This will be just the third time that teams with 13 or more regular season wins each have met in the conference’s championship game, the others seeing the Jaguars take on the Titans in 1999 and then the Steelers against the Patriots five years later.
Kansas City are the reigning champions and the top seeds, yet they go into the game with a major injury cloud over their superstar quarterback. Patrick Mahomes was unable to finish the Divisional Round win over the Cleveland Browns due to a concussion in the third quarter, leaving Chad Henne to see the team over the line.
A second-round pick in 2008, Henne experienced both highs and lows during his first playoff experience. He would definitely have wanted to try again with a deep throw that was intercepted, yet he also completed a key fourth-down pass that sealed a 22-17 triumph.
Mahomes has been limited in practice as he goes through the NFL's concussion protocols but it is hoped he will be fit to face the Bills, who have no such concerns over the health of starter Josh Allen.
Quarterbacks in the spotlight
The showdown will potentially be the second all-time meeting in the conference championship round between starting quarterbacks aged 25 or younger, the other coming back in 1979 when Vince Ferragamo and the Rams went up against Doug Williams' Buccaneers in the NFC. This will be the second meeting between the teams this season, though. Back in Week 6, Buffalo suffered their only home loss as the visiting Chiefs prevailed 26-17, though Mahomes was happy to play a supporting role as the visitors piled up 245 yards rushing.
Super Bowl heartache
The Bills will be confident they can avenge that October defeat on the road, particularly after an impressive display from their defense in the 17-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens last time out. Buffalo allowed the fewest number of points in a playoff game since 1992, in a period when the franchise was hugely successful under head coach Marv Levy. Indeed, they are the only team ever to win conference title games in four straight years, from 1990-93. A Super Bowl triumph eluded them back then, but could this finally be their year? If they want to keep their hopes alive in 2021, they will surely need to be more proficient at running the ball this week, having posted a season-low 32 yards on the ground against the Ravens.
Too tight to call?
The Chiefs - appearing in the AFC Championship decider for a third straight year - have made a habit of being involved in close encounters during this campaign. Andy Reid's team have come out on top in eight of their last nine outings, though all those victories have come by six or fewer points, the longest single-season streak in NFL history (including playoffs) of wins by six points or less. The numbers suggest we could be in for further drama this weekend, while Mahomes' availability could prove crucial in deciding who ends up lifting the Lamar Hunt Trophy at Arrowhead Stadium.
Allen, who had been considered a leading contender for the MVP award, appeared to be in pain towards the end of the game as he grabbed his right elbow.
It seemed to have stemmed from Allen being sacked by Jets rusher Bryce Hall in one of the last plays of the game at MetLife Stadium.
Afterwards, however, Allen was fairly relaxed about his condition even if he acknowledged he did receive a knock.
"There's some slight pain," he said. "I'll get through it."
Generally, though, Allen's demeanour in the post-game press conference was by no means upbeat.
Defeat saw the Bills lose two games in a row after beginning the season with six wins on the bounce, and Allen's own performance came under intense scrutiny.
It has even been suggested his display was poor enough to take him out of the MVP running after the 26-year-old was 18-of-34 for 205 yards – a season low – and two interceptions.
Allen was also sacked five times, and he seemingly believed responsibility for the defeat was on him.
"It's tough to win in this league when you're playing a good team and your quarterback plays like s***.
"[I] made some bad decisions tonight that really hurt our team. [There's] a lot to learn from, lot to grow from.
"But that's not the standard we hold ourselves to, that's not the ball we play. Lots to look at, lots to learn from."
The 6-2 Bills remain top of the AFC East despite the defeat and will hope to avoid a third consecutive loss when they face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Henry scored his third touchdown for the Titans (4-2) with just over three minutes remaining against the AFC East-leading Bills (4-2) on Monday.
The Titans then held up Bills signal-caller Allen on a fourth-down quarterback sneak in the final seconds to snap Buffalo's four-game winning streak.
Henry joined Jim Brown (1958) as the only players in NFL history to rush for three-plus touchdowns in a game three times in the first six games of a season, according to Stats Perform.
