Peyton Manning reveals heartfelt message he sent to Josh Allen after loss to Chiefs

Peyton Manning delivered a heartfelt message to Josh Allen after his Buffalo Bills came up short in the playoffs, once again falling to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

As the Chiefs dynasty reigns supreme, they’ve chopped down a slew of impressive teams over the past few seasons — Allen’s Bills, Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens and Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals. Manning knows a thing or two about the situation the rest of the AFC is in, as he dealt with it as a player while going against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.

During Friday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Manning joined to shed some light on a conversation he had with Allen following the AFC Championship Game, and the mindset he’s hoping the quarterback adapts moving forward after this past weekend’s loss.

“I can relate,” Manning said, regarding Allen’s struggle when it comes to the Chiefs. “I lived that life. I sent Josh a voice memo after the game, just telling them how much I enjoyed watching him play this year, and how well he competed. Just to keep his head up. Keep grinding, keep sawing wood. Look, I lived that life. Tom Brady and the Patriots beat us back-to-back playoff years. Once in the AFC Championship, once in the Divisional Round. That’s all you hear about all off-season, ‘Yeah, but,’ had a great season, ‘Yeah, but you can’t beat the Patriots in the postseason.’ Then, two years later, we did it. We beat them in the AFC Championship, win the Super Bowl.

“So what are you going to do? You’re going to go crawl in a hole and feel sorry for yourself? Are you going to just keep fighting and keep grinding? I would rather, and I think Josh Allen and Lamar [Jackson] feel the same way, have their hearts ripped out in the AFC Championship by three points, as opposed to finishing 7-10. You’d probably smoke a cigar in that locker room after that last win, because you’re kind of in a good mood and you feel kind of good. The truth is, you’re a bad team, and you’re so far away. Would you rather be 7-10 and have your heart ripped out by being close? I’d rather have my heart ripped out, because that means they’re close.

“Josh Allen is close. Lamar is close. They will get there, I believe it. They’re not losing the bad teams. Last time I checked, Mahomes and the Chiefs, there’s a reason they’re in the Super Bowl. They’re a good team, right? We lost to the Patriots. It sucked. I hated it. But they were the better team. So, I think Josh and Lamar will both get there, but until then, they have to own it, and they are owning it. They’re not hiding from it. I think their time will come.”

All told, the future remains bright for Allen, Jackson, Burrow and the rest of the AFC, but until someone can topple the Chiefs, this is their playground. The Buffalo Bills came close, and that’s reassuring, but Josh Allen and his teammates will certainly be on a mission next season to get over the hump and slay the beast, like Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts did in the 2006 AFC Championship Game.