(Reuters) -Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran in two touchdowns and threw for another as the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday to advance to a Super Bowl match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chiefs will make their fifth trip to the NFL title decider in six years and could become the first team to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy three years in a row if they beat the Eagles, who thrashed Washington in the NFC Championship game.
The Super Bowl in New Orleans on Feb. 9 will be a rematch of the NFL Championship game in 2023 when the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 38-35.
The Bills have not won a road playoff game since 1993 and while they staged an inspired second-half fightback they eventually buckled under the deafening roar of the Kansas City fans at Arrowhead Stadium in the final moments.
“I’m just so proud of my teammates and how they responded,” Mahomes said. “I’m just at a loss for words – excited for New Orleans.”
Buffalo trailed 21-16 at the half but came alive in the third quarter after running back James Cook made a flying leap into the end zone on fourth and goal, stretching his arm to get the ball over the line.
Mahomes, who threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, answered with a 10-yard scramble into the end zone five minutes into a nerve-searing fourth quarter and converted on a two-point attempt to take the lead back.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen leveled it four minutes later, converting on fourth and goal with a four-yard pass to Curtis Samuel, but the momentum flipped yet again as Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made a 35-yard field goal on the next possession.
The Chiefs defense then amped up the pressure on Allen on the Bills’ final drive, with a deep pass to Dalton Kincaid slipping through the tight end’s hands.
“It’s not about one guy, it’s not about a couple guys, it’s about the whole entire team,” said Mahomes. “When we needed the defense to get stops, they got stops. Offense, we made plays. That’s why we’re so special – it was a team effort.”
Earlier on Sunday, the Eagles thrashed the Commanders 55-23 with running back Saquon Barkley rumbling for three touchdowns and quarterback Jalen Hurts accounting for four scores – three rushing and one passing.
“We just took it a play at a time,” said Hurts. “Can’t do any of those things without the guys around me, the preparation we put in.
“We’ve got to finish it.”
The Eagles will play for their second Super Bowl title after the heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs two years ago, when they squandered a 10-point halftime lead.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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