Through Week 6, Henry has three games with 125 or more rushing yards and three-plus rushing touchdowns – it is tied for the most such games in a single season in the Super Bowl era.
After a tense opening quarter – Tyler Bass' field goal for the Bills was the only score – Buffalo and Tennessee traded touchdowns in the second period.
Henry sparked the Titans with a memorable 76-yard TD run before Allen threw a 14-yard pass to Stefon Diggs just over three minutes later and the see-sawing battle continued – Allen's pass to Cole Beasley cancelled out Ryan Tannehill's (18-of-29 passing for 216 yards and an interception) four-yard run to give the Bills a 20-17 half-time lead.
Bass' third field goal and Allen's third TD pass (finishing 35 of 47 for 353 yards, three TDs and an interception) to Tommy Sweeney outweighed Henry's touchdown run as the Bills stretched their lead to 31-24 heading into the final period.
But Tennessee's defence came up big after Henry scored the only TD of the fourth quarter, having watched Randy Bullock convert his 38-yard field goal.
The Bills blew away the Titans after leading 10-7 in the second quarter, with Allen finishing the game with four touchdown passes, completing 26 of 38 passes for 317 yards with no interceptions.
Diggs got on the end of three of those, including a 46-yard third-quarter hand cannon, having 12 receptions for 148 yards. Allen has contributed to four or more TDs in each of his past four games, including playoffs.
Buffalo's win means they have won six straight regular-season games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. It is also the Bills' NFL-best 13th 14-point-plus win over the past two seasons, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next best with eight.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, who was benched late, threw 11 of 20 passes for 117 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, including a Matt Milano pick six. The Bills face the 2-0 Miami Dolphins in Week 3, with three of their next four games on the road.
The Philadelphia Eagles joined the Bills with a 2-0 record after a 24-7 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings led by Jalen Hurts who had a major hand in all three of their touchdowns.
Hurts threw for one touchdown (finishing with 26-of-31 passing for 333 yards), while he ran in two TDs (57 yards from 11 carries), helping the Eagles open up a 24-7 half-time lead, with neither side scoring in the second half. Hurts landed a 53-yard pass for Quez Watkins' TD.
The Eagles defense managed three interceptions from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who completed 27 of 46 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown to Irv Smith Jr.
Allen, who completed 27 of 40 attempts for 329 yards with no interceptions, found Dawson Knox for the game-winning touchdown with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills sealed the win when Von Miller broke a double team to apply pressure on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes whose pass for Skyy Moore was picked by cornerback Taron Johnson with 0:41 remaining.
It ended a seesawing contest that had four lead changes, was tied at every change and was within one score throughout, with the AFC East-leading Bills moving ahead of the AFC West-leading Chiefs who fall to 4-2.
Mahomes made 25 of 40 attempts for 338 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, with Bills rookie Kaiir Elam picking off a redzone pass in the first quarter. Chiefs wide receiver Travis Kelce made franchise history by reaching the record for consecutive games with a reception (132), finishing with eight receptions for 108 yards but no TDs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had five receptions for 113 yards, spun past two defenders after receiving a Mahomes pass for the opening TD, before Allen found Gabe Davis to reply before half-time, with Harrison Butker's franchise-record 62-yard field goal tying it up at half-time.
Stefon Diggs, who had 10 receptions for 148 yards, added his sixth receiving touchdown this season when Allen found him for 17-yard score but the Chiefs responded again as Mahomes punched a pass to Mecole Hardman.
Butker put the Chiefs up 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but Allen found Knox in the endzone to flip the script.
Rams respond as Anderson thrown out by Panthers
The Los Angeles Rams ground their way to a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers to snap their two-game skid and move to 3-3.
Scores were locked at 10-10 with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter when wide receiver Ben Skowronek swept down the outside and into the endzone for his career-first TD.
Matthew Stafford shook off the Rams' offensive issues to complete 26 of 33 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown for Allen Robinson, while Darrell Henderson rushed a fourth-quarter TD to pad the win.
