The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals by a three-point margin on Sunday night to advance to their third Super Bowl in four years. A gutsy performance by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City defense lifted the Chiefs over Cincinnati, who has had their number in recent matchups.
This game was an instant classic and was among the most back-and-forth games of the entire playoff schedule. Kansas City’s execution in several key facets of the game gave them an advantage over the Bengals and helped secure them the opening they needed to take a lead with just seconds remaining.
Here are four ways the Chiefs took over in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday:
Effective pass rush headlined Chiefs' defensive performance.
Veteran defensive lineman Chris Jones brought down Joe Burrow for the first two sacks of his postseason career in this matchup and dominated Cincinnati’s offensive line in all four quarters. He seemed to take some of the Bengals’ banter earlier in the week to heart, and put together what was arguably the best game of his career when the stakes were highest.
In addition to Jones’ accomplishment, edge rusher Frank Clark moved into the top three on the NFL’s all-time playoff sacks leaderboard, passing former Chief Terrell Suggs with his one-and-a-half sack performance. Clark is now just two and a half sacks shy of first place, held by legendary pass rusher Reggie White, who had 16 in his illustrious career.
Patrick Mahomes' mettle kept Chiefs' offense moving.
In a game where his mobility was severely limited by an ankle injury he sustained against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, Mahomes showed a tremendous amount of grit in his ability to execute Andy Reid’s complex offense despite his obvious discomfort. The Bengals’ pass rush was fierce in all four quarters, and Mahomes was forced to hang tough in the pocket on 43 pass attempts, of which he completed 29 for 326 yards.
His connection with first-year Chief Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a surprising development and showed just how crafty Mahomes can be against all odds when the lights shine brightest.
Turnovers changed the game for Kansas City's defense.
The Chiefs’ two interceptions of Joe Burrow, both of which came from rookies in their secondary, were the crown jewels of Kansas City’s defensive effort, which was as impressive as it was unexpected. Cincinnati’s offense led by quarterback Joe Burrow and running back Joe Mixon had no problem gashing the Chiefs in previous meetings, but the two interceptions proved to be too much to overcome in this matchup.
It will take another exceptional performance by Kansas City’s young secondary to parlay this performance into a Super Bowl victory in February.
Harrison Butker's go-ahead field goal sealed the game with seconds remaining.
Kansas City’s kicker, Harrison Butker, nailed a 45-yard field goal to take the lead with just seconds of game time remaining and effectively sealed the Bengals’ fate. The kick came after a late hit out of bounds on Patrick Mahomes by Cincinnati linebacker Joseph Ossai on the Chiefs’ final drive, which gave Kansas City the field position necessary to make a last-second field goal attempt.
Butker’s consistency has been questioned over the course of this season, but with their 2022 campaign on the line, his aim was true to send Kansas City to the Super Bowl.
