What makes Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen so hard to stop?

Stopping either Patrick Mahomes oregon Josh Allen successful the last moments of the 2021 AFC divisional crippled betwixt the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills didn't look possible. Two of the NFL's champion quarterbacks exchanged stroke aft stroke astatine Arrowhead Stadium.

Led by their prima quarterbacks, the teams combined for 25 points successful the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, the 2nd astir successful immoderate crippled successful the Super Bowl era. The crippled was the archetypal successful NFL past to diagnostic some quarterbacks throwing for astatine slightest 300 yards, 3 touchdowns and nary interceptions and besides moving for astatine slightest 50 rushing yards. It served arsenic a showcase for 2 of the NFL's astir unsocial and productive players astatine the position.

While the Chiefs would spell connected to different AFC Championship Game with a 42-36 triumph successful overtime, the dominance of the 2 quarterbacks and the occurrence the offenses enjoyed volition beryllium remembered from that matchup betwixt quarterbacks who person led the NFL successful combined passing and rushing touchdowns since 2019.

"One of the biggest challenges is conscionable ability. They person the quality to spell near oregon right, spot down the tract and marque throws that not galore radical successful the league tin make," longtime New England Patriots antiaircraft backmost Devin McCourty said. "I deliberation the 2nd portion of that is that they're some mobile capable to truly wounded you. We saw that erstwhile they played against each other. It wasn't amusive arsenic a antiaircraft subordinate [to watch], but it was besides chill to spot their greatness amusement successful the backmost and distant due to the fact that it was those 2 guys making plays."

The existent MVP favorites, per Caesars Sportsbook -- Allen +200 and Mahomes +450 -- volition conscionable for the 5th clip Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). With the Bills and Chiefs starring the NFL successful respective violative categories, the result of the crippled mightiness again travel down to which defence tin marque a stop.

However the crippled plays retired Sunday, it volition beryllium a must-watch matchup betwixt 2 quarterbacks who person been among the toughest for opposing defenses to solve. -- Alaina Getzenberg

MAHOMES HAS COMPLETED galore unconventional passes successful his four-plus seasons arsenic an NFL starting quarterback, whether they beryllium of the no-look, sidearmed oregon adjacent left-handed variety.

He added to his postulation successful a caller Sunday nighttime crippled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After being chased from the pouch and scrambling down the enactment of scrimmage for 39.4 yards, Mahomes did a 360 rotation to debar a defender earlier flipping a 2-yard touchdown walk to moving backmost Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

More than anything, what sets Mahomes isolated is his quality to rapidly accommodate to changing circumstances and marque a play erstwhile seemingly nary is there.

"The NFL hasn't seen thing similar Mahomes, I committedness you that,'' Chiefs choky extremity Travis Kelce said aft the game. "You saw it today. He's the Houdini of our era. The feline conscionable finds ways to marque plays passim the crippled -- big-time 3rd downs, big-time goal-line plays, conscionable consenting our squad to the extremity zone, consenting our squad to win. That's our eventual leader, man."

Kelce would undoubtedly get statement from the opposing teams Mahomes has astir thrived against. One is the Las Vegas Raiders. After a sparkling come-from-behind show successful a 30-29 Chiefs triumph connected Monday night, Mahomes is 8-1 against the Raiders with 26 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

"The happening astir Mahomes is evidently he's very, precise bully astatine erstwhile things don't spell close scheme-wise, erstwhile the play breaks down, he's evidently idiosyncratic who tin adapt,'' Raiders antiaircraft lineman Clelin Ferrell said. "That's astir apt the hardest happening for a rusher, due to the fact that erstwhile you cognize wherever a quarterback's going to beryllium ... it makes it a batch easier to cognize however you're going to unreserved him. But Pat Mahomes, it whitethorn beryllium a play wherever he's backing out, he's 20 feet deep, and he's throwing it disconnected his backmost foot.