Amid the Panthers' own offensive struggles, interim coach Steve Wilks threw Robbie Anderson out of the game after a heated argument with position coach Joe Dailey.
Allen was listed as questionable for the game on the injury report, while the Bills opted not to elevate third-string QB Matt Barkley to the active roster.
The MVP candidate, who has led Buffalo's offense with 2,403 passing yards for 19 touchdowns along with 392 rushing yards and four other scores on the ground this season, was limited at Friday practice having picked up the elbow injury late in Sunday's loss to the New York Jets.
Allen has only participated in one day of practice this week, having sat out on Wednesday and Thursday but Bills head coach Sean McDermott remained bullish.
"We are literally in an hour-to-hour situation here just looking at how he's going to progress through the day," McDermott told reporters on Friday.
"As he goes through these different tests, medically, making sure that he's able to check the boxes in a progression to where we can see if we can proceed through the course of the day here."
ESPN has reported that Allen's specific concern is an ulnar collateral ligament, related to nerves, in his right elbow. Allen missed four games in the 2018 season with a similar injury to the same arm.
Case Keenum is Allen's back-up QB and he has spoken about being prepared to play if required this week.
"At the end of the day, Josh needs to be Josh, if he's able to play," McDermott added. "And if Case plays, then Case needs to be Case and run the offense."
The Bills are 6-2 and atop the AFC East division, while the Vikings are 7-1 and clear on top of the NFC North on the back of a six-game winning run.
Buffalo lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 42-36 in overtime in the divisional playoffs last season.
The Bills overcame the Baltimore Ravens 17-3 on Saturday to progress in the NFL playoffs, quarterback Allen throwing a touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in what was a hard-fought victory.
That score put Buffalo 10-3 ahead in the third quarter, though the Ravens threatened to respond with a drive of their own that put them in range to score.
However, cornerback Johnson picked off a pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson in the end zone and then returned the ball 101 yards, creating clear daylight between the teams in a low-scoring contest.
Buffalo will be involved in the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1994; they will either travel to the Kansas City Chiefs or host the Cleveland Browns next Sunday.
"This was a fun one to be part of. There are some things we can clean up but, at the end of the day, it's the playoffs: you win or go home," Allen told the media.
"Our defense stepped up. Taron Johnson made the play that just changed the game. Unbelievable.
"We've got to turn our focus to the Browns or Chiefs next week - and that's what we were going to do."
Johnson tied the NFL record for the longest interception return for a touchdown in a playoff game, matching Green Bay's George Teague, who achieved the feat for the Packers in the 1993 Wild Card round against the Detroit Lions.
Allen divulged how he played a minor role in helping his team-mate produce a play that will live long in the memory.
"I saw him come out of the end zone with a lot of bodies around him, and usually you want them to stay in. I thought he was going to get tackled at the five or the 10," he said.
"I tell you what, for Tre'Davious White to go ahead and get a block on Lamar, spring him free, was unbelievable. You practice for those situations.
"I'm going to give myself a pat on the back, as in practice I go up behind him and try to punch the ball out. So Taron had that extra sense to look back, feel that someone was coming and to hold onto the ball.
"It was an unbelievable play, one of those that will be remembered for a really long time."
Allen suffered his elbow injury in the Bills' Week 9 loss to the New York Jets in early November, and despite trying to tough his way through it, it clearly affected his play.
The month of November was easily his worst of the season, throwing only four touchdowns with five interceptions over four games while also sporting a passer rating of 75.9 – far below the 98.8 figure he either reached or eclipsed in September, October, December and January.
Although his stats rebounded in the lead-up to and during the playoffs, Allen still appeared to be struggling with his elbow on certain throws, and he could only lead the Bills to one touchdown in the 27-10 elimination loss at home to the Bengals.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Allen acknowledged the pain in his elbow messed with his throwing mechanics but said the rehabilitation plan is simple.
