A.F.C. Championship GameA.F.C. Championship: Kansas City Beats Cincinnati, 23-20, With Late Field Goal
After a defensive stop, a solid punt return and an untimely Bengals penalty, Harrison Butker made a kick with 3 seconds left to send Kansas City to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.
Patrick Mahomes led a game-winning drive with 30 seconds left in Sunday’s A.F.C. championship game.Credit...David Eulitt/Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have the best record in the N.F.L. in the past five seasons, winning 64 games.
Yet for all that winning, the Cincinnati Bengals had proved to be Kansas City’s kryptonite. The Bengals had beaten the Chiefs three times in a row, including in last year’s A.F.C. championship game.
The teams met again on Sunday in a rematch that would determine who would face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. And the Bengals appeared on the verge of upsetting the Chiefs yet again, just as they had done the previous three times.
But Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes took over with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. On a hobbled right ankle, he scrambled 5 yards for a first down at the Cincinnati 42-yard line and was shoved after he was out of bounds. The ensuing 15-yard penalty was the difference maker for kicker Harrison Butker, whose 45-yard game-winning field goal just passed the cross bar with three seconds remaining, giving the Chiefs a 23-20 victory.
“At some point in games, you have to put it all on the line,” Mahomes said about his late scramble.
Kansas City will now head to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons. The game will feature the top seeds from both conferences for the 14th time in Super Bowl history. Kansas City Coach Andy Reid will face his old team, the Eagles, and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce will play against his older brother Jason, the center on Philadelphia.
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Kansas City Coach Andy Reid will face his former team, the Eagles, in the Super Bowl.Credit...David Eulitt/Getty Images
The Chiefs were only slight favorites heading into the game; Mahomes was recovering from a high ankle sprain he sustained a week ago against Jacksonville in the divisional round, and Travis Kelce had back spasms. Mahomes didn’t scramble for many yards, but he was able to run out of the pocket to buy time to find receivers.
“I didn’t have that burst I usually have,” Mahomes said. “But I was able to do enough to get out of bounds.”
Though he wasn’t comfortable planting his right foot at times, Mahomes finished the game 29 for 43 passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
He led Kansas City on three scoring drives in the first half, including a 14-yard touchdown strike to Kelce on fourth-and-1. Kansas City’s defense sacked Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow four times in the first half after notching none when the teams met in December.
“It was pure grit for him and Kelce,” Reid said of Mahomes and his tight end.
But the Bengals didn’t panic. They had trailed by 7, 14 and 18 points in their last three games against Kansas City, and they won each time by 3 points. After gaining no yards on offense in the first quarter, the Bengals came alive in the second quarter, notching two field goals and heading into halftime behind by just one score, 13-6.
Burrow, who in his third season has emerged as one of the league’s top passers, went 26 for 41 for 270 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had a team-high 30 yards rushing.
On the Bengals’ first drive of the second half, Burrow picked up where he left off, leading the Bengals on a 62-yard drive that ended with receiver Tee Higgins leaping over a defender to grab a 27-yard pass near the pylon in the end zone to tie the score at 13.
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Joe Burrow threw for 270 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.Credit...Denny Medley/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Like in last year’s A.F.C. title game, the two rivals traded blows for much of the second half and seemed destined for overtime again.
Mahomes, who had been visibly limping as he ran to his left on the previous possession, led Kansas City on an impressive 11-play drive. It ended with Mahomes, under pressure in the pocket, throwing a 19-yard pass to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the goal line.
On their next drive, the Chiefs tried to build a cushion that the Bengals would not be able to overcome. But Mahomes, out of the shotgun, lost control of an attempted pass that was ruled a fumble and recovered by Cincinnati defensive end Sam Hubbard at the Kansas City 45-yard line.
The Bengals cashed in on the opportunity. On a fourth-and-6, Burrow threw a 35-yard pass to receiver Ja’Marr Chase in double coverage. Two plays later, running back Samaje Perine crossed the goal line to tie the game again at 20.
The Bengals’ defense appeared to shut down Mahomes twice on the ensuing drive, but one play was called back because the referee stopped the clock before the snap. On the do-over play, the Bengals were called for defensive holding, which gave Kansas City an automatic first down.
The Kansas City drive fizzled. But Burrow tried to do too much on the next drive. He threw to receiver Tee Higgins in double coverage, and the pass was tipped by safety Bryan Cook and intercepted by cornerback Joshua Williams.
