National Football League

Patrick Mahomes: Bills 'got what they asked for' from Chiefs

Published Jan. 23, 2024 1:12 p.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes was certainly aware of the noise surrounding the fact that he'd yet to play a road playoff game prior to the Chiefs' win over the Bills.

The all-world quarterback seemed to respond to Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins' comments about how this past Sunday's game was different from prior matchups.

"Real quick, real quick, real quick. Hey! They asked for it and they got what they asked for," Mahomes said in his speech following Kansas City's divisional round win, which was captured by NFL Films. "But [Travis Kelce] said it. This s--- ain't done. We come back next week ready to f---ing go!"

"And turn it up a notch!" Kelce exclaimed before Mahomes closed out the Chiefs' locker room celebration.

Sunday's game, which the Chiefs won 27-24, marked only the second time that Mahomes has played at Highmark Stadium. Mahomes' first game in Orchard Park took place in the COVID-affected 2020 season, when fans weren't allowed to attend Bills home games during the regular season.

Dawkins made note of that when he spoke to reporters before the game, as the Chiefs hosted the Bills in the five previous matchups between the two teams.

"[Mahomes has] only been here once. So he's never been here. Simple as that," Dawkins said. "Pat has never been to the Bills stadium in full. ... The environment will be different, and not to say it's in our favor, but stadium is our favor. Stadium is us. That helps us. I don't care what nobody says. This is the most dopest feeling I've ever had. We're having two back-to-back playoff games [at] home. Come on now, like, we get to leave and go eat wings. It's cool. So, good luck."

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In addition to responding to Dawkins in his postgame speech, Mahomes quoted the Bills offensive lineman in a social media post celebrating the win.

"Good Luck," Mahomes wrote in an Instagram post with a clock emoji.

Winning on the road was clearly on the front of Mahomes' mind in the immediate aftermath of the game.

"First off, this is a great environment, man. It really is," Mahomes told CBS Sports. "But we did hear it all week about playing a road game, and we're here to prove a point and show that we can play anywhere."

"I love being at Arrowhead," Mahomes added in postgame interviews. "I love being at Arrowhead and playing in front of that crowd. But when you're on the road, it's you versus them. It's you versus everybody in the stadium, and you have to come together as a team and let guys do that. You saw that in the game today."

If Mahomes and the Chiefs want to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 20 years, they'll have to win one more road game. They travel to Baltimore to take on the top-seeded Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, as they seek to win their fourth conference title in the Mahomes era.