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Mahomes and Chiefs focus on fixing flaws after bid for perfect season ends with loss to Bills
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Mahomes and Chiefs focus on fixing flaws after bid for perfect season ends with loss to Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Chiefs ran out of late-game heroics that made them look unbeatable.

Josh Allen and the Bills ended the two-time Super Bowl champions’ bid for an undefeated season with a 30-21 victory on Sunday. Kansas City (9-1) now turns its attention to maintaining its position atop the AFC — it leads Buffalo (9-2) by half a game — and shores up the flaws that ultimately contributed to a loss.

“The undefeated thing was cool,” the Chiefs quarterback said Patrick Mahomes said. “But that’s not our ultimate goal.”

Mahomes, of course, was referring to Kansas City’s bid to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

To accomplish that, the Chiefs have some work to do after losing for the first time in 16 games (including the playoffs) last season.

Mahomes failed to drive what would have been his fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. The Chiefs didn’t provide any late-game drama like the blocked field goal as time expired to secure a 16-14 victory over Denver a week earlier.

And Kansas City’s defense failed to contain Allen when it mattered. The Bills quarterback sealed the victory with a 26-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 2:17 left.

Maybe the Chiefs can win in the long run after losing.

“I hope it’s a benefit,” Mahomes said. “I feel like we’ve just bounced back with these wins at the end of games. And I think it’s going to trigger us to have more urgency, especially early in football games, especially with the offense.”

Mahomes got off to a slow start, throwing an interception on the second play from scrimmage and didn’t complete a pass until Kansas City’s third possession. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 196 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and oversaw an offense that crossed the middle of the field just three times, passed three times three times, punted four times and finished with a season-low 259 yards.

In a matchup between two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, Mahomes was edged out by Allen, who finished 27-of-40 for 262 yards with a touchdown pass, a rushing TD and an interception.

“That was a guy making a play in the big moment,” Mahomes said of Allen’s TD run. “Whenever the play isn’t there, he does a great job of making plays happen. And that’s what he did in the last play.”

It was the kind of game-winning play the Chiefs are used to making.

But the Bills neutralized the Chiefs playmakers.

Tight end Travis Kelce had two receptions on four targets for eight yards after gaining 254 yards on 32 catches over the last three games. Kansas City’s offense couldn’t find a spark since the trade deadline addition DeAndre Hopkinsor return to recipient JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Backup tight end Noah Gray caught two touchdown passes and Xavier Worthy scored on a 10-yard catch.

Coach Andy Reid lamented that the Chiefs allowed the Bills to convert 9 of 15 third downs, along with Allen’s decisive fourth-down score. The Bills held the ball for 34:03 against a Chiefs team that topped the NFL in average time of possession.

“I think if we come off the field on third down, it’s a totally different landscape of the game,” Reid said.

Reid cited the Chiefs’ loss to the Raiders last December that sparked their run to a third Super Bowl title in four seasons.

“That’s the way it has to be,” Reid said. “There has to be something to build from. It’s something we need. A reality check for us.”

It’s possible the Chiefs and Bills could meet again in January. Although Mahomes fell to 1-4 in regular-season starts against Bill-led Allen, he is 3-0 against them in the playoffs.

“It’s going to take your best football to beat great football teams. And we didn’t play our best football today,” Mahomes said. “All respect to them. It will be a good football team that we will probably see again.”

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AP NFL: