ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns and the Buffalo Bills defeated Lamar Jackson and a turnover-prone Baltimore Ravens team 27-25 in an AFC divisional game on Sunday.
Baltimore, which turned the ball over three times in the loss, had a chance to tie the game in the final two minutes, but tight end Mark Andrews dropped a pass from Jackson on a 2-point conversion attempt. Andrews lost a fumble, as well, earlier in the fourth quarter.
“Nobody cares more and fights more than Mark,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Andrews. “We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews.
“It’s like anything else. Destiny is a decision that you make and how you handle what comes in life. And Mark will handle it fantastic.”
The Bills will take on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs at Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game for their fourth playoff matchup in five years. The Chiefs have defeated the Bills three straight times in the playoffs, including the conference title game four years ago in Kansas City.
Allen scored on runs of 1 yard and 4 yards while Ray Davis also scored on a 1-yard carry for Buffalo. Tyler Bass hit both field goal attempts, including a 21-yarder with 3:29 left after the Bills stalled at Baltimore’s 2-yard line. That drive was set up by the Ravens’ third turnover, as linebacker Terrel Bernard stripped the ball from Andrews at Buffalo’s 44-yard line.
The Bills continued playing complementary football to overcome a patchwork defense and an offense that didn’t have a receiver reach 900 yards this season. Buffalo finished the regular season with a league-best plus-24 turnover differential.
That continued on Sunday with a turnover-free game from Allen and the Bills, who were just good enough on a field that was slick with a dusting of snow. As a result, the Bills closed with a perfect 10-0 record at home. That included a 30-21 win over the previously unbeaten Chiefs in Week 11.
“We’re excited. [There’s] a lot of pride in that locker room. We don’t listen to the outside noise,” Allen said. “Everyone was saying this and that about us. Our guys continue to work hard. We are internally driven.”
The Ravens had one of the NFL’s most productive offenses in the regular season but fell a win short of reaching the conference title game, which they lost to the Chiefs a year ago. Scrutiny of Jackson’s playoff performances will only increase as he fell to 3-5 in the postseason. He had two first-half turnovers in this loss, throwing an interception and losing a fumble. Overall, Baltimore fell to 5-8 in the divisional round, including 1-4 in its last five.
“At the end of the day,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said, “the chips didn’t fall our way.”
The Chiefs (16-2) sat back and watched it all, after advancing on Saturday with a 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans. Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown to Travis Kelce, who had seven catches for 117 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite.
It’ll be the seventh straight AFC championship game for Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Chiefs. They’ve gone 4-2 and have won three Super Bowls, including two in a row. Kansas City is aiming to become the first team in NFL history to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
The Bills (15-4) are 4-2 in AFC title games, but 0-4 in the Super Bowl, losing four in a row from the 1990-93 seasons. According to ESPN BET, Buffalo opened as 1-point underdogs, and the total opened at 48.5 points.
“We gave our defense a chance to go make a play,” Allen said of Sunday’s win. “We made a play there at the end. I’m just so proud of our guys.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.