Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen resume NFL’s greatest rivalry in true test of Kansas City Chiefs’ and Buffalo Bills’ Super Bowl credentials | NFL News

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen meet for the 10th time, JJ McCarthy returns for the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts face their toughest test yet. We look ahead to NFL Sunday…

Editor’s note…

Here we go again. Familiar frenemies, an era-defining quarterback rivalry and perennial Super Bowl contenders take centre stage in the NFL.

The schedule-makers are grinning smugly about this one, pitting Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Allen’s Buffalo Bills against one another at the midway point of the campaign. The time to truly begin learning about the league’s top dogs starts here, so too the perfect time to find out what the Chiefs really are in 2025 versus their fiercest rivals after seemingly hurdling their stuttering start out of the blocks.

An offense in turmoil has adapted like dynasty teams do, Mahomes and Andy Reid threatening to punish the rest of the NFL for failing to kill them while they had the chance by inspiring five wins in the last six and three in a row to remind all of their wrongly-doubted championship credentials. Have we learned nothing over the years?

Allen enters the match-up 5-4 in his head-to-head record against Mahomes, 4-1 in the regular season against his foe but having lost all four of the pair’s playoff match-ups. No team and no quarterback has navigated postseason football better than the Chiefs and Mahomes for a large part of the last decade; they have been the quintessential bane of Buffalo’s championship window.

The Chiefs broke Bills hearts again earlier this year when Harrison Butker kicked a decisive field goal with three minutes remaining before Steve Spagnuolo’s famed defense denied Allen at the death to clinch a 32-29 victory in the AFC Championship Game.

Heartbreak, but not their most damaging heartbreak. That came in Kansas City’s Divisional Round playoff win in January 2022 when Mahomes had 13 seconds to set up Butker’s game-tying field goal on the final play of regulation, before the Chiefs snatched victory in overtime.

Only Mahomes boasts more wins, passing touchdowns, total yards and total touchdowns than Allen since the Bills quarterback entered the league. The Chiefs have also been to seven straight AFC Championship Games, three successive Super Bowls and five of the last six Super Bowls, lifting the Lombardi Trophy three times on that occasion.

It is round 10 of the modern Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning duel that has helped shaped the AFC Super Bowl race for the last five years.

“They don’t like us,” said Mahomes.

You think?

Benedict’s stats corner

Sky Sports statistician – and Buffalo Bills fan – Benedict Bermange breaks down some of the key stats heading into Sunday…

• Over the last five seasons, no NFL team has a better regular-season win percentage than the Chiefs (.750) and Bills (.716)
• This will be the 10th match-up between Allen and Mahomes (including playoffs), with each of the last six games between the two quarterbacks decided by fewer than 10 points
• The Falcons defense is allowing just 149.1 net pass yards per game this season, lowest in the NFL
• Saints running back Alvin Kamara needs 91 receiving yards to become just the sixth player in NFL history to have at least 5,000 rushing yards and at least 5,000 receiving yards
• Jaxson Dart has rushed for a touchdown in three straight starts, the longest streak by any Giants QB in franchise history and tied for the third-longest streak by a first-year QB since QB starts were first tracked in 1950
• The Colts offense has scored multiple passing and rushing touchdowns in four consecutive games, tied for the longest such streak by any team in NFL history
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba is 23-years old and has 819 receiving yards through his first seven games of 2025; the only other player in NFL history aged 23 or younger with 800-plus receiving yards through seven games in a season was Isaac Bruce in 1995

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Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds…

“This is going to get scary for the rest of the NFL. Here they [the Chiefs] come again.

“I think Buffalo, everyone says it, you want to play then keep away from Patrick Mahomes, sit him on the bench. So what Buffalo did last week, James Cook rushing for 216 yards, is that their recipe for success against Steve Spagnuolo’s defense?

Sky Sports NFL’s Phoebe Schecter…

“This is like deja vu, isn’t it? It’s incredible how, I’d say probably the past two years and then this one, everyone at the beginning of the season says the Chiefs are done. They can’t play football. They’re imploding. It’s incredible. They’re not gonna make it. And then literally about the same time every year, they’re like, ‘guys, all that matters is that we play well and make it to the playoffs’. They just know how to do this. I mean, it’s almost like this painful blueprint that they’ve created.”

What to watch on Sunday

Sunday November 2

Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh Steelers – KO 6pm, Sky Sports NFL and part Main Event

There is an image on social media of the Colts’ offensive line doing their best impression of Moses parting the Red Sea, only it is a sea of white Tennessee Titans jerseys. Scurrying through the middle, with all the time in the world, is Jonathan Taylor on his way to 153 rushing yards and a fourth three-touchdown game of the season. He is the MVP-contending poster boy of an offense that prides itself on Quenton Nelson’s destructive blockade.

Taylor is up to a league-high 850 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns alongside 206 receiving yards and one touchdown as the only non-kicker in the top 15 scorers in 2025. The Colts are the class of the NFL through eight weeks, led by Taylor and a reborn Daniel Jones, sitting pretty at 7-1. But bigger tests await…

San Francisco 49ers @ New York Giants – KO 6pm, Sky Sports+

The 49ers await news on the health of quarterback Brock Purdy, who was limited in practice this week having missed six games this year due to a toe injury. Mac Jones has led the team at quarterback in his absence, winning four of six starts to help San Francisco to a 5-3 record in a wide-open NFC West.

