“Patrick Mahomes shared that he and Josh Allen are close friends off the field, but once the game begins, they become on-field enemies. He emphasized that after the match, they can revert to being friends, following the unwritten rules of the game.”

Josh Allen is hoping the third time’s a charm.The Buffalo Bills quarterback has been knocked out of the playoffs twice by counterpart Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. But this time they’ll meet in Highmark Stadium.

The Divisional Round game at 6:30 p.m. Sunday will be Mahomes’ first true road playoff game, adding intrigue to a highly-anticipated duel between the superstars that’s already included “13 seconds,” the Kadarius Toney offsides and “wildest f—ing call I’ve ever seen”.

Here’s what to know about the Allen-Mahomes rivalry that’s becoming the NFL’s best since Tom Brady-Peyton Manning,Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are 3-3 against each other, including the postseason. Allen is 3-1 head-to-head in the regular season but 0-2 versus Mahomes in the playoffs.

Allen told reporters in 2022 that he first hung out with Mahomes outside of football at the Masters golf tournament. Mahomes also texted and FaceTimed Allen to meet up at F1 in Miami.

“I know people want us to kind of hate each other for what we do and who we play for and how many times we’ve played against each other,” Allen said. “But, it’s hard to hate such a good dude.”

Earlier this year, Allen said Mahomes still owes him from a friendly bet after Allen’s alma mater, Wyoming, defeated Mahomes’ alma mater, Texas Tech in the college football season opener.

The Bills won the most recent matchup against the Chiefs when Kadarius Toney was flagged for offsides, which negated his stunning throwback touchdown from Travis Kelce that would’ve given the Chiefs the lead late in the fourth quarter in Week 14. Buffalo held on for a 20-17 win, and Kansas City was furious with the call. Mahomes blasted the referees with a tantrum on the sideline, during his postgame handshake with Allen and after the game to reporters. A TV camera caught Mahomes telling Allen “wildest f—ing call I’ve ever seen. Offensive offsides on that play, man. F—ing terrible.”