KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nearly a year after the Cincinnati Bengals felt the Kansas City Chiefs home in overtime of last season’s AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs are getting their revenge. Playing with a sprained high ankle, quarterback patrick mahomes broken joe burrow and the Bengals’ three-game winning streak over Kansas City.
harrison butcher he sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl with a 45-yard field goal to win 23-20. It’s the Chiefs’ third Super Bowl berth in four seasons. will face jalen hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mahomes had a message for the Bengals cornerback mike hiltonwho nicknamed the Chiefs’ home stadium “Burrowhead” after the Bengals’ divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills.
“We show that this place is Arrowhead, it’s not ‘Burrowhead’ here,” Mahomes said after the win.
Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes added another significant chapter to his legacy Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
A week after spraining a high ankle and limping in the second half of a divisional-round playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes led the Chiefs to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons. The Chiefs will play the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII after their victory in the AFC Championship Game.
The Chiefs won on Harrison Butker’s 45-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Mahomes completed 1 of 2 passes for 6 yards on the drive and rushed for 9 yards leading up to the field goal. He finished 29 of 43 for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
Don’t Buy Valdes-Scantling’s Featured Performance: Marquez Valdes-Scantling he made some big catches for the Chiefs and finished with six receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. He had similar games for the Chiefs this season, but not enough. More often than not, he’s just not going to be a high-volume receiver for the Chiefs, but one who delivers the occasional big play.
Promising trend: The Chiefs have reason to feel good about what they’ve accomplished on defense. They pressured Burrow for much of the game and finished with five sacks. They had two interceptions, something they did just once in their three games against Burrow and the Bengals. They also made Cincinnati kick field goals twice while in the red zone.
Hidden stats that matter: The Chiefs at the end of the game were playing without four of their top six wide receivers due to injury or illness. JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), mecole hardman (pelvis) and kadarius toney (ankle) were injured during the game. justin watson (illness) did not follow up. That left them with Valdés-Scantling, rookie. sky moore and a player called up from the practice squad on Saturday. — Professor
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Ja’Marr Chase’s gutsy catch on fourth down sets up Bengals’ TD
Ja’Marr Chase makes an unreal grab on fourth-and-6 that sets up Samaje Perine for a brief Bengals touchdown run.
Cincinnati Bengals
The streaks had to end eventually.
The Chiefs finally got the better of the Bengals in a 23-20 victory in the AFC championship game. The Bengals failed to pull off four straight wins over their conference rivals and ended the season with a loss after winning 10 straight games.
It was another classic game between the teams that went down to the finish and featured big momentum swings. Cincinnati came close to another comeback, but ultimately couldn’t stop Mahomes and Kansas City from ending their winning streak in a gripping series.
Buying Higgins Breakout Performance: do not sleep tee higgins as a top receiving option. When the Bengals needed a time-critical finish on Sunday, Higgins was there. That was evident in the third quarter, when he went up and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to tie the game at 13. He used his framing and ball skills to hook a jump ball that Burrow threw well down the line. side. Cincinnati will have to make several contract decisions on key players in the upcoming offseasons. Higgins is eligible for an extension this year and showed why he is worth paying as a top receiver.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Cincinnati struggled to contain Mahomes even though he was dealing with a sprained ankle. The Kansas City quarterback completed his first six passes out of the pocket for 69 yards and a touchdown, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. And when Mahomes had time to throw, he made the Bengals pay. Through three quarters, he completed 13 of 19 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He finished 29 of 43 for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
QB breakdown: Burrow had a mixed bag against Kansas City. He struggled early on, with the biggest mistake being a first-half turnover on a shot to Higgins. But Burrow also had key plays where he was able to move the offense and relied on his receivers in tough situations. That happened when Burrow found Higgins on a 27-yard TD pass on third down in the third quarter and again when Ja’Marr’s Pursuit he caught a 35-yard pass on fourth-and-6 when double covered up the middle.
Describe the game in two words: Another classic. Cincinnati and Kansas City delivered the fourth installment of this series in two seasons and produced another thriller in the AFC Championship Game. –Baby