Josh Allen leads Bills past Ravens to reach AFC championship

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Josh Allen galloped into the back of the end zone, looked into the stands and flexed.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback followed center Connor McGovern in for the touchdown, which stretched the Bills lead to 11 points over the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. While the Ravens rallied late, the Bills ultimately held on for a 27-25 win to advance to the AFC Championship. A dropped, would-be 2-point conversion by Mark Andrews and a subsequent onside kick recovery helped seal the win for Buffalo.

This will be the second AFC Championship appearance of Allen's career and ends a streak of three straight divisional round losses.

Allen did not have one of his eye-popping passing performances in the match of the MVP favorites -- completing 16-of-22 passes for 127 yards -- but he led the offense to rushing touchdowns on three of four first-half drives. The quarterback also had eight carries for 22 yards.

Running back James Cook had 67 yards on 17 carries and kicker Tyler Bass made two field goals, including a 51-yarder. The Bills went 10-0 at home this season, tying their most home wins in a season in franchise history (1990).

The win sets up yet another postseason matchup between the Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be the second AFC Championship meeting involving Allen and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes -- the pair met in 2020 in Kansas City. It is the fourth time the quarterbacks will meet in the playoffs. The Chiefs have won the previous three games.

Buffalo Bills (15-4)

Describe the game in two words: Statement made. The Bills weren't favored coming into this game against the Ravens, and there were plenty of question marks about how this team measured up to Baltimore, but they answered almost all of them, never giving up the lead after going up 14-7 in the second quarter and setting up the next big test.

Pivotal play: Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard forcing and recovering a Mark Andrews fumble in the fourth quarter. With the Bills up 24-19, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson found an open Andrews downfield, however, after he caught the pass, Bernard punched the ball out and jumped on it. The play not only gave the Bills offense the ball back late in the game, but stopped what would have been a good gain for the Ravens. The play was part of an opportunistic day for the Bills defense, which forced three takeaways on an offense that had just 11 in the regular season.

Troubling trend: Third-down defense. The woe that faced the Bills defense in the regular season (43.8%, fourth-worst) reappeared against the Ravens with Baltimore converting 7-of-10 third-downs. The issues getting off the field took time away that Allen and the offense could have possessed the ball, and also helped the Ravens offense get going in the second half. That was showcased by Derrick Henry picking up 17 yards on a third-and-1 in the third quarter. -- Alaina Getzenberg

Next game: at Chiefs (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS, Sunday)

Baltimore Ravens (13-6)

Jackson delivered a performance that was unlike any game this season -- but was eerily reminiscent of his playoff struggles.

In committing two turnovers, Jackson will have to wait another year to try to reach that elusive Super Bowl. This was the first time all season that he turned the ball over multiple times, but it follows a rough trend in the postseason.

This was the fourth playoff game where Jackson threw an interception and lost a fumble. The Ravens are 0-4 in those games.

It looked like Jackson had put Baltimore in position to tie the game with 1:33 left in the game when he hit Isaiah Likely for a 24-yard touchdown pass. But Andrews' drop on the two-point conversion sealed the disappointing defeat.

Jackson now falls to 1-4 in divisional round and conference championship games. He remains the only two-time NFL Most Valuable Player to not win a Super Bowl.

Troubling trend: The Ravens' struggles on two-point conversions. Andrews' drop stopped the Ravens from tying the game and became an all-too-familiar sight. It was the second failed two-point conversion for Baltimore in this game, and the Ravens finished 1-of-5 on two-point conversions. The Ravens failed to convert every time they dropped back to pass. The only conversion came on a designed rushing play.

Pivotal play: Jackson's fumble in the second quarter. With the game tied at 7, it looked like the Ravens were about to take the lead, but another Jackson mistake put them behind. After driving to the Bills' 28-yard line, Jackson pulled in a high snap and then lost his grip on the ball when he tried to escape pressure. The Bills returned the fumble 39 yards and scored on a Allen touchdown run four plays later. It was only the second time that Jackson has lost a fumble in his last 12 games.

Describe the game in two words: Uncharacteristic mistakes. After setting a team record in 2024 with the fewest turnovers in a season (11), the Ravens turned the ball over three times against the Bills. The last came in the middle of the third quarter when Andrews had the ball punched away from him around midfield. This was Andrews' second lost fumble of his seven-year career. -- Jamison Hensley