Josh Allen's Super Bowl quest resumes - can the NFL MVP finally dethrone Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs?

Josh Allen feints as if to run away when the word 'Chiefs' arises in conversation. He swiftly retreats, acknowledging the funny side to haunting memories for his Buffalo Bills in the face of Kansas City supremacy. 

The Chiefs have held a monopoly on the AFC as a stubborn gateway to the Super Bowl in the Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid era, of which no team has bore the brunt more than Allen and Sean McDermott's perennial contenders.

Buffalo, winners of five straight AFC East division titles, have been beaten by the Chiefs in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including twice in the AFC Championship Game after suffering a 32-29 defeat last January as they fell at the final hurdle on the path to Super Bowl LIX.

Allen himself is 2-5 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but the reigning MVP returns undeterred in his bid to deliver a long-awaited ring in what awaits as Buffalo's final year at Highmark Stadium.

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"We have the same mentality that we're always gonna have; playoff calibre, get ourselves in the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to win the Super Bowl," Allen told Sky Sports.

"And you know, it's no secret that they've beaten us a few times in the past, and all we can do is put our head down and keep working.

"And I keep telling myself, you know, God's timing is always right, so kind of trust in the plan upstairs and just keep trying to do."

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The Bills kickoff the 2025 campaign as one of the leading contenders to slay a Chiefs dynasty team that has reached the Super Bowl in five of the last six seasons.

Kansas City were denied a historic third straight Super Bowl title in February when they lost 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.

Between Allen and Mahomes, Reid and McDermott and their respective rosters, they have emerged as one of the era-defining rivalries in the NFL.

"They (the Chiefs) are a great team," head coach McDermott told Sky Sports. "They're well coached, they've got a great quarterback, they're tough to beat, and their record shows that. Their success in the postseason shows that.

"I think we've been challenging for them over the years, just not being able to finish it off. So it's never about one team, really.

"If it is about one team, it's our team and getting us better and continuing to work towards our purpose as a team, as an organisation, and everything will take care of itself."

Once upon a time, Allen's credentials as an elite NFL quarterback were drenched in grimacing doubts as erratic decision-making, ugly turnovers and accuracy inconsistencies marred a turbulent transition from college. He would go on to transform his trajectory alongside former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, now head coach of the New York Giants, to evolve into a unique model of the modern quarterback position.

Out came one of the league's most destructive field-titling arms, coupled with a game-wrecking, game-winning threat on the ground. It would amount to immovable playoff contention and yearly MVP candidacy at the forefront of a loaded AFC.

"The growth that I've had, just learning the ins and outs of football, how to be a pro," said Allen. "I've had a lot of guys in front of me that have taught me the way, and I think the number one thing that I try to follow is be as authentic to myself as possible."

"I think that that rubs off on guys in a great way. And you can come to this organisation and be exactly who you are, and all we ask is you bust your tail on the football field and everything else will take care of itself."

Within a mature Allen, an efficient Allen and a needle-threading Allen, too, remains Allen the showman, whose aggressiveness downfield continues to shred best-laid coverage plans and whose hurdles retain a notion of alter-ego ludicrousness.

"It's all split-second stuff, it's nothing that I practice," said Allen. "I work hard in the in the weight room, and our strength staff is doing a great job. It all just happens in a split second. And I really am not thinking, and that's honestly the best thing you can do.

"Even with mechanics, I'm trying to get to a point where I don't think about it - I just do it, right? It becomes autonomous. And sometimes, when you're on the football field, there's another guy that takes over inside my mind, and I just let him go sometimes."

His ascent to team-elevating X factor was just amplified by an MVP season in which he threw for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns to a career-fewest six interceptions, while rushing for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns with a career-fewest five fumbles, having also taken a career-fewest 14 seconds after previous scrutiny over costly losses.

It has been for the likes of Allen that defenses around the NFL scrambled to retreat into two-high shells and umbrella coverages while reliant on four-man rushes in a bid to try and eradicate football's biggest, angle-defying arms.

He has become one of the faces of the league and a picture of difference-making reliability; that an alien like Allen remains in wait of his first Super Bowl appearance is as glowing a reflection as there could be of how special Mahomes, Reid and their Chiefs have been.

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"It's been really fun to watch Josh grow on the field and the magnificent plays he makes," said McDermott. "He wows us every weekend with what he can do, and wows the fans across the world with everything he can do in a football uniform.

"What's been more special to me is watching him grow as a young man and getting married this offseason and just experience life, right?

"And so I'm just super proud of him for what he has accomplished on the field, but even more proud for what he's done off the field and the role model he is to so many young kids out there."

Allen's pay day arrived this offseason as he signed a six-year $330m contract extension including what at the time marked a record $250m in guaranteed money. A Lombardi to accompany it would be nice.

"I love playing football and everything else kind of takes care of itself the way it's supposed to, but my main focus is going out there and playing as hard as I can, still continuing to grow and learn from this game and go out there and do as much as I can to help this team win football," said Allen.

A staple of the Allen reign has been consistent improvement, with the NFL's self-effacing MVP more than willing to admit there is room for growth.

"I think still limiting turnovers and just continuing to keep working hard and growing," he continued. "I think that some people can get lost in in what you've done in the past and not find ways to continue to get better.

"And I'm not going to be one of those guys. If every opportunity that I get to learn, I'm going to learn from it and keep moving."

There is a 'his year' and a 'their year' narrative gathering pace in Buffalo in light of cracks in the Chiefs armour. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will make the same argument. So too Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Allen backs himself to win that race.

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