"Rest and recovery is going to be really good for it," he said. "I mean, there was a period, obviously, right after, for a few weeks, where it was pretty bothersome – but again, it didn't affect me all that much.
"I just felt like maybe I was trying to throw it a little differently mechanically, had to change a few things and got away a little bit from how I'm used to throwing the ball. That's just a by-product of that.
"I think, really, two weeks ago is when I felt like I got back to mechanically what I like. Being the rotational thrower, it's very elbow prevalent, and maybe I got a little bit to more of a linear-type deal because I just couldn't really use all that much force and flicking it out there, but, again, just adapting."
When asked about what will stick with him from the 2022 season, Allen said he was proud of how his team came together during a string of traumatic events – including a deadly blizzard in Buffalo and the cardiac arrest of safety Damar Hamlin.
"The adversity that this team [has] overcome," he said. "There's a lot of stuff that happened to a football team that I don't know if it's ever happened before.
"Just battling through that with the guys in this locker room and us trusting each other. Obviously, we want to win, make no mistake about it. But I'm proud of how this team was able to fight through some of the stuff that we went through."
That sentiment was echoed by defensive leader Von Miller, who said: "It's an honour to be a Buffalo Bill. I've never been on a team that handled as much adversity in a season."
Allen threw four touchdowns to lead the Bills (9-3) past the 49ers (5-7) on Monday and maintain the franchise's one-game advantage atop the AFC East.
The Bills star finished 32-of-40 passing for 375 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against the 49ers.
Allen now has three games this season with 300-plus passing yards and four-plus touchdown passes – the most in a season in Bills history, per Stats Perform. He did not have 300 passing yards or four touchdown passes in any game over his first two seasons.
49ers QB Nick Mullens was 26 of 39 for 316 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions as San Francisco's playoff hopes were dealt a blow.
Mullens connected with Brandon Aiyuk for a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter, but that was as good as it got for the 49ers – the Bills scoring 17 unanswered points in the second period.
Allen tossed touchdown passes to Cole Beasley and Dawson Knox, while Tyler Bass converted a 37-yard field goal to give the Bills a 17-7 half-time cushion.
The Bills and 49ers traded touchdowns in the third quarter, Mullen's pass to Kyle Juszczyk keeping San Francisco with 10 points after Allen's 23-yard throw to Isaiah McKenzie and another Bass field goal pushed Buffalo clear.
Buffalo put the result beyond doubt when Allen and Gabriel Davis connected on a 28-yard pass early in the fourth quarter, while Mullens' third TD throw with less than a minute remaining was a mere consolation.
The Bills quarterback threw two interceptions and saw a fumble recovered for a touchdown in a nervy encounter, having entered the game with just one playoff interception in 228 passing attempts.
Those turnovers allowed the Dolphins to build up steam, fighting back from a 17-point first-half deficit and then taking an early second half lead, with Allen acknowledging his mistakes after the game.
"At half time, we were just talking to ourselves, just settling down, trying to refocus," he told reporters. "The turnovers hurt us, we really let them back in the game.
"We were up 17-0 with chances and I gave them the ball two times, gave them a touchdown, they're things you can't do and you can't expect to win like that, so there's some stuff to clean up."
The Bills defense did their part though, intercepting rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson twice and making big stops to halt the Dolphins' recovery, and Allen vowed to be better for them in future games.
"Turnover margin, especially in the playoffs, is so big. It really helps us out and bails us out," he added.
"I can't praise our defense enough for playing the way they did. I put them in some tough situations today, so I've got to be better for them."
It was not just the defense who played their part in frustrating the Dolphins offense, however, with the atmosphere in Buffalo leading to errors – including a delay of game penalty that pushed Thompson's offense back to six yards instead of one in fourth down of their final drive.
Allen reserved praise for the home fans, encouraging them to be similarly effective in next week's Divisional round clash against either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Cincinnati Bengals.
"We're going to need the Bills mafia in the building being load and disruptive, I thought they did a good job tonight causing a couple false starts and delay of games, that is such a huge momentum shift for us," he said.