Running back Christian McCaffrey has shrugged off last season’s injury woes to restore his integral role out of the backfield with a second-most 1,049 scrimmage yards, second only to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor. Tyrone Tracey, meanwhile, returns as starting running back for the Giants after seeing Cam Skattebo ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a dislocated ankle suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week Eight.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Las Vegas Raiders – KO 9pm, Sky Sports+

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen insisted this week under-fire wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr will not be traded ahead of the November 4 deadline; we will see. Thomas has been guilty of sloppy dropped catches and avoiding contact at times this season, as much feeling like Trevor Lawrence has been without a No 1 receiver.

With the spotlight on him after a rough outing in London, it is a perfect opportunity to spark his campaign into life. Star tight end Brock Bowers is primed to make his return for the Raiders having been sidelined with a knee injury since Week Four.

New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Rams – KO 9pm, Sky Sports+ (stream)

More fresh change is coming at quarterback for the stuck-in-QB-purgatory New Orleans Saints as rookie Tyler Shough officially takes over from Spencer Rattler. The second-round pick entered Sunday’s defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in place of the benched Rattler, completing 17 of 30 passes for 128 yards and an interception.

The Los Angeles Rams are coming off their bye week boosted by the expected return of star wide receiver Puka Nacua, in whose absence Davante Adams dazzled with three touchdown catches against the Jaguars in London.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills – KO 9.15pm, Sky Sports NFL and Main Event

You would watch the Chiefs and struggle to believe they lie among the NFL’s best rushing offenses. If you are a stats guru, that is exactly what they are. Mahomes enters Week Nine as the team’s second leading rusher behind Isiah Pacheco with 46 carries for 280 yards, four touchdowns and 20 first down runs, notably leading the league in scramble yard in a nod to his influence on the ground while resurrecting his offense.

The Chiefs rank seventh in rush EPA and ninth in rushing yards per game, but enter with doubts over the health of Pacheco, whose absence would welcome an increased role for Kareem Hunt.

The impact of Buffalo’s own running game was underlined last week as James Cook erupted for 216 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as a driving force of Joe Brady’s offense. He makes magic every time he plays a prominent role on offense, inciting queries from Bills fans as to why he is not used more heavily.

Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Commanders – KO 1.10am Monday morning, Sky Sports NFL and Main Event

You wondered whether Mike Macdonald might have found his own interpretation of Kyle Hamilton, his do-it-all focal point in Baltimore, when he drafted second-round safety Nick Emmanwori. It would never be identical, because finding another Hamilton might be an impossible task, but already Emmanwori is shining as an all-action chess-piece to Seattle’s defense and a rising Defensive Rookie of the Year contender.

The only issue has been a shortage of playing time alongside fellow defensive backs Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Riq Woolen, all of whom have missed games through injury. Macdonald’s versatility means Seattle rank eighth in EPA/play, but he would like his best players out on the field at the same time.

News around the league

• Saints head coach Kellen Moore said he plans to play quarterback Tyler Shough for the rest of the season after the rookie took over from the benched Spencer Rattler against the Buccaneers on Sunday
• Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz will miss the rest of the season as he prepares to undergo surgery on his left shoulder, with JJ McCarthy set to make his return from injury against the Lions
• Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson agreed a four-year $180m contract extension including $141m in guaranteed money, the most guaranteed for a non-quarterback in NFL history
• The Broncos addressed their need at tight end by signing 41-year-old veteran legend Marcedes Lewis, who will be available for elevation to the active roster for Sunday’s match-up with the Texans
• Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin will miss Week Nine’s game against the Seahawks after re-injuring his quadriceps against the Chiefs
• The Patriots are trading 2023 second-round defensive end Keion White to the 49ers

Who said what?

Chiefs QB Mahomes on Bills QB Allen: “To be that size and to be able to move like that, he’s done so many great things as far as throwing the football. He’s gotten better and better each and every year. I think that’s something that I’ve seen in him and something I try to do for myself as well. He’s a great football player.”

Bills QB Allen on Chiefs QB Mahomes: “Any time you’re playing against a good team and a good quarterback, you have to play at the top of your game in order to win a football game. There is a heightened sense of awareness to that of understanding who’s on the other side of the football.”

Giants legend Carl Banks on New York DL Dexter Lawrence: “Dexter Lawrence, nobody respects you anymore. Nobody.”

Lawrence’s response: “Those are strong words. He’s delusional.”

Colts head coach Shane Steichen on team’s 7-1 start: “You always want to start fast in this league. All 32 teams are trying to start fast and go win as many as you can. September, October – great. But I think the season starts in November, December.”

Vikings QB Carson Wentz on controversy over playing through a shoulder injury since Week Five: “This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m not an idiot. I know what I was signing up for going out there. Nobody was forcing me, pressuring me, any of those things.”

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