Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen talk about friendship ahead of Divisional Round

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have developed quite a rivalry, as they’ve had numerous matchups over the past few years.

The two have faced off against each other a total of seven times, splitting the games at three apiece. Allen has a 3-1 advantage in the regular season, but Mahomes leads when it counts the most, holding a 2-0 lead in the postseason.

Despite their rivalry on the gridiron, it has not deterred the two from developing a friendship off the field.

“We’re fairly good friends, and obviously, in the offseason, we tend to play some together,” Allen said. “He’s a fantastic player; his track record and his resume speaks for himself at such a young age. One of the greatest quarterbacks to already play this game.’

Mahomes said the friendship adds to the competitiveness of the rivalry and makes him want to win even more.

“You have friends, but almost like when you compete against your friends, you almost want to win even more because of it,” Mahomes said. “Josh is a great dude. I respect the way that he plays football and just the guy that he is.

“But it’s like when two guys that are ultra-competitive that are friends off the field go up against each other. We obviously both want to win, ’cause we know we see each other in the offseason, and you want to have a little bit of those bragging rights.”

When they play against each other on Sunday, it will be Mahomes’ first career road playoff game and the Chiefs first road playoff game in eight years.

Chiefs-Bills has dealt some instant classics in the past since the two began leading their franchises, usually coming down to the last possession.

So it will be fascinating to see what round seven has in store for us.

Kickoff for the game will be at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.