"When it's fourth and one, you cause a delay, then it's fourth and six, which changes the complexity of that call, so shout out to our fans."
The Bills thumped AFC East rivals the Patriots 47-17 on Saturday to reach the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.
Buffalo led 27-3 at halftime after an explosive start and Allen set a team playoff record with five touchdown passes in a fine performance.
Sean McDermott's team inflicted the biggest margin of defeat in the playoffs for the Patriots since Bill Belichick took charge in 2000.
The rampant Allen had more touchdowns (five) than incomplete passes (four) as the Bills scored a TD on all seven drives and went the whole game without a punt, field goal or turnover – a first in the NFL playoffs.
Per Stats Perform data, Allen became the first QB in NFL history to complete at least 80 per cent of his passes, throw for 5+ TDs and also rush for 50+ yards (66) in a single game.
Up next will be either a trip to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship from last season or a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
That will be decided by the outcome of the Chiefs' matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but regardless of the next opponent Allen knows the Bills need more of the same.
"We feel good," Allen said, per ESPN.
"When you are going into every game with a win-or-go-home mentality, and that's really what we've had in the last few weeks, just the attention to detail in practice – guys are more attentive.
"The urgency is there, and you're seeing us play better because of it. We're going to need that same mentality this week.
"There are some things that we can clean up and work on, but we moved on, we're on to the next one and it doesn't matter what we did – it's what we do next week."
The dominant nature of the Bills' performance gave them a rare opportunity to savour the atmosphere on a cold night at Highmark Stadium.
"It's not often in coaching you can enjoy the last six minutes of a game and kind of look up in the stands and see the fans enjoying it and at home," said head coach McDermott.
"I'm happy for them more than anything. For us as a team this year, it's one game.
"[The Patriots] – that is a good football team and they've been at the top for so long. So, we have a lot of respect for them. We've just got to keep moving on."
Asked about the fantastic display from Allen, he added: "It's fun to watch young players develop. There's a lot that goes into that.
"Number one is the player, in this case Josh, taking greater ownership of his development and his preparation this week. That is what led him to the results you saw on the field. It's pretty black and white that way."
Though the Chiefs controlled the ball for much of the AFC title game rematch, running 25 more plays than the Bills, their four turnovers were the difference as they dropped to 2-3 this season.
Buffalo (4-1) intercepted Patrick Mahomes passes on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, with Micah Hyde taking the first of those 26 yards for a touchdown after plucking a tipped ball out of the air.
It was just the second pick-six of Mahomes' career after Week 11 of the 2018 season.
That score consolidated the Bills' advantage after the visitors had reeled off 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to take the lead for good.
Both touchdowns in that sequence came from the arm of Josh Allen, who hit Emmanuel Sanders for a 35-yard score and Dawson Knox for a 53-yard TD.
For a few moments early in the fourth quarter, it appeared the Chiefs had forced a key turnover of their own, as Rashad Fenton intercepted Allen inside Bills territory.
But Buffalo retained the ball thanks to a controversial roughing the passer penalty on Frank Clark and made it count, marching downfield before another Allen-to-Saunders touchdown pass with 5:51 to play that effectively sealed the win.
Allen was 15 of 26 passing for 315 yards (12.1 per attempt) and ran for 59 more, including a touchdown. Mahomes completed just 33 of 43 passes for 272 yards (5.0 per attempt) while running for 61.
Allen threw four touchdown passes – three of those to Diggs – as the AFC East champions cruised to victory at Gillette Stadium.
The Bills quarterback set a record for most touchdown passes thrown in a season for the team, reaching 34.
Allen finished 27 of 36 for 320 yards and the four TD passes, while Diggs had 145 receiving yards and three TDs.
The Bills (12-3) are on track to finish as the second seed in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Patriots fell to 6-9.
Cam Newton was five of 10 for 34 yards before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham (four of 11 for 44 yards), while the former also had 24 rushing yards.
The Patriots were in touch until late in the first half after Zack Moss' rushing TD was cancelled out by Newton, who produced a spectacular score of his own.
