Bills vs. Chiefs: Top Fantasy Bets, Predictions for 2025 AFC Championship

Patrick Mahomes. Josh Allen.

Two of the elite quarterbacks of this generation will meet for the fourth time in the playoffs, this time with a trip to Super Bowl LIX on the line when the Buffalo Bills travel to Kansas City to battle the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

Those extraordinary signal callers will grab the headlines but which two players are worthwhile fantasy bets to play key roles in the outcome of the high-stakes game?

Find out with this preview, including a final prediction, for the penultimate game of the NFL season.

Date: Sunday, January 26

Time: 6:00 p.m. EST

Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium

TV: CBS

Streaming; Paramount+

Bills: Khalil Shakir 60+ Receiving Yards (+101; bet $100, win $201)

Shakir has developed into Allen's top wide receiver, averaging 53.3 yards over the last six games. Against the Ravens in the divisional round, he corralled six passes for 67 yards, and in Week 12 against the same Chiefs he will play Sunday, he caught eight balls for 70 yards.

While Kansas City has fielded one of the better pass defenses this season, they have given up yardage. While Shakir is no guarantee to find the endzone, something he did just four times this season, he should compile his yardage in what will be an offensive-minded showdown.

Shakir eclipsing 60 yards seems like a worthwhile bet, and it is worth exploring if you are looking for an easy win.

Chiefs: George Karlaftis 2+ Sacks (+700)

This is a more high-risk bet than the above as Allen was sacked just 17 times in the 2024 season. A big, strong runner who can use his raw athleticism, he has spent his career evading pressure and making big plays.

Enter Karlaftis, a wrecking ball of late on the Chiefs defensive line, accumulating seven sacks in the last six games. In the divisional round against Houston, he sacked CJ Stroud three times.

It will not be easy to break through the Bills' offensive line and get to Allen, but Karlaftis is the Chiefs' forgotten star and a player who can be a game-changer if he finds his way into Allen's vicinity.

Tread lightly and maybe even consider the one-sack option at +135, but a big reward awaits anyone willing to take a chance on Karlaftis continuing his extraordinary late-season play.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

The Chiefs have been here and proven they can win the AFC Championship and cash their ticket to the Super Bowl. This is the seventh, consecutive year they will appear in the conference title game, and entering Sunday's showdown with Buffalo, have won four of the six times.

Only one of those two losses came at home.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes might be 4-4 against the Bills' Allen, but he is 3-0 against the MVP candidate in the playoffs.

Granted, Allen is playing the best football of his life entering this year's showdown but, until Allen can prove that he can best Mahomes and Co. in Kansas City, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, it is incredibly difficult to pick anyone but the defending Super Bowl champions.

A better defense than last year, coupled with an offense that has repeatedly found ways to win when it mattered most, and when Mahomes has not played his best, makes the Chiefs that much more of an attractive pick.

Prediction: Chiefs return to the Super Bowl

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