"It's conscionable being wary, knowing however to unreserved him, knowing erstwhile you tin instrumentality chances, knowing erstwhile not to. Regardless of each that, we've got to beryllium acceptable for him to tally each day. Because he's truly bully astatine that, too, erstwhile the play breaks down. Don't get maine wrong, I don't privation to accidental [he's] unconventional. He knows helium has a program erstwhile helium goes retired there. I conscionable consciousness he's truly bully astatine adapting.''

Mahomes is 3-1 against the Bills, including 2-0 successful the playoffs, heading into Sunday's crippled astatine Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes has a QBR of 84.2 against Buffalo.

"You deliberation you've got things covered up, and past helium starts moving around, and it becomes backyard football, and guys are scrambling and trying to get into presumption to marque plays,'' Bills antiaircraft coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "He's conscionable a terrific jock who tin marque throws from anyplace astatine immoderate angle. There truly is nary defence for that. You've conscionable got to clasp connected and anticipation you tin marque immoderate plays on the way. But he's going to marque immoderate plays, getting retired of the pocket, moving for archetypal downs, making weird throws disconnected balance."

Blitzing and pressuring Mahomes mostly hasn't been a bully strategy for opposing defenses either. He is archetypal since becoming a starter successful 2018 successful QBR erstwhile blitzed (91) and archetypal erstwhile pressured (64).

Confusing him with coverages has been much effective. In the archetypal fractional of past year's AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Mahomes threw for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Bengals past changed tactics, going astir exclusively with a three-player unreserved and dropping 8 into coverage.

In the 2nd fractional and overtime, Mahomes threw for 55 yards with 2 interceptions.

"It was forcing him to clasp connected to the shot a small bit, but keeping him successful the pouch and not allowing him to bargain other clip oregon the receivers to get distant from coverage,'' McCourty said. "I thought it was precise absorbing immoderate of the 3-man unreserved worldly they did. It sounds good, but you inactive request to make immoderate benignant of unit with it.''

In Kansas City, Kelce isn't the lone Chief to marvel astatine Mahomes' play. Coach Andy Reid does, too. He said helium reminds his coaches to admit the infinitesimal each clip Mahomes makes 1 of his peculiar plays.

Maybe the lone 1 who isn't impressed is Mahomes himself. To him, he's conscionable doing what helium does.

"I conscionable effort to win,'' Mahomes said aft the Tampa Bay game. "At the extremity of the time that's what I effort to do. It's not similar I'm readying these things wherever I'm throwing sidearm oregon immoderate it is, spinning, moving around. I ever accidental I'm a competitor, and I'm going to find immoderate mode I tin bash to marque our squad person success.

"Today was a rotation and a little, I don't know, a hoops changeable that ended up a touchdown." -- Adam Teicher

ALLEN STARTED THE Bills' 38-3 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers connected Sunday with a bang. On the Bills' 3rd play, from their 2-yard line, Allen fired 38 yards downfield into a beardown wind. Wide receiver Gabe Davis caught the walk mid-stride and raced into the extremity portion for the 98-yard score.

Allen didn't fto up from there. In a three-minute span successful the 2nd quarter, helium added 3 much touchdown passes earlier finishing the archetypal fractional with 348 passing yards and 4 TDs against 1 interception. He finished the crippled with 424 yards, completing 20 of 31 passes, portion besides starring the Bills successful rushing with 42 yards connected 5 carries.

"Josh Allen is simply a creature. He's a beast," Bills linebacker Von Miller said. "He tin marque each propulsion connected the shot field. He tin tally the ball. He's big, he's strong. The facet that I emotion astir him the astir is his quality to get guys to play astatine a level that they wouldn't usually play at. ... It's Josh Allen's quality to marque these guys consciousness similar superheroes."

Allen, 26, is 1-3 against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes each time, but it's not reflective of his play wide successful those games, which includes 11 passing touchdowns to 2 interceptions and 1 rushing touchdown.

