KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs are one game shy of the first three-peat in NFL history.

But they’ve already made some history.

The Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, 32-29, and they’ll face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

All it took was the most points they’ve scored in a game this season.

The Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowls and then follow it with a trip to another Super Bowl.

It took a heck of a game — one fitting only of a Chiefs-Bills playoff matchup.

Here are five observations from immediately after the game:

1. The game-sealing fourth down stop

Game on the line.

Steve Spagnuolo on the headset.

You know a blitz is coming, right? But how?

The Chiefs got the key fourth-down stop at midfield, and they did it by fooling Bills quarterback Josh Allen. They brought five rushers, three of whom found the backfield, because Spagnuolo decided to drop defensive lineman Mike Danna into coverage.

How about that?

Here’s what makes it even more noteworthy: Basically all of the data tells you not to blitz Josh Allen. Tells you to play it safe. He has a 115.0 passer rating against blitzes this year, third best in the NFL.

It wasn’t just extra rushers that got him. It was the surprise of which extra rushers. Safety Justin Reid ended up in his face as he sailed a pass to an open Dalton Kincaid — but Allen was was so far in the backfield that he couldn’t muster enough strength to get it there in time.

2. The running quarterback

Well, you probably new all week it would come down to the running quarterback.

The other quarterback.

Mahomes ran for two touchdowns for the first time in his career, and there’s something particularly notable about the second — it was designed.

Mahomes ran for a 10-yard score in the fourth quarter on only the second designed quarterback running play of his life, per Next Gen Stats.

Those were the only two plays he was effective, either.

Mahomes scrambled for four first downs in the first half alone.

Keep in mind that he did not rush a single time when the teams met in Week 11.

And one of those rushes turned the tide of the first half.

3. The Chiefs and fourth down

The Chiefs totaled 218 yards in the first half, but their most effective play went for all of six.

And took a lot of guts.

Trailing by three, Andy Reid left his offense on the field for fourth down on his own 39-yard line.

Mahomes ran for six yards and moved the chains, and the Chiefs punctuated the drive with a go-ahead Xavier Worthy touchdown.

It’s the first time all season that Andy Reid has left his offense on the field for a fourth-down try on his own half of the field.

It gets better.

It’s actually the first time since 2021 that he’s left Mahomes on the field for fourth down with the ball in their own territory.

There’s actually something special about that play call, too.

The Chiefs used the same action — a Mahomes designed rollout, with the intent to run but the Plan B option to pass — in the Super Bowl. The play? A fourth-down, of course. Mahomes kept the ball and ran in overtime, a play that, had he been stopped, would’ve sealed the 49ers the win.

4. The quarterback sneaks

Who knew a game involving the Chiefs would come down to some quarterback sneaks?

One team won’t run them.

Maybe the other one shouldn’t have been so dependent on them.

The Bills had one and only one strategy on short yardage: Just let Allen sneak the ball.

But they were stuffed on three — including a two-point conversion and a fourth-down stop that turned the game in the fourth quarter. That’s the most quarterback sneaks stopped in one game in the Next Gen Stats era, the company said, which dates back to 2016.

It wasn’t just the quarterback sneaks. The Chiefs did a terrific job of minimizing Allen’s effectiveness with his legs. He ran only 11 times for 39 yards.

5. The other QB: Josh Allen

A lead with 13 seconds wasn’t enough for Josh Allen to beat the Chiefs in a playoff game.

A home game, neither.

And yet one more fourth-quarter lead, neither.

The Chiefs are the NFL’s most compelling story this season.

The Bills — and specifically Josh Allen — were the most intriguing story of championship weekend.

There was an if-not-now-then-when feeling in Buffalo this week. Heck, it probably felt that way a year ago.

But this? There were five fumbles in the game. The Bills recovered all of them. There were two fourth-down touchdowns. The Bills had both of them.

And the Chiefs still ended the night with a trophy celebration.

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