Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills will clash in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
Both Mahomes and Allen are offensive savants with a clear favorite target (Travis Kelce and Stefon Diggs, respectively) and a penchant for rushing when a gap is available.
Both teams battled throughout the regular season, seeming like they’d miss the playoffs entirely at times, but eventually regained momentum and won their respective Wild Card games against the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, one used this opportunity to take a dig at Mahomes’ wife, Brittany.
Soon, others were joining him:
Patrick Mahomes compares himself, Josh Allen, to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning
When one thinks of “Patrick Mahomes’ best rival,” Josh Allen is certainly the first person who comes to mind. But for the multiple-time champion, MVP, All-Pro, and Pro Bowler, that does not simply do the comparison between them justice.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s practice before the Chiefs visit the Bills, he called their rivalry the equivalent of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.
“I grew up watching those [Brady-Manning] games and remember how many memories I have from that, and hopefully we can play in these great games as well and give memories to the kids that come up behind us,” Mahomes said.
Off the field, however, the two quarterbacks are friends. Two years ago, they opposed Brady and Aaron Rodgers in The Match, a friendly pairs golf tournament held in Las Vegas.
“Josh is a great dude,” Mahomes said. “I respect the way he plays football and just the guy that he is. But when two guys that are ultracompetitive that are friends off the field go up against each other, we obviously both want to win. We see each other in the offseason, and you want to have a little bit of those bragging rights.”
Mahomes and Allen’s clash represents the seventh of their respective careers. The former is just 1-3 in the regular season but 2-0 in the playoffs.