With the Bills leading 10-9 with less than six minutes remaining in the half, Allen found a wide open Lee Smith before combining with Diggs for a 50-yard TD.
Diggs broke the single-season record for receiving yards by a Bill.
Allen and Diggs combined twice more in the second half as Buffalo ran away with their victory.
With 120 receptions, Diggs broke the NFL record for most receptions by a player in his first season with a team, surpassing Brandon Marshall (118 for the Chicago Bears in 2012).
AFC East leaders Buffalo (7-4) had lost five consecutive NFL games against New Orleans (5-6), a winless drought dating back to December 1998.
However, Bills quarterback Allen helped snap that skid thanks to his big performance on the road to the Saints in New Orleans on Thursday.
Allen was 23-of-28 passing for 260 yards, four TDs and two interceptions with a 115.2 passer rating to send the injury-ravaged Saints to a fourth straight loss – New Orleans have not had a longer losing streak since 2015.
Bills star Allen had his sixth career game with four-plus passing touchdowns and all have come in the last two seasons. Since 2020, only superstar duo Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers (both nine) have more games with four or more passing TDs than the Buffalo QB.
Dawson Knox caught two TD passes, giving him a franchise-best seven touchdowns in a single season by a tight end as the Bills scored 24 unanswered points before the Saints finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter.
On a rough night for the Saints, Trevor Siemian completed 17 of his 29 passes for 163 yards, a touchdown and interception, while he was sacked twice.
Davis had struggled to make much of an impact in the previous two weeks while battling an ankle injury.
But the third-year receiver, who caught four touchdowns in the Bills' incredible playoff defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs last season, was back to his best against the Steelers.
He caught two remarkable long touchdown passes, the first of which went for 98 yards after the Bills were backed up on their own two-yard line, Taiwan Jones having dropped the opening kick-off.
That score came 64 seconds into the game, making it the longest touchdown from scrimmage within the first 90 seconds of a game in NFL history.
Three drives later, they linked up for a stunning second act, Allen finding Davis for a 62-yard strike that saw the wideout make a superb one-handed catch and wrestle the ball away from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
"I kind of got hit right when I threw it, so I didn't see him catch it. I just kind of heard the crowd go crazy," Allen said of the opening touchdown. "Those ones are cool. It's going to be tough to beat.
"Backed up to take a shot like that, it's not too often you get a shot to do that early on in the game.
"The kick return put us at the two-yard line, put us behind the 8-ball a little bit, but guys were resilient, we didn't blink and just trusted our guys.
"I've got so much trust and faith in 13 [Davis], it was good to see him get going. He only had three catches but for 170 and two touchdowns, which is pretty crazy; it's not too often you have those type of drives.
"We had a one-play, two two-play drives and a three-play drive that ended in touchdowns. That’s crazy."
Allen added of the second touchdown, on which Davis was essentially double covered with Fitzpatrick playing over the top: "I'm just trusting my guy more than anything, he's coming off a couple weeks with an ankle and I just wanted him to know that I trust him implicitly.
"I'm gonna give him these opportunities, when you continue to make them, it makes it that much easier to trust a guy."
Asked if he saw something in Davis that made him think he was back to 100 per cent, Allen replied: "I think I saw it in our walkthrough that we do on Saturdays, just the way he was moving, bouncing around on it, I was like 'OK, this guy’s ready to go', and he was."
Playing at home and entering the contest on a three-game winning streak, the Lions struck first with a close-range Jamaal Williams touchdown in the first quarter.
The Bills would answer straight back with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Isaiah McKenzie on the next drive, and after trading touchdowns again in the second quarter, a Tyler Bass field goal as time expired gave Buffalo a 17-14 lead at half-time.
Defensive lineman Ed Oliver tacked on two more points for the Bills early in the third quarter when he sacked Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the endzone for a safety, but the hosts would not go away, taking the lead 22-19 to begin the fourth period after a D.J. Chark touchdown catch.
