The Buffalo Bills hand the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season

ORCHARD PARK, NY — The Kansas City Chiefs are no longer undefeated, but they didn’t seem too bothered by that, least of all quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“The undefeated thing was cool,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season 30-21 against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. “But that’s not our ultimate goal.”

The Chiefs won their first nine games, but were hardly dominant along the way. Seven of those wins were by one score, and four were not decided until the final play of the game.

The loss to the Bills was different and not just in the outcome. The Bills clearly outplayed the Chiefs, outgaining them by more than 100 yards. The Chiefs led just twice in the game, both times in the first half. But each lead was short and by just one point.

Mahomes called the loss “fuel” for the rest of the Chiefs’ season.

“It’s a good football team, so there’s nothing to hang your head (about),” Mahomes said. “We feel like we can play better so we get back to work and try to use this as a spark to be a better football team at the end of the day.

“I hope (losing) is an advantage. I don’t want to say that I or we relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we just came away with these wins at the end of the game. I think it will put time we rush more, especially at the start of football games, and that comes from me and turning the ball over on the first drive. That’s something you can’t do in big games like this.”

The Chiefs had won 15 straight games dating back to last season, including the playoffs. Their last loss came on Christmas last season when they were beaten by the Las Vegas Raiders. Mahomes said he didn’t see any similarities to the Bills loss, but hoped this loss would also bring another long winning streak.

“(The Bills are) a really good football team,” he said. “It’s going to take your best football to beat big football teams and we didn’t play our best football today and they went out there and beat us. That’s the way it goes in the NFL and so all due respect to them, it’s going to be a good football team that we will probably see (in the playoffs).”

Mahomes was outplayed by Josh Allen, his Buffalo counterpart. Cornerback Trent McDuffie said there were plays where the Chiefs defended Allen like they intended and still couldn’t stop him from making plays.

“He’s one of those people where no matter what happens, he can make his team right,” McDuffie said.

Most notable among those plays was Allen’s 26-yard touchdown run late in the game that sealed the victory. The game was on fourth down and a stop would have left the Chiefs with two minutes to get a field goal to win the game.

“It was a great football play,” Mahomes said. “When the play isn’t there, he does a great job of making plays happen, and that’s what he did on that last play.”