ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With every Ravens turnover, every field goal forced instead of surrendering a touchdown, and every failed two-point conversion that kept the opponents just out of reach, it marched the Bills closer and closer to what they’ve been yearning to get back to for years.

At long last, the Bills have returned to the AFC Championship Game. Their 27-25 triumph over the Ravens exorcised several demons in both this season and previous ones.

Over the last three years, it’s been like a record stuck in a loop, repeating the same part of the song that drives everyone listening up the wall. In the divisional round, a super-talented Bills team with so much promise eventually yielded the way to the final four to another AFC superpower. First, it was the Chiefs. Then it was the Bengals. Then the Chiefs again. But this year… this year was different.

“You learn from all of the scars,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “You never want that feeling again.”

“I think there’s something kind of intangible about this team that feels different,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “It’s kind of hard to put your finger on.”

Knox isn’t alone. It’s a sentiment shared throughout the locker room, permeating throughout the fan base. Some think it’s the players. Others may point to how head coach Sean McDermott has evolved. However, that unquantifiable feeling about how the 2024-2025 Bills are different, in fact, yielded a different outcome than the past.

With all the talk centering on the Ravens and how the Bills would have to adjust to them, they forced the Ravens to adjust. The Bills kept Derrick Henry below the century mark after allowing him to hit nearly 200 rushing yards in Week 4. They took the fight to the Ravens’ defensive line, who, for good reason, drew rave reviews for their run-defending. The Bills running backs averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 26 attempts. They forced Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson into two game-changing turnovers.

And by the end of the evening, there the Bills stood, with snow trickling down, allowing the scoreboard’s bright red, white and royal blue lights to shine a jumbotron-long banner even brighter.

“Next stop, AFC Championship.”

And that next stop is to Kansas City — because, of course it is.

The very Chiefs team that gave the Bills a cruel lesson on what it takes in the AFC Championship Game four years ago, who punished them for in-game mistakes and flawed decisions en route to a blowout loss, well, there they are again — the AFC gatekeepers of the Super Bowl.

Only 13 players from that AFC Championship Game Bills team remain on the roster. Allen, Dawkins and Knox were there, along with Micah Hyde, Matt Milano, Taron Johnson, Ed Oliver, A.J. Epenesa, Cam Lewis, Reggie Gilliam, Quinton Jefferson, Tyler Bass and Reid Ferguson.

The original 13 are acutely aware of just how poetic the upcoming showdown is.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Lewis said. “I feel like we wouldn’t want it no other way.”

“I was watching the (Chiefs-Texans) game the other night with my girlfriend,” Epenesa started. “She was like, ‘What if the Texans win?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you know, on paper they’re the lesser team, whatever, whatever, but how much sweeter would it be to be able to beat the team that got us a couple of times in the past and everything like that?’ So I’m definitely on that page right now as we have our opportunity to do something, and I’m looking forward to it.”

GO DEEPER

Bills at Chiefs: How to watch, odds, expert picks for what should be an instant classic

A lot has changed for the Bills between the first AFC Championship matchup and now.

At that point, the Bills were simply novices. It was all new to them after only getting to the wild-card round the year before. They didn’t know what they didn’t know about deep playoff runs. The expectation was that they’d be back — and soon. It was only a matter of time.

“Soon” wasn’t quite what everyone expected. The Bills have learned difficult lessons, year after year, most of which were dealt to them by the very franchise they’ll face next weekend.

On Sunday, the Bills will have played in Kansas City more times than they have at any of their division rivals over the last five years. They’ve been there every year since that first AFC title tilt, with Sunday marking their sixth soiree at Arrowhead. It will be the eighth meeting between these two AFC behemoths over the last five years, four happening in the postseason.

But you don’t have to be reminded about how the last three have turned out. Most fans of the team have carried the weight like an elephant sitting on their collective chest.

AFC Championship Game in 2021 — a lopsided loss. AFC Divisional round in 2022 — a gut-punching loss with victory being so close they could taste it. AFC Divisional round in 2024 — another loss so close it had many wondering if the Bills would even return after an offseason roster refresh.

It all led to this year — the return to the AFC Championship Game coming in a year where no one thought it possible before the season. Standing before the Chiefs on Sunday will be the Bills, a sculpted Super Bowl contender, hardened by one excruciating playoff exit after another.

“For the guys that were there [in 2021], it’ll definitely I think be a little extra chip on the shoulder,” Knox started. “In a way, it can help. You can let it fuel you a little bit, but if you dwell on it too hard or too long, I think it’s distracting at a point. But if you kind of just let it lay underneath the surface, if it helps you bring a little extra motivation, a little extra work in the week, great. But we’re not going to be dwelling on that too hard.”

That’s one of many things that have changed about this Bills team.

Gone is the wily Allen, who, through all his brilliance, had a penchant for a back-breaking turnover. Gone are the one-dimensional, pass-happy Bills, who ran the ball well only after ample success through the air. Gone is the weak-link offensive line of the past that led to uneven results. And gone is a head coach who usually opted toward conservative in-game decisions.

In their place is a franchise quarterback playing the best football of his life, a running game that can take all the pressure off that franchise quarterback at any point during a game, an offensive line that is one of the team’s greatest strengths and a coach in complete trust of his players and the math, unafraid of fourth downs.

But opposing them will be a Chiefs team that has pivoted multiple times throughout its incredible run, all while remaining the class of the NFL. And certainly, a team eager to undo their lone loss of the 2024 regular season against the team that spoiled its perfect season.

