Since 2020, the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens have largely played for the right to fall short to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs.
Over the last five seasons, the Bills and the Ravens rank second and third, respectively, in wins among AFC teams. However, both squads trail the first-place Chiefs, who have beaten Buffalo and Baltimore a combined five times in the postseason since 2020. They’ve also made five of the last six Super Bowls.
And yet, while it may appear to be an early-season overreaction, 2025 is truly starting to feel like the year either the Bills or the Ravens finally break through and make their first Super Bowl appearance of the decade.
Buffalo is 1-0 after Week 1, courtesy of a come-from-behind victory over Baltimore on "Sunday Night Football." The Ravens were cruising for most of the matchup before the Bills pulled off an improbable comeback. Ultimately, both teams looked much better Sunday than Kansas City did to start its season, which began with a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.
The case for Chiefs skepticism really starts with last season. Though Kansas City finished the regular season 15-2, its point differential of +59 was about as close to the 6-11 San Francisco 49ers’ (-47) as it was to either Buffalo’s or Baltimore’s, which both finished +157.
Yes, the Chiefs knocked off the Bills in the AFC championship game en route to the Super Bowl, but that win was by an incredibly thin margin. (And it included at least one very controversial fourth-down call.) Against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59, Kansas City was exposed, losing 40-22 in a game in which it was thoroughly outclassed on both sides of the ball.
Meanwhile, quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson — who finished first and second in MVP voting, respectively, last season — didn’t just close the gap with Patrick Mahomes; they’ve seemingly eclipsed him.
Among the three signal-callers, Mahomes finished third in passing touchdowns, total touchdowns, passer rating, yards per attempt, and interceptions in 2024. Allen and Jackson also have a better passer rating than Mahomes since 2023.
Against the Chargers, Mahomes and the Chiefs weren’t inspiring against a team they’ve largely toyed with over the last few years. Kansas City was inefficient on third down, committed 10 penalties and scored a touchdown on only one of its three red zone trips.
The Bills and the Ravens, on the other hand, traded displays of brilliance Sunday.
Baltimore ran for 238 yards on 29 carries against Buffalo, a whopping 8.2 yards per carry average. Jackson was incredibly efficient, throwing for 209 yards and two scores on 14-of-19 passing. The Ravens were dominant and en route to an impressive victory before a series of could-go-either-way plays late in the fourth quarter, including a doinked extra point, a tip-drill touchdown by the Bills and a Derrick Henry fumble.
And while Buffalo’s defense was gashed for most of the night, the team deserves credit for its resolve. Allen led the offense to 22 points in the fourth quarter, including an 80-yard touchdown drive and a 66-yard drive for the game-winning field goal. Even the Bills’ maligned defense came up big, forcing a Baltimore three-and-out to set up the walk-off kick.
Unlike a Kansas City squad that played on its heels against Los Angeles, Buffalo and Baltimore traded haymakers against top competition.
Of course, dirt has been shoveled on Kansas City’s run of dominance before. Last December, NBC News called the Chiefs the “most vulnerable 12-1 team in NFL history” — and they made it to the Super Bowl, anyway.
Still, going back to the start of the 2024 season, both the Bills and the Ravens have played at a level at or above the Chiefs. If either team is going to break the stranglehold Kansas City has had on the AFC, this should be the year it finally happens.