The Chiefs’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game is undoubtedly going to be a source of second-guessing and dissection throughout this long offseason in Kansas City. No decision from that game is going to be under the microscope more than the Chiefs’ move to run a play with five seconds remaining in the first half and no timeouts.
Instead of taking the easy three points, the Chiefs got a bit greedy and tried to go for the touchdown. By now, we know what happened. Patrick Mahomes’ pass to Tyreek Hill was caught shy of the goal line, and Hill was tackled in bounds by Eli Apple. Time expired in the half, and the Bengals rode that momentum to score 18 straight points and win in overtime.
Both Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid took blame for the loss, but mic’d-up footage from NFL Films showed that Mahomes really dictated that decision.