The Bills and Chiefs are perfectly intertwined, both in their personal connectors and playoff histories. However, as always, neither can live while the other survives.

“History does have a way of repeating itself,” Dawkins said. “But sometimes, it has a different outcome. We’ll see how this one goes.”

 (Top photo: Tina MacIntyre-Yee / USA Today)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will have to dig deep to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes and win their first national championship since 1988.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is determined to do that.

Leonard led the Fighting Irish on an 18-play, 75-yard drive that ate up the first 9:45 of the game. It ended with a Leonard rushing touchdown from 1 yard out.

After Leonard scored, he pointed to his arm band, which read “Matthew 23:12,” a Bible verse that says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Leonard previously expressed that Matthew 23:12 was one of his favorite quotes in the Bible.

NOTRE DAME, OHIO STATE MEETING IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH FAITH AT FOREFRONT

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with tight end Kevin Bauman after scoring a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

“I feel like so many people want to put me on this pedestal and like my faith really brings me back down to that every time,” he said earlier in the season, via Sports Spectrum. “So, like, through the ups and the downs, I’m able to offer you guys perspective.

“I’ve seen what it’s like to be praised and to be at the top of the top. People got me on draft boards … and I’ve been on the lowest of lows where I get injured and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my career. But my faith has always brought me back to that humble position. Like, you’re nobody. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the highest of highs or lowest of lows, God’s going to treat you the same.”

Notre Dame was 2-for-2 on fourth down during the drive.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard passes against Ohio State during first half. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The Fighting Irish led the game early, 7-0.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Cooper Kupp established himself as an important part of the Rams’ offense from the day general manager Les Snead selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

But the receiver who won NFL offensive player of the year and Super Bowl most valuable player awards began the offseason on Monday with his future with the Rams in doubt.

When the Rams started the season 1-4, the team entertained trade offers for Kupp. The Rams turned around their season, but the eighth-year pro’s production waned during their drive to the playoffs.

A day after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Rams 28-22 in an NFC divisional-round game, Kupp was asked if he wanted to return.

“Yeah,” Kupp told reporters in the locker room at the team’s facility in Woodland Hills. “Who knows what’s going to happen. A lot of stuff is out of my control. We’ll see what it’s going to be.

“There was obviously stuff that was going on early on in the season and we’ll see. I don’t have any clarity on what that’s going to look like or anything like that. Obviously, I would love to be in L.A. But I don’t know what that’s going to look like.”

Kupp’s situation is one of several that Snead, coach Sean McVay and the Rams must address, including whether quarterback Matthew Stafford will be back.

Before this past season, the Rams bent to Stafford’s demand to adjust his contract. The 16-year veteran, who will be 37 in a few weeks, said after the loss to the Eagles that he would take some time to consider his future.

Kupp, who will be 32 next season, has two years left on the extension he signed in 2022, which included $75 million in guarantees. The Rams rewarded Kupp after he achieved the so-called triple crown by leading the NFL in catches, yards receiving and touchdown catches. Kupp capped that season by catching two touchdown passes in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.

But Kupp suffered several injuries that sidelined him for much of the past three seasons, including an ankle injury this season kept him out of four games.

In 12 regular-season games, Kupp caught 67 passes for 710 yards and six touchdowns. He caught only one pass in the Rams’ wild-card victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

“Like any great leader, I think he was just glad to be a part of winning for our team,” McVay said before the Rams played the Eagles, “but he’ll always be a guy that we want to try to be able to get involved.”

Kupp caught five passes for 61 yards in the defeat on Sunday.

Kupp is due to earn $12.5 million next season on a salary-cap number of $29.8 million, according to Overthecap.com. Only $5 million of his salary is guaranteed, according to the website.

The Rams could ask Kupp to restructure his contract. Or they could trade him.

Kupp said there was “no doubt in my mind” that he wants to play next season.

“I feel like I have a lot of good football left in me,” he said, “so I definitely will be playing. I will be playing football next year, so that much I know.”

Kupp has been an important part of McVay’s offense in several iterations.

As a rookie, he combined with receivers Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins to give former quarterback Jared Goff multiple options.

In 2018, Kupp, Woods and Brandin Cooks were a dynamic trio before Kupp suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced him to miss the second half of the season and the run to Super Bowl LIII.

In 2021, Stafford arrived via a trade for Goff and he immediately connected with Kupp. Woods suffered a late-season knee injury, and the Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr., who helped the Rams win the Super Bowl.

Last season, with Kupp sidelined early because of a hamstring injury, rookie receiver Puka Nacua emerged as a star. Nacua now appears on track to earn a huge extension before the 2026 season, which also makes Kupp’s situation tenuous.

On Monday, Kupp said he would take time to reflect on this season.

“Even though it wasn’t pretty a lot of the times, offensively, we got it done,” he said. “So there is frustration there. And obviously I want to be able to feel like I’m impacting games and that’s done on a much more discreet level, I feel like, for a lot of these games….I can look back on this season and be happy with what I put on tape and things that I was being asked to do, I feel like I was executing my job, and that’s all you can do.”

Kupp said he did not have any issues that would require surgery and that he “should be able to have a full offseason to be able to train and do what I need to do.”

Whether that work will be evidenced in a ninth season with the Rams — or perhaps another team — remains to be seen.