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Bryan Cook and Joshua Williams, right, combined for an interception of Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter.Credit...Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
With just under seven minutes remaining, Kansas City appeared poised to grab the lead after Mahomes connected with running back Isiah Pacheco, who broke free from a tackle and scrambled 16 yards down the sideline. But again, the Bengals shut down the drive. Reid chose to punt and that forced the Bengals to start their last drive deep in their own end of the field.
With two and a half minutes remaining, the Bengals set out to steal another game from Kansas City. But penalties undid their drive, and Kansas City, after a 29-yard punt return, took over with 30 seconds and two timeouts.
That was all the time Mahomes and the Chiefs needed to rewrite the script against the Bengals, and earn another trip back to the Super Bowl.
“I’m riding a wave right now,” Reid said of the opportunity to face his old team.
Harrison Butker hit a winning 45-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.Credit...Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons after beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in a game in which key plays late helped Kansas City to its first win over Cincinnati in its last four tries. Kansas City will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz., after the Eagles trounced the San Francisco 49ers earlier Sunday.
It looked as if the Bengals were going to come back again from a first-half deficit like they did in the conference title game last season as they took the field with more than two minutes left and the game tied at 20. But on a third down Kansas City defensive end Chris Jones sacked Burrow, giving Kansas City the ball with just under a minute remaining.
On that drive, Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai shoved Mahomes out of bounds on a third-down scramble that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty, setting up the winning 45-yard field goal for Kansas City’s Harrison Butker.
This is the first time that Kansas City has beaten the Bengals with Joe Burrow as a starter, a point that Bengals players, fans, and elected officials in Ohio made known in the days leading up to the game. Bengals defensive back Mike Hilton said that the Bengals were headed to “Burrowhead,” modifying the name of Kansas City’s home stadium, “Arrowhead.” Even Cincinnati’s mayor, Aftab Pureval, said during a City Council meeting that he would be traveling to “Burrowhead” for the game.
After Kansas City’s win Mahomes and his teammates quickly responded. “We showed this place is Arrowhead. It’s not ‘Burrowhead’ out here,” Mahomes said on the field after the game before joining other teammates in celebration.
This game began similarly to the last three matchups that ended with wins for Cincinnati. In the first half, Kansas City looked dominant moving down the field, and reached the red zone three times while sacking Joe Burrow four times. But Kansas City only led by 7 points at halftime, a similar position it had during last year’s A.F.C. title game, in which it squandered an 11-point halftime lead.
The Bengals indeed responded in the second half by getting the ball to their playmakers. First, Burrow threw a 27-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins, who leaped and snagged the ball over the outstretched arms of Kansas City defensive back Jaylen Watson to tie the game. Kansas City retook the lead with a touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and the Bengals responded with a 35-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase in double coverage that set up a short touchdown for Samaje Perine.
Both teams had opportunities to take the lead after that, but the offenses struggled to capitalize and the defenses made big plays. Kansas City had punted twice, and the Bengals threw an interception and punted before Kansas City finally put the game away — thanks to that unnecessary roughness penalty that immediately set up a winning field goal.
Harrison Butker’s 45-yard field goal attempt is good.
Jan. 29, 2023, 10:01 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Bengals DE Jospeh Ossai takes a bad roughing call hitting Mahomes out of bounds. But even worse, Ossai’s leg buckled as he fell to the ground. Doesn’t look good.
Jan. 29, 2023, 10:08 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
After the game, Ossai stayed on the bench, distraught about how things played out.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:57 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Chris Jones gets his second sack of the night in a big moment: with Cincinnati facing third-and-long with under a minute remaining. Andy Reid’s gamble on punting to the Bengals with two minutes to go pays off here.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:52 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
After a delay, the referees call intentional grounding. Joe Burrow came up shaking his throwing hand. Third-and-16 for the Bengals, and Burrow connects with his tight end Hayden Hurst to convert.
Bengals take over on their own 6-yard line with 2:30 to go. Is it Burrow time?
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Credit...Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:39 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
A game-changing interception for Kansas City: Bryan Cook tips the ball intended for Tee Higgins to Joshua Williams. Kansas City’s ball with just over six minutes to go.
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Credit...Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:40 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Burrow really chanced it throwing into double coverage on that one, but the tip-to-pick was a one in a million chain of events.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:31 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Tony Romo has turned into Yogi Berra (RIP). “This is their third third down of their last two third downs.”
