Taylor Swift celebrated with Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 32-29 for a place in the February 9 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
The Kansas City Chiefs have kept their bid for a historic third straight Super Bowl alive after holding off the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in an AFC Championship thriller to set up a National Football League (NFL) title clash with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles’ explosive ground game on Sunday carried them to a 55-23 triumph over the Washington Commanders and into the NFL’s championship showpiece in New Orleans on February 9.
In another tense duel between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Bills counterpart Josh Allen, Mahomes ran for a 10-yard touchdown and completed the two-point conversion to put Kansas City up 29-22 early in the fourth quarter.
After Allen answered with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel to knot the score at 29-29, Harrison Butker booted a 35-yard field goal that capped the scoring – the Chiefs’ defence thwarting the Bills’ last bid.
“I’m just so proud of my teammates and how they responded,” said Mahomes, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. “That was a great football team and I’m just, I’m just lost of words.
“I’m just excited to get down to New Orleans – let’s go make history.”
Kansas City have now ruined the Bills’ dreams in four of the last five post-seasons – twice in the conference championship. The Bills have not made it to the NFL’s championship showpiece since 1993.
Taylor Swift joins in celebrations
The Chiefs were cheered on by Taylor Swift, the pop singer girlfriend of their tight-end Travis Kelce.
The 14-time Grammy Award-winning superstar returned to Arrowhead Stadium and as confetti rained down on the field afterwards, Swift and Kelce kissed in celebration. Swift gave Chiefs coach Andy Reid a big hug, and she continued the party with Kelce’s mother, Donna, and some 80,000 fans who simply refused to leave their seats.
“I’m very thankful that I’m here in Kansas City, playing with the guys and everybody in this building,” said Kelce, who had just two catches for 19 yards as the Bills refused to let him beat them single-handedly.
“It’s a special, special place. We feel that every single day and we just try to take advantage of it and not let it slip out of our hands.”
Swift will almost certainly be in New Orleans with her celebrity friends when the Chiefs go for an unprecedented third straight Lombardi Trophy against the Eagles, who got a big game from Patrick Mahomes and some key stops from their defence to end the Bills’ season for the fourth time in the last five years.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said his team will have to set aside the hype surrounding their “three-peat” bid and focus on the Eagles.
“It still comes down to the game and the purity of the game and each play and how you handle it,” Reid said.
“And so you don’t get yourself too far out of that box. You just concentrate on the opponent and what you’ve got to get done against them.”
Philadelphia Eagles thump Washington Commanders
In Philadelphia, quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley rushed for three touchdowns apiece, rookie running back Will Shipley ran for another and Hurts threw for one TD as the Eagles set a record for points scored in a conference championship game.
They will have a chance to avenge their 2023 Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.
Barkley called reaching the Super Bowl “amazing” but warned the Eagles were not satisfied with the conference crown.
“The goal wasn’t just getting there,” Barkley said. “The goal is to win. And we’re going to celebrate and enjoy this and get right back to work.”
