Buffalo Bills6Kansas City Chiefs33L–
11/30/1986Buffalo Bills17Kansas City Chiefs14W–
09/28/1986Kansas City Chiefs20Buffalo Bills17L–
12/04/1983Buffalo Bills14Kansas City Chiefs9W–
09/12/1982Kansas City Chiefs9Buffalo Bills14W–
12/03/1978Buffalo Bills10Kansas City Chiefs14L–
10/01/1978Kansas City Chiefs13Buffalo Bills28W–
10/03/1976Kansas City Chiefs17Buffalo Bills50W–
10/29/1973Kansas City Chiefs14Buffalo Bills23W–
12/19/1971Buffalo Bills9Kansas City Chiefs22L–
12/07/1969Buffalo Bills19Kansas City Chiefs22L–
11/02/1969Kansas City Chiefs29Buffalo Bills7L–
10/05/1968Kansas City Chiefs18Buffalo Bills7L–
12/03/1967Buffalo Bills13Kansas City Chiefs23L–
01/01/1967Kansas City Chiefs31Buffalo Bills7L‡
10/02/1966Buffalo Bills29Kansas City Chiefs14W–
09/11/1966Kansas City Chiefs42Buffalo Bills20L–
12/12/1965Kansas City Chiefs25Buffalo Bills34W–
10/17/1965Buffalo Bills23Kansas City Chiefs7W–
10/18/1964Buffalo Bills35Kansas City Chiefs22W–
09/13/1964Kansas City Chiefs17Buffalo Bills34W–
10/13/1963Buffalo Bills35Kansas City Chiefs26W–
09/22/1963Kansas City Chiefs27Buffalo Bills27T–
12/02/1962Dallas Texans14Buffalo Bills23W–
09/30/1962Buffalo Bills21Dallas Texans41L–
11/12/1961Buffalo Bills30Dallas Texans20W–
10/15/1961Dallas Texans24Buffalo Bills27W–
12/18/1960Buffalo Bills7Dallas Texans24L–
11/06/1960Dallas Texans45Buffalo Bills28L–

Key:

  • AFC Divisional Playoff Game

Overall Series Record: Buffalo Bills lead 28-24-1 Total Points Scored: Buffalo Bills 1183, Kansas City Chiefs 1106

Chiefs vs Bills Rivalry Background

While these teams have been playing each other for seven decades, the modern rivalry didn’t really begin until the Chiefs and Bills drafted their aforementioned quarterbacks in 2017 and 2018, respectively. But tensions between these teams reached a boiling point after they had an incredible battle in the 2021 AFC Championship game.

Yet, this rivalry isn’t built on bad blood. In fact, much respect has been shown between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

In a quote from February 2023, Allen said this about Mahomes and Kansas City: “They’re the mantra of what you want to be and how you need to do it. Because, again they’re just constantly in the AFC Championship Game; [Mahomes] has been in three Super Bowls now.”

Of course, any respect is dismissed whenever these two juggernauts face off on the field.

Chiefs, Bills 2022 AFC Divisional Playoffs

After finishing the 2021-22 NFL regular season with a 12-5 record, the Kansas City Chiefs finished as the #2 seed in the AFC. They went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, 42-21.

The Buffalo Bills finished the 2021-22 NFL regular season with an 11-6 record, and earned the #3 seed in the AFC. They faced the New England Patriots in the first round of the playoffs, and defeated them 47-17 — which meant they’d face the Chiefs in the second round.

This 2022 AFC Divisional Playoff battle took place in Kansas City. Buffalo started off the game with a 15-play, 71-yard drive (including 2 fourth down conversions), which ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Devin Singletary to give them a 7-0 lead. Kansas City responded with a 13-play, 74-yard drive of their own, which finished when Patrick Mahomes had an 8-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-7.

In the second quarter, the Chiefs completed an 81-yard drive by scoring on a Mahomes 2-yard touchdown pass to Byron Pringle, which gave Kansas City a 14-7 lead. The Bills countered with a drive where Josh Allen rushed twice for 20 yards and completed an 18-yard touchdown completion to Gabe Davis, which tied the score at 14–14. Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker then missed a 50-yard field goal attempt as the second quarter ended.

The Chiefs started the second half with a 64-yard, 15-play drive then culminated with Butker making a 39-yard field goal to give the team a 17–14 lead. The Bills punted on their next drive, then the Chiefs scored again on a 25-yard touchdown run from Mecole Hardman — although Butker missed the extra point, making the score 23-14. Then Josh Allen threw a 75-yard touchdown completion to Davis, making the score 23–21 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill returned a punt 45 yards, Kansas City upped their lead to 26-21 on a 28-yard field goal. Buffalo then responded with a 19-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Allen throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Davis. One play later, Allen completed a pass to Stefon Diggs for a 2-point conversion, giving the Bills a 29-26 lead with 1:54 remaining in the game. Kansas City answered with a 64-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Tyreek Hill, giving them a 33-29 lead.

Taking the ball back with 57 seconds remaining, Allen brought the Bills down to the Kansas City 19-yard line, then with just 13 seconds left on the clock, he threw another 19-yard touchdown pass to Davis to give Buffalo a 36–33 lead. 

On the subsequent kickoff, the Bills kicked long rather than taking a squib kick to try and run off some of the clock — which allowed the Chiefs enough time to march down the field in a few seconds and nail a 49-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.

Kansas City won the coin toss to begin overtime and elected to receive the ball. Getting the ball first in overtime, Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field and ultimately completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, winning the game for Kansas City and ending the Bills’ season.

Kansas Chiefs, Buffalo Bills 2023-24 Team Analysis

The Kansas Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are scheduled to face each other on December 10, 2023, in Kansas City. Considering that the Chiefs are 7-2, in first place in the AFC, and are playing excellent football, there seems no doubt that they’ll make another deep playoff run. The Bills, however, are only 5-4 to start the 2023-24 NFL season, and look like a shell of the team they have been in the past few seasons, while they still have time to turn it around, they’ll likely need to make big changes to their very depleted defense in order to not only make the playoffs, but compete against elite teams like the Chiefs when they get there. Although I wouldn’t put it past Josh Allen to do so, Buffalo has much work ahead if they want to exact revenge for the devastating overtime loss to the Chiefs they suffered back in 2022.

James Idayi
Latest posts by James Idayi (see all)
Posted in NFL