The see-sawing battle would see the Bills retake the ascendancy with under three minutes remaining through a five-yard Stefon Diggs touchdown reception, but the Lions looked destined to take it to overtime when Michael Badgley tied it up at 25-25 with a clutch 51-yard field goal, with only 23 seconds on the clock.
That proved to be enough time for Allen to win it, delivering a 36-yard strike to Diggs to move within field goal range, setting up Bass for another big kick, and another big make to take the Bills to 8-3.
Allen completed 24 of 42 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while top receiver Diggs snagged eight receptions for 77 yards and a score.
The Bills lost 21-19 in Miami on Sunday but had the opportunity to preserve their winning start on the final drive.
Quarterback Allen's pass to Isaiah McKenzie allowed him to reach the Dolphins' 41, within field-goal range with nine seconds left.
However, McKenzie went down before he could get out of bounds and failed to return the ball to the hash before time expired.
It was the last of a number of frustrating plays for the Bills, who fell to 2-1 despite having possession for 40 minutes and 40 seconds.
After Buffalo had scored a touchdown on their opening drive for an eighth straight game, the Dolphins levelled the scores following an Allen fumble.
The Bills later punted in the first half of a game for the first time this season, and their only second-half points came from a Tyler Bass field goal and a bizarre Miami punt that went out the back of the Dolphins' end zone for a safety.
Allen, whose third 400-yard NFL passing game saw him finish with career highs in attempts (63) and completions (42), said: "We've got to finish drives.
"I think third down we were all right. Red zone we weren't very good. We've got to find a way to get it in the end zone there.
"We really beat ourselves. Credit to them; they had a really good game plan. They came out and did what they had to do.
"There's obviously plays we want back, and that's going to happen over the course of every single game – this one, especially."
McKenzie finished with 76 receiving yards and a TD – one of two thrown by Allen – but crucially came up short when it mattered most.
"I was trying to get out of bounds. I was also trying to get yards," McKenzie explained of the final play.
"I knew [Bass'] range, so I was trying to get out of bounds but also get up the field. I tried to get out of bounds.
"There was nine seconds left, and I was trying to get to the hash. I kind of got bumped by going to the ref, and it just went down from there.
"If I could take it back, I would probably just go up field, get down, put it on the hash myself and live to fight another down."
The Bills' failure to extend the game by another play led offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to slam his headset, hat and tablet down in frustration in a clip that quickly went viral.
"[Dorsey] is such a competitive guy," said defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. "He wants to win every situation.
"I think our players seem like they feed off of it. I know we were in training camp, and even when we were competing against each other in OTAs, I could sense the offense really having that same type of intensity that Kenny coaches with.
"But yet, he is a guy who's able to rein it back when he needs to and take it in a different direction, to encourage players at the same time."
Following a long delay caused by lightning, the Bills avenged their AFC title match defeat last season with a 38-20 victory in Kansas City
Though the Chiefs controlled much of the ball, running 25 more plays than the Bills, their four turnovers were the difference as they dropped to 2-3 this season.
Buffalo (4-1) intercepted Patrick Mahomes passes on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, with Micah Hyde taking the first of those 26 yards for a touchdown after plucking a tipped ball out of the air.
It was just the second pick-six of Mahomes' career after Week 11 of the 2018 season.
While Mahomes completed just 33 of 43 passes for 272 yards, Bills quarterback Allen was 15 of 26 passing for 315 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another score.
It proved a famous match for Allen. The 25-year-old became the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards and three or more touchdown passes, rush for 50 or more yards and a touchdown, and average 20 or more yards per completion in a single game.
It was also a win to savour for the Bills after they were swept aside 38-24 in the AFC Championship game last season by the Chiefs on their way to their Super Bowl triumph, but Allen was not prepared to get carried away.
"I think this is going to be made a bigger deal than it is. We're in Week 5," he said. "Four wins doesn't get you to the playoffs.
"We ended up with a win. That's our goal each and every week, to come out and be resilient through lightning delays. I'm proud of how our team handled the situation."
