The Kansas City Chiefs are getting prepared to face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season.
This is the fifth consecutive season the team will host the AFC title game and during that span the team has a 2-2 record. Their first loss came in 2018 against the New England Patriots, but their most recent loss came last season against the Bengals. It’s a game that the team felt they had in hand, but squandered away with an error-ridden second half.
That game was a motivating factor for many players this offseason, but heading into this game, LB Nick Bolton says the Chiefs aren’t focused on things that happened in the past. He says the team is drawing motivation from different places.
“Yeah, man, I feel like we’re motivated,” Bolton said. “Just another chance to compete in another game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. We got another chance to play at home in front of our home fans and that’s exciting for us. We got to come out, we got to execute. We can’t really worry about 2018 and compare it to back then.
“We got to execute the game plan, we got to out there play fast, play physical and have fun. I feel like that’s just the message for this game and kind of what we’ve got in-house. It’s kind of what we’re motivated (by). (We’re) kind of motivating each other and our teammates. So we’re going to just execute and play hard for each other.”
Right now, it’s less about exorcising demons against a team that’s had their number and more about putting on for the fans and each other according to Bolton. They can’t go back and change the past no matter what happens in this game, but they can make sure they’re locked in on the game plan and able to execute at a high level. For a defense that struggled against Burrow and the Bengals in Week 13, execution will certainly be a key factor in the results of the rematch.