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:29 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
Kansas City’s third-down play was blown dead, but the crowd was so loud that that no one heard, and play continued. The Bengals sacked Mahomes on a do-over down as their head coach, Zac Taylor, yelled at referees, but a holding penalty on Eli Apple gave Kansas City a first down anyway.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:29 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Everyone has lost track of down and distance. The Arrowhead crowd is, predictably, atwitter.
Credit...Jay Biggerstaff/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Patrick Mahomes picked the wrong time for his first career playoff fumble. With a minute remaining the third quarter, Mahomes lost his grip on the ball as he attempted a pass and Bengals lineman Sam Hubbard pounced on the ball to gain possession.
It looked like Mahomes might get away with the mistake, but Cincinnati aggressively kept its offense on the field on a fourth-and-6, and Burrow delivered a long pass to Ja’Marr Chase — in double coverage, no less — to set up a short touchdown run from Samaje Perine and tie the game at 20.
Before that turn of events, Kansas City was looking strong in the third quarter.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a 25-yard catch, a key first down and then a 19-yard touchdown.
It looked like Kansas City would take control in its bid to reverse its recent 0-3 record against Joe Burrow. Instead, with 55 seconds left in the third quarter, Mahomes fumbled for the first time in the postseason.
In the past three games, the Bengals have come from behind to win the last three games by 3 points each.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:19 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
Samaje Perine scores, and just like that, the game is tied at 20. This is starting to look a lot like how the previous three games between these teams went.
Burrow essentially threw a jump ball to Ja’Marr Chase who was double covered on fourth down but leaped over both defenders for a snag to put the Bengals in the red zone.
Samaje Perine rushes for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra point is good.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:13 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Calling that a “fumble” is almost a misnomer. Looked like the ball squirted out of Mahomes’s hand with no defender within 3 yards of him. Just lost his grip on the ball in the cold.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:11 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
Mahomes fumbles the ball as he goes to throw and it’s recovered by the Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard. Just when it looked like things were going well for Kansas City...
Kansas City’s longest punt return of the season (21 yards, to the Bengals’ 43-yard line) is wiped out by a holding call. They’ll start at their own 31 instead as they try to make it a two-score game.
Jan. 29, 2023, 9:00 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
Marquez Valdes-Scantling was one of the receivers Kansas City signed after Tyreek Hill left in free agency, to help replace his production. Valdes-Scantling is up to five catches for 91 yards and a big-time touchdown to retake the lead.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling catches a 19-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes. The extra point is good.
Jan. 29, 2023, 8:55 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
A reminder that the yellow line on your television screen isn’t officially accurate for the first down marker. Kansas City wins the challenge but now has none for the remainder of the game.
The Bengals evened the score at 13 with a 27 yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins. The ball was placed high on Higgins’s’ back shoulder and he leaped and snagged the ball over the outstretched arms of Kansas City defensive back Jaylen Watson with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
It seems almost impossible that this game is tied at this point. Kansas City dominated the first half: it got into the red zone three times, sacked Burrow four times and secured an interception, but only went into halftime with a 7-point lead.
But for anyone who has watched Kansas City and Cincinnati play in recent years, the game is going according to the previous scripts. The Bengals had trailed by at least 7 in each of their last three games against Kansas City, each time coming back to win.
And now this game could be headed in a similar direction unless Kansas City can buck that trend.
Jan. 29, 2023, 8:44 p.m. ET
Kris Rhim
Patrick Mahomes is noticeably limping for the first time today. Mahomes rolled to his left and put all of his weight on the right ankle to throw a pass to Mecole Hardman, who went down on the play himself. The 11-yard catch gave Kansas City a much needed first down, and Mahomes celebrated mid-limp.
Jan. 29, 2023, 8:47 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Mecole Hardman stayed down on the field after making that catch and being brought down by two Bengals defenders. He walked to the sideline and is being evaluated.
Jan. 29, 2023, 8:37 p.m. ET
Elena Bergeron
Tee Higgins goes up to catch a 27-yard back shoulder throw in the end zone. Kick good. We’ve got a tied game.
Don’t count out Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins. They stalled Kansas City’s momentum with about 10 minutes left with that lovely touchdown. It was a toss up ball to the end zone that some would call a 50-50 ball. But as Tony Romo points out, Higgins considers it an 85-15 ball.
Tee Higgins catches a 27-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow. The extra point is good.