Sanders, who ran in a 35-yard score from Allen's pass to give the Bills a 14-10 lead in the second quarter, said: "We're going to enjoy it on the plane back.
"You can tell I'm enjoying it out there; I lost my voice screaming. But at the same time, it's not like we won the Super Bowl. It's Week 5. We have to get back to work."
Similarly, Mahomes saw no reason for the Chiefs to panic.
"We know we have what it takes to be great," he said. "We have a lot of great players that have been really good in other places.
"We know we have what it takes. It's a matter of coming together now and finding a way to do that."
While the Bills will look towards Josh Allen, who has thrown just one interception in 228 career passing attempts in the postseason (0.4 interception rate, the lowest in NFL playoff history among those with a minimum 200 attempts), the Dolphins will be hoping to get by without Tua Tagovailoa.
Miami head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed ahead of the game that Tagovailoa, who has not featured since Christmas Day, remains unavailable due to concussion – an issue that has plagued a turbulent season for the Dolphins.
With Tagovailoa leading the offense, the Dolphins are 8-4 in games he has finished and 1-4 without him, while a passer rating of 105.5 leads the NFL, ahead of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, and leading MVP candidate, Patrick Mahomes.
In Tagovailoa's absence, the Dolphins face a tough test in their bid to end a streak of four consecutive losses in the playoffs and will need Tyreek Hill to step up in their first postseason appearance since the 2016 season.
Hill smashed the franchise record for receiving yards this season, tallying 1,710 yards and becoming the first Dolphins player to register 1,400 receiving yards for the season, the next closest being Mark Clayton in 1984 with 1,389 yards.
The Dolphins' big worries for Sunday's clash will be Tagovailoa's absence and a lack of playoff experience, a complete contrast to the Bills, who have seen Allen continue to grow and have reached the playoffs in five of the last six seasons.
Only Mahomes (41) has thrown more touchdown passes than Allen (35) this season, though a tally of 14 interceptions is the joint next highest in the NFL behind Davis Mills and Dak Prescott (both 15).
Allen has thrown only one interception in his playoff history, however, with 14 touchdowns in the postseason, and averaged 10.3 yards per attempt in the 2021 playoffs – something the Bills will hope he can repeat this year.
A close game could be on the cards, though, with the Bills overcoming the Dolphins by just a three-point margin less than a month ago with a 32-29 victory in Buffalo, while the reverse clash in Week 3 saw Miami victorious 21-19.
That win was a significant one for the Dolphins, preventing a fourth consecutive series streak for Buffalo and standing as only the second win for Miami in the last 12 meetings.
The quarterback was drafted by the Bills in 2018 and has since established himself as one of the NFL's outstanding dual-threats.
Allen has thrown for 9,707 yards, 67 touchdowns and 31 interceptions across 44 games and 43 starts, although the bulk of his yards (4,544) and scores (37) came last season.
The former seventh overall pick, who also has 25 career rushing TDs, led Buffalo to the AFC Championship Game in 2020 where they were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Allen's completion percentage of 72.8 ranked fourth in the league last year, while he led the NFL at 80.2 when throwing without pressure.
The option in his rookie deal would see Allen earn around $23million in 2022 before becoming an unrestricted free agent – a situation the franchise will be desperate to avoid.
The Bills have also agreed to pay middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, another 2018 first-round selection.
Edmunds is set for $12.7m in 2022, although Buffalo will be expected to negotiate a contract extension before that option kicks in.
The Bills traded up six places to take Edmunds in 2018 after he had 10.0 sacks across his final two college seasons with Virginia Tech.
Although Edmunds has been a Pro Bowl selection in each of the past two years, he has contributed to a defense that has struggled to disrupt opposing passers.
Edmunds only successfully pressured QBs on 7.7 per cent of pass rush attempts last season – the fourth-worst pressure rate among linebackers with 10 or more attempts – and Buffalo's failure to get to grips with Patrick Mahomes led to their playoff exit.
The team spent their first and second-round 2021 draft picks on edge rushers Gregory Rousseau and Carlos Basham Jr.
