After beating the Bills last week, the Bengals made it to back to back AFC Championships. They were looking to get back to the Super Bowl to avenge last year’s loss. It was a rematch from last year’s game, with the Bengals again being hosted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Though both teams were battling injuries, it was expected to be a hard fought game that came down to the wire, and it did not disappoint.
The Chiefs got things going early, as they were able to move the ball quite well on the Bengals defence. Playing with an injured ankle, Mahomes wasn’t feeling a ton of pressure early on in the game. Kansas City got into Bengals territory on both of their opening two drives, bending the Bengals defence. However, the defence did not break, and was able to hold them to field goals on both drives.
Unfortunately, the Cincinnati defence couldn’t hold them out of the endzone in the 1st half. The Chiefs TD came sandwiched between two Bengals field goals. It was a long drive where Valdes-Scantling burned them a couple of times, and Kelce finished it off with the TD. As mentioned, the Bengals would answer with a field goal before the half, but they were deep in KC territory, deciding against attempting one more shot at the endzone with 4 seconds left. The Chiefs went into the half with a 13-6 lead.
The Bengals tied it on their opening drive of the 2nd half, via a long 27 yard pass to Tee Higgins. He went up over double coverage to come down with the ball. The Chiefs would take back their 7 point lead, with Mahomes finding Valdes-Scantling in the endzone on the next possession. 20-13 Chiefs.
A few possessions later, the Bengals took advantage of a Mahomes fumble, and starting field position at the Chiefs 45. The headliner was a 35 yard pass to Chase on 4th & 1. Shortly after, Perine ran it in from 2 yards out to, once again, level the game. 20-20.
Neither offence could get much going afterwards, though poor refereeing made things especially tough on the Bengals defence throughout the quarter. The Chiefs eventually got the ball back with about half a minute left, and a 29 yard return got things going for them. The Bengals survived 1st and 2nd down, but on 3rd down, Mahomes scrambled for a 1st. Kansas City would have been outside of field goal range with only 8 seconds left, but a late hit out of bounds by Ossai placed the ball at the 27. Harrison Butker kicked the game winning field goal from 45 yards out.
The Bengals bid to get back to the Super Bowl has fallen short, with a 23-20 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Coincidentally, the same score in last year’s Super Bowl. With the season over, focus will soon shift to free agency and the draft, with a number of key players in need of new contracts.
Homescreen Image Via: All-Pro Reels (CC)