The Bengals were set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in week 17 with the chance to do something they have not done since 2015… clinch an AFC North title. Going up against an offence as dynamic as Kansas City’s, the expectation was that the Cincinnati offence would have to keep up with theirs, while the defence would have to do enough to allow the offence to get ahead. As expected, the theme in this one was offence, especially with the Bengals defence allowing four straight TD’s. However, things tightened up in the 2nd half, providing the Bengals an opportunity to pull off a massive comeback.
In what turned out to be an offensive shootout, each team started out the game with a three and out. The Chiefs opened the scoring on their second possession. A 32 yard penalty on Jessie Bates for pass interference aided KC on this drive. A few plays later, Patrick Mahomes found Demarcus Robinson in the end zone for a 29 yard TD.
After Joe Mixon ran for a 1st down on the opening play of the next drive, Cincinnati’s offence once again failed to generate anything. This allowed Kansas City to jump out further ahead. A poor punt by Kevin Huber set them up with good field position at the KC 37. Mahomes completed passes down the field to Tyreek Hill and Blake Bell, before a 23 yard run by Gore set them up at Cincy’s 2. On 3rd down, Mahomes hit Travis Kelce on the crosser for a 3 yard TD. With that, KC got off to a rather quick 14-0 lead.
Cincinnati would answer. They only needed two plays on their next drive. Joe Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase, who made several guys miss before outrunning all of them to the end zone. It was a 72 yard catch and run, cutting the Chiefs lead down to 14-7.
Unfortunately, the Bengals defence still had no solution that could stop Mahomes and the Chiefs offence. He found Mecole Hardman for a 53 yard pass down the field, setting up Darrel Williams’ 1 yard TD just a few plays later.
The next Bengals drive featured Joe Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase early on. These plays were smaller, but they were slowly moving down the field. A 17 yard completion to Tyler Boyd set up the Bengals at the KC 18. On the next play, Burrow found Chase for the 18 yard score. Chase went up over the defender to snag it. He also did a great job to keep his feet in bounds. That made it 21-14 for the Chiefs.
Cincinnati’s defence had the chance to get a 3rd down spot on the next drive. However, Mahomes completed a 27 yard pass to Pringle, which moved the chains. A few plays later, they got down to the 1, where Williams was able to rush in for his 2nd TD of the game. The Bengals would add a field goal before the half, making the halftime score 28-17 KC.
The Bengals got the ball to start the second half. It was reminiscent of one of their earlier drives. This one only lasted three plays. But not a three and out. Instead, it was yet another long bomb TD to Chase. There seemed to be a busy in the coverage, allowing Chase to get open deep down the left sideline. This score cut KC’s lead to 4 points. 28-24.
After getting a couple of big stops, the offence was in position to take the lead for the first time in the game. It was a long drive, totaling 86 yards. A pass interference call on 3rd down allowed Cincinnati to extend the drive. The two plays after that were a 39 yard pass to Higgins, and a 10 yarder to Chase. Burrow and co. were able to get down to the KC 5 yard line. From there, he found Tyler Boyd in the back of the end zone. It was the team’s first lead of the day, as the score was 31-28 for the Bengals.
Cincy’s defence bent on the next drive. Mahomes drove the Chiefs down the field, completing several short passes. They made it inside the red zone, but the Bengals stayed firm, forcing an incompletion on 3rd & 5. Andy Ried opted to attempt a field goal to tie it, rather than going for it on 4th down. Harrison Butker’s 34 yard attempt was successful, making it 31 all.
The kickoff resulted in a touchback and the Bengals were left with 6:01 on the game clock. Scoring was obviously the top priority, but clock management was crucial as well. If held to a field goal with time left on the clock, they would be putting the ball back in Mahomes’ hands.
They didn’t waste any time picking up yards, as just a few plays in, Chase caught one for 35 yards. Now in KC territory, disaster started to hit, as a holding penalty, and a sack backed the Bengals up. An incompletion on 2nd down put them in a 3rd & 27 situation. The Chiefs decided to blitz on 3rd down, leaving Chase in single coverage. With pressure approaching fast, Burrow lifted it up down the sideline. Chase elevated for the ball, making the catch. He picked up 30 yards on the play, which was good enough to move the chains.
At the 2 minute warning, Cincinnati had the ball at the 1. Two stuffed QB sneaks and a stuffed Mixon run soon put the Bengals in a 4th & goal situation. The Chiefs, meanwhile, used up all of their timeouts to stop the clock. On 4th down, Burrow completed the pass to Joe Mixon. He appeared to get in, but was ruled down short of the goal line. However, offsetting penalties allowed the Bengals to redo the down. On the second attempt, Burrow’s pass for Boyd fell incomplete. But again, a flag was thrown. This time, the Chiefs were the only team penalised. It was for illegal use of hands, which comes with an automatic 1st down. That was huge, as Cincinnati was able to kill the rest of the clock, taking it down to just a couple of seconds. Evan McPherson came on and kicked the game winning 20 yard field goal. 34-31 final.
With the win, the Cincinnati Bengals have won the AFC North for the first time since 2015. As was the case last week, the Bengals are currently in the 3rd seed. They still have a chance to claim the 2nd or even 1st seed, but will need a lot of help.
The Bengals now sit at 10-6 and will finish off the regular season next week in Cleveland when they take on the Browns.
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