Bills DBs Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson respect 'hunted' Chiefs in growing rivalry

The Kansas City Chiefs are heading back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the past five years. One opponent that they frequently played in these playoff runs was the Buffalo Bills. Prior to this season, the Bills were eliminated by the Chiefs in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. But this year, the Bills narrowly lost to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round by the score of 27-24.

Buffalo enters a pivotal offseason to try and continue to keep their championship window open. To win a Super Bowl, they will have to go through the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Damar Hamlin and Dane Jackson spoke to FanSided and Stacking the Box on behalf of Bounty, The Ultimate Wingman, and discussed the team's playoff rivalry with the Chiefs. Hamlin said that Kansas City is "the hunted" and "the chase" of the NFL, but they have nothing but respect for them.

"I have so much respect for them, it's nothing else to do but respect them," said Hamlin. "They're the hunted of the league, they're the chase. [Mahomes'] kind of like taking on the [Michael] Jordan role in a way. It's nothing but respect and I kind of built a relationship with him off the field a little bit during the offseason. I really like him as a guy and I like him as a player as well. I look forward to being able to compete against them as many years as I can."

Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson have respect for 'hunted' Chiefs in playoff rivalry

Jackson concurred with Hamlin, saying he has respect for the Bills, but that they will go "back to the drawing board" to get the better of the Chiefs next season.

"Same here with me, man. It's nothing but love and respect," said Jackson. "Like D-Ham said, they've been the hunted for the past four years since I've been in the league. They've been the team that's pretty much knocked us out so there's nothing but respect, but it's back to the drawing board. I'm looking forward to the competition for years ahead."

Since Mahomes took over at quarterback, the Chiefs and Bills met up in the playoffs for the first time in the 2020 season, with a spot in Super Bowl 55 on the line. But the Bills lost 38-24 to the Chiefs behind a 325 passing yards and three passing touchdowns performance from Mahomes.

The following season was perhaps the most thrilling game of their rivalry. There were three lead changes in the final two minutes of the Divisional Round matchup, but with 13 seconds on the clock, Mahomes drove the Chiefs downfield to set up a game-tying field goal to force overtime. The Bills wouldn't get the ball again, and the Chiefs won 42-36 to advance to the AFC Championship Game.

This season, the Bills faced a Chiefs team that was seemingly vulnerable, considering their struggles at the end of the regular season. Buffalo had a chance to force overtime, but Tyler Bass' 44-yard field goal attempt went wide right. With that, the Chiefs advanced. Now, Kansas City will compete in Super Bowl 58 against the San Francisco 49ers, with a chance to take home their third Lombardi Trophy in the past five years.

The Bills will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason, considering their cap situation. But, with Josh Allen at quarterback, you can give the Bills a chance to make it to the playoffs. Next year, while it's all respect, the Bills will look to finally get the win against the Chiefs in the playoffs.