KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes remained in the NFL's concussion protocol Wednesday, but practiced in a limited capacity, raising hopes that the reigning Super Bowl MVP can play in Sunday's AFC title game against Buffalo.

ORCHARD PARK — The likelihood of Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll staying in Buffalo for at least one more season has increased after he was passed over for the Los Angeles Chargers' coaching job, two people with direct knowledge of Daboll’s plans told The Associated Press.

Grace Fredricks did a triple take then couldn't help but laugh when she saw the photo of former Buffalo Sabre coach Lindy Ruff wearing a Bills mask.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs built a defense and signed a backup quarterback that were good enough to preserve a win.

ORCHARD PARK — Quarterback Josh Allen spent the regular season leading the Bills to a franchise-record matching 13 wins and their first AFC East title in 25 years. Buffalo’s defense has done its part the past two weeks in getting the team to its first conference championship game appearance …

There have been moments during the last two weeks when you really had to wonder. You’d swear there was something in the air, and I’m not talking about the winds that swirled around Bills Stadium on Saturday night.

ORCHARD PARK — Taron Johnson could’ve kept running into next week on a 101-yard interception that carried the Buffalo Bills to their first AFC championship game appearance in 27 years.

The divisional round is here leaving the NFL with eight remaining teams in the dance. The daily fantasy lineups are heating up, as players to select are trimming down and grand prizes are rising up.

ORCHARD PARK — Ravens coach John Harbaugh was immediately impressed by Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen’s competitive fire following their first face-to-face encounter in an NFL setting.

Aside from winning the final Super Bowl before the merger in 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs’ biggest claim to fame for over half a century was team founder Lamar Hunt coining the phrase Super Bowl.

ORCHARD PARK — Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes feels as if he’s back at TCU, where the Horned Frogs would open training camp prepping for the read-option offense to squeeze in extra time for what had been their annual meeting against Air Force.

What better way to celebrate the Buffalo Bills’ return as a legitimate Super Bowl contender than with your children who weren’t alive yet to see it the last time around?

ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills signed running back Devonta Freeman to their practice squad Tuesday to add veteran depth after placing rookie Zack Moss on injured reserve.

The Buffalo Bills will once again allow 6,700 fans into Bills Stadium at 8:15 p.m. Saturday when the team hosts the Baltimore Ravens in a divisional playoff game.

ORCHARD PARK — By batting down Philip Rivers’ desperation pass as time ran out to secure Buffalo’s first playoff victory in 25 years, safety Micah Hyde and the defense pushed its bend-but-don’t-break reputation to its limits.

NEW YORK — The New York Jets' quickly growing list of head coaching candidates got a little longer Sunday.

ORCHARD PARK — It was just like the pre-coronavirus pandemic days on Saturday morning for Scott Hammond and his son Landon when they were among the first to get to their seats before a Buffalo Bills home game.

I’ll admit, I figured it would be easy when they went up 14, that they were home free. I wanted to believe that this Bills team was different from those of the past, that they could win without pushing their fans onto the ledge and driving them to nervous distraction.

ORCHARD PARK — It was just like the pre-coronavirus pandemic days on Saturday morning for Scott Hammond and his son Landon in being among the first to get to their seats before a Buffalo Bills home game.

ORCHARD PARK — Micah Hyde still remembers the pitch then-first-year Bills coach Sean McDermott delivered in helping convince the free agent safety to sign with Buffalo in 2017.

Dynamic defensive star Aaron Donald and unstoppable tight end Travis Kelce were unanimous choices Friday for The Associated Press NFL All-Pro Team.

ORCHARD PARK — The playing status of the Bills’ two top receivers, Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley, is uncertain for Buffalo’s wild-card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

ALBANY — In the wake of a petition drive urging that he be "banned" from joining fans at the Buffalo Bills' playoff game Saturday,

ORCHARD PARK — Testing is replacing tailgating in the Bills Stadium parking lot, with a limited number of fans being allowed to attend Buffalo’s wild-card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts are embracing the underdog role.

ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills signed receiver Kenny Stills to their practice squad on Monday, adding valuable experienced depth to their roster in time for the playoffs.

ORCHARD PARK — Simply making the playoffs no longer cuts it in Buffalo.

ORCHARD PARK — A little more than a year ago, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane was lamenting how his team needed to score more points.

Week 17 is one of the weirdest of the NFL season, as team's either prep for the playoffs, push to sneak in as wild cards or pack it up for the offseason. With the traditional fantasy season wrapping, we're shifting to more of a focus on daily fantasy projections.

ORCHARD PARK — There are two Buffalo-related memories Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey would prefer not be brought up as Miami travels to face the Bills and needing only a win to clinch a playoff spot in the season finale Sunday.

ALBANY — New York is making an exception to its restrictions on large gatherings to allow about 6,700 fans to attend a Buffalo Bills home playoff game in January as long as all test negative beforehand.

MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins need a good game Sunday to ensure they get to keep playing, and that's especially true for Tua Tagovailoa.

ORCHARD PARK — Receiver Stefon Diggs isn’t altogether content with how he and quarterback Josh Allen have teamed up to rewrite several pages of the Buffalo Bills' single-season record book.

A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the first Buffalo Bills playoff game later this month under an agreement reached between the organization and the state of New York.

ORCHARD PARK — Don’t let the Buffalo Bills’ polite talk about how the Patriots were merely the next opponent on their schedule fool you.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Josh Allen passed for four touchdowns and the Buffalo Bills became the first AFC East foe to sweep the season series with the New England Patriots in two decades with a 38-9 victory on Monday night.

ORCHARD PARK — Brian Daboll should immediately remove Bills receivers Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs from his list of potential references if Buffalo’s offensive coordinator hopes to land a head-coaching job any time soon.

So many December games between the Patriots and Bills, with one team fighting for its postseason seeding and the other playing out the string.

ALBANY — Whether up to 6,700 football fans can get seats inside the Bills Stadium for the Buffalo Bills' opening NFL playoff game in January will hinge on whether controls can be implemented to curb the potential spread of COVID-19 at tailgate parties and other "ancillary events,' state Heal…

ORCHARD PARK — Jim Kelly has made a point of keeping his distance by limiting his chats with Josh Allen via text for much of this year.

The playoffs are just around the corner, so squads are gearing up for stretch runs. The AFC is looking as deep as ever, as Kansas City, Buffalo and Pittsburgh all have 11 wins while Tennessee, Indianapolis and Cleveland each have 10.

Led by their star quarterbacks, the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers each had seven players selected to the Pro Bowl.

ORCHARD PARK — Defensive end Jerry Hughes was so caught up in the euphoria of the Bills clinching their first division title in 25 years, the team’s longest-tenured player missed what was printed on the front of the championship T-shirt.

The first thing that sprang to mind was the younger fans, the ones who grew up rooting for the Bills during the playoff drought. At times, it had to feel as if failure was an essential part of the deal, a cynical belief that they’d somehow blow it in the end. 

DENVER — Donning gray caps that declared them AFC East champions for the first time since 1995, the Buffalo Bills acted like this was old hat.

DENVER — Josh Allen has gone from an erratic rookie quarterback from Wyoming to a precision passer in his third NFL season, leading the Buffalo Bills to the cusp of their first AFC East title in a quarter century.

ORCHARD PARK — Mary Wilson is taken aback by how many people have begun noticing the clutch, emblazoned with the Bills' charging buffalo logo, she carries while running errands from her winter home in Florida.

ORCHARD PARK — Leslie Frazier’s confidence in the Buffalo Bills' defense reaching its potential never wavered even at the lowest point a month-and-a-half into the season.

Week 14 will go down as the week Buffalo rose up as an AFC powerhouse, knocking off Pittsburgh on a primetime stage. More on that game later.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For just the fourth time since Bill Belichick became Patriots coach in 2000, New England won’t end the season as AFC East champions.