After steadily improving successful his archetypal 2 NFL seasons, Allen has since emerged arsenic a apical backmost successful the league implicit the past 3 years. His career-best play to day came successful 2020, erstwhile his completion percent jumped from 58.8% the twelvemonth anterior to 69.2%. His touchdown percent improved from 4.3% to 6.5%.

"[Allen] plays smart. He makes you marque sense. He's going to instrumentality his chances erstwhile helium can, but he's not going to unit the ball," Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs said.

Extending plays has go 1 of Allen's specialties, and overmuch of that comes from his betterment throwing extracurricular the pocket. After throwing 5 touchdowns to 7 interceptions and posting a 12.1 QBR connected specified throws successful his archetypal 2 seasons, Allen has been a antithetic subordinate from 2020 on.

Allen's QBR connected throws extracurricular of the pouch since 2020 is 70.9, and helium has thrown 22 touchdowns to conscionable 2 interceptions.

"Usually erstwhile you're playing a feline that tin run, it's look downfield, look astatine the rush, past run," McCourty said of the antiaircraft challenge. "When you play these guys who are capable to beryllium pouch passers but are besides capable to flight the pouch and propulsion oregon run, it presents a precise pugnacious challenge. I deliberation however you dilatory them down -- you person to make immoderate confusion."

Indianapolis Colts caput manager Frank Reich said he's gained a batch of respect for however overmuch Allen has grown arsenic a player.

"I conscionable deliberation erstwhile you commencement looking astatine the peculiar skills of playing quarterback, you know, I saw it coming retired similar his archetypal year, I thought helium was great," Reich said. "But I thought his accuracy needed to beryllium improved. And I deliberation he's done a phenomenal occupation astatine that. I mean, he's truly turned into not conscionable a large jock and a large playmaker, but I deliberation he's turned into an close passer. I deliberation he's worked astatine it."

Allen is besides unsocial due to the fact that of his size -- 6-foot-5, 237 pounds -- which makes him hard to bring down erstwhile the shot is successful his hands, which it often is.

On the winning thrust against the Baltimore Ravens successful Week 4, Allen appeared acceptable to instrumentality a sack for a nonaccomplishment of astir 10 yards with linebacker Odafe Oweh closing successful connected him. Instead, helium spun away, ran to his near and recovered rookie wide receiver Khalil Shakir downfield adjacent the sideline.

"The biggest happening I deliberation is conscionable tackling erstwhile you get to him, due to the fact that he's specified a pugnacious tackle. He's a D-end assemblage type," Ravens antiaircraft tackle Calais Campbell said. "He's beauteous overmuch the aforesaid size arsenic Odafe, and he's beardown and athletic, and helium tin marque each propulsion connected the move. So, he's a pugnacious opponent. I deliberation the biggest happening is conscionable erstwhile you get to him, you person to get him down."

Campbell added: "I've seen him tally implicit D-linemen, which is uncommon for a quarterback; I mean, it's uncommon for anybody with the shot successful their hands, but particularly a quarterback. So, I person the utmost respect for him. I know, for america to halt him, we person to bring our 'A' game. It's bully prime football."

One of the large caller critiques of the Bills' discourtesy has been that it relies excessively overmuch connected Allen and not capable is done to impact the moving game. Allen is the Bills' starring rusher (35 carries, 225 yards and 2 touchdowns), and helium has accounted for 16 of the Bills' 17 violative touchdowns this season.

"[Allen's] an elite passer, he's an elite runner oregon creator. It's challenging. It's elemental mathematics," Pittsburgh Steelers manager Mike Tomlin said. "They've got immoderate receivers similar Diggs that necessitate attraction that could mean 2 people, whether portion oregon antheral schematically. Anytime you're facing a backmost similar Josh, oftentimes it means 5 rushers. So, bash the math. When you've got that benignant of endowment connected the perimeter, erstwhile you've got that benignant of endowment successful the pouch astatine quarterback, it makes defence challenging." -- Getzenberg