By james art 
Kansas City, Mo. – Buffalo Bills corner Christian Benford cleared the concussion protocol and was active Sunday for the AFC Championship Game, where he was expected to play a big role in helping slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs’ passing game.
Buffalo previously ruled out safety Taylor Rapp because of back and hip injuries. That could play a significant role in the game, given that he would be largely responsible for covering tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray.
Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 23-14 win over the Texans in the divisional round.
Remaining inactive for Buffalo against the defending Super Bowl champions were defensive end Brandon Codrington, defensive tackles Quinton Jefferson and Dewayne Carter, and offensive linemen Ryan Van DeMark and Cedric Van-Pran Granger.
Bills lineman Matt Milano, who has been dealing with biceps and knee injuries, was limited earlier in the week but cleared to play against Kansas City. One of the leaders of the Bills’ defense missed their 30-21 win over the Chiefs in Week 11.
Buffalo was also without tight end Dalton Kincaid with a knee injury and wide receiver Keon Coleman with a wrist injury for their regular-season game against the Chiefs, but both were available Sunday.
Kansas City was without running back Isiah Pacheco, pass rusher Charles Omenhu and defensive end Jalen Watson in that game, but all were on the field for the title game.
In fact, the Chiefs were as healthy as any team to ever play for a conference championship, thanks in part to securing the No. 1 seed with a win in Pittsburgh on Christmas Day. That allowed them to rest most of their key names in their regular season finale, then give them the next week thanks to earning the lone bye in the AFC playoffs.
The Chiefs made defensive end Keith Taylor, wide receiver Justin Ross, defensive ends Josh Uche and Malik Herring, and offensive linemen CJ Hanson, Vanya Morris and Ethan Driskel inactive against Buffalo.
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