Jan. 29, 2023, 8:07 p.m. ET
Ken Belson
Reporting from Arrowhead Stadium
The Bengals narrow the score to 13-6 with a field goal after an effective two-minute drive. They benefited from a pass interference penalty committed by Kansas City. But Burrow came alive with big completions to Chase, Higgins and Cook. It's a one-score game at halftime.
With a touchdown and an interception late in the second quarter, Kansas City seems to have taken control of this game at its midway point. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce quickly showed that their injuries wouldn’t significantly hinder them in the game. Mahomes found Kelce for the game’s first touchdown with just under four minutes left in the second quarter on a 14-yard pass.
Harrison Butker’s extra point gave Kansas City a 13-3 lead. And Mahomes’s 165 yards and was already more than either quarterback threw for in the N.F.C. championship earlier Sunday.
“Burrowhead,” the nickname for Kansas City’s stadium by Bengals players and fans, hasn’t been kind to quarterback Joe Burrow in the first half. After Mahomes’s touchdown, Burrow threw an interception to Kansas City defensive back Jaylen Watson on a poorly thrown ball, which is unusual for Burrow. Kansas City also sacked Burrow four times.
But Kansas City should not feel comfortable, as it squandered an 11-point first half lead to the Bengals in last year’s A.F.C. title game.
Jerick McKinnon rushing for a touchdown against the Houston Texans.Credit...Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — He answers to the nickname Jet, confesses to having “little man” syndrome and has a high-pitched voice — constantly imitated by his teammates and coach — that would make a high school freshman blush.
But Jerick McKinnon, the Chiefs’ diminutive running back, has also made an outsize contribution as something of a quarterback helper. He caught nine touchdown passes during the regular season to tie the Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk’s 2001 mark for scoring receptions by a running back.
At 5-foot-9 and 216 pounds, McKinnon has also been a shockingly effective blocker, a skill that may help fend off the Bengals’ defense in Sunday’s A.F.C. championship game with quarterback Patrick Mahomes nursing a sprained right ankle.
McKinnon has taken the long path to a breakout season. A third-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, he spent four years as a backup before signing a four-year, $30 million deal with San Francisco in 2018. That year, McKinnon tore an anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that kept him from playing until 2020. He did not have many options left when Kansas City offered him a one-year deal before last season.
McKinnon, a 30-year-old journeyman, was selected as a playoff captain by his teammates because of his good humor and professionalism.
“It’s not like he’s looking for the glory or the praise,” Mahomes said. “He just comes to work every single day with a smile on his face and he brings the energy. You ask anybody in the locker room, and he’s probably one of, if not the favorite guy in the locker room.”
Travis Kelce during the first quarter of the A.F.C. championship game.Credit...Denny Medley/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Kansas City’s two biggest stars, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, had questions about their health leading into the A.F.C. championship game on Sunday. Mahomes’s sustained a high ankle sprain in the divisional round on Jan 21. Kelce had back spasms during practice this week, which made his playing status uncertain until just before game time.
But on Kansas City’s early offensive possessions, neither looked like players overcoming injuries, other than Mahomes as he wore heavy athletic tape on his cleats. Mahomes’s second pass was a rollout to his right, where he threw the ball while planting on that right ankle to Kelce, who caught the pass after running a short out route. Kelce took it past the first down marker for a 16-yard gain, then stood up and celebrated.
Mahomes’s’ ability to escape defenders and Kelce’s physicality after the catch makes them one of the best N.F.L.’s best tandems. It’s too early to determine whether either will be significantly hindered as the game goes on, but they seem to be moving without a hitch.
A Kansas City fan with a sign displaying Arrowhead Stadium’s Guinness World Record for loudness — 142.2 decibels.Credit...Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City’s home field, gives the Chiefs arguably the best home-field advantage in the N.F.L. The stadium, which seats 76,416 spectators, the fifth most in the league, holds a Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd noise at a sports stadium. The record was set in the first quarter of Kansas City’s 2014 game against the New England Patriots.
But some Bengals players and fans have insulted the stadium by deeming it “Burrowhead,” based on quarterback Joe Burrow’s dominance over Kansas City in their three most recent meetings. That has led at least one Kansas City player to call for breaking the record.
“Maybe we’re going to have to break it this week because a lot of Cincinnati Bengals fans are calling it ‘Burrowhead’ instead of Arrowhead,” Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce said on his “New Heights” podcast. “They’re throwing a lot of bulletin-board material out there.”
