KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An untimely penalty and a game-winning 45-yard kick became the difference with less than a minute remaining in the AFC Championship Game.
Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul after hitting quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of bounds with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
The infraction moved the Chiefs closer to the Bengals’ 27-yard line, where Harrison Butker took care of the rest by drilling a 45-yard field goal to give his team a 23-20 win, which sends the Chiefs to Super Bowl LVII.
The Chiefs and Bengals traded jabs in the first half of the Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium before exchanging heavy blows in the second half.
But only one team would emerge victorious, and Mahomes made sure it was his team.
Mahomes passed for 326 yards and two touchdowns in the win, which snapped the Bengals’ three-game winning streak over the Chiefs.
Defense became an early theme in a game featuring two of the NFL’s top offenses.
The Chiefs opened the second half with a three-and-out and the Bengals made Kansas City pay.
Joe Burrow led an 8-play, 62-yard drive, which included a quarterback draw play, resulting in a Burrow 11-yard run, and a well-placed 27-yard pass to wide receiver Tee Higgins, who got behind Chiefs rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson in the end zone. The touchdown tied the game at 13-13.
The Chiefs answered on the next drive. Mahomes drove the offense 77 yards on 11 plays and finished the drive with a 19-yard dart to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to give the Chiefs a 20-13 lead. Mahomes connected with Valdes-Scantling three times on the drive on gains of 6, 19 and 25 yards.
Valdes-Scantling finished the game with a team-high 116 yards receiving and a touchdown on six catches.
Mahomes showed little signs of the high-ankle injury suffered in the AFC Divisional Round, but he fumbled late in the third quarter with the Chiefs leading 20-13. The turnover gave the Bengals possession at the Chiefs’ 45-yard line.
Burrow marched the Bengals to paydirt in six plays, which included a 35-yard completion to wide receiver J’Marr Chase on a fourth-and-6 situation. Running back Samaje Perine finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game, 20-20.
The excitement level in the game ratcheted up in the second half after the two teams seemed to feel each other out on the first half.
Cincinnati’s first possession of the game didn’t generate too much, but the Chiefs lost cornerback L’Jarius Sneed on the fourth play of the game to a concussion. Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark ended the Bengals’ possession with a sack on Burrow. The Bengals punted after a five-play, 9-yard drive.
On the Chiefs opening possession, Mahomes completed 3 of 4 passes for 35 yards and would’ve had a 25-yard touchdown pass if wide receiver Kadarius Toney was able to haul in the ball. Toney couldn’t maintain possession of the ball when he fell in the end zone, and the Chiefs settled on Harrison Butker’s 43-yard field goal to take the early 3-0 lead.
The Chiefs defense took over on Cincinnati’s second possession. Clark and linebacker Willie Gay split a sack, and Jones ended the Bengals’ short possession with his first career playoff sack, which went for a 6-yard loss.
Kansas City’s offense moved well on the ensuing possession, as Mahomes drove the offense down the field on a 12-play, 61-yard drive with completions to tight end Travis Kelce, running back Isiah Pacheco and running back Jerick McKinnon. Pacheco broke free for an apparent 9-yard touchdown run, but an Andrew Wylie holding penalty moved the Chiefs back. The Chiefs then settled for another Butker field goal, this one from 24 yards.
The Bengals’ offense woke up after two ineffective possessions. Burrow engineered a 13-play, 63-yard drive, which featured a 16-yard and a 24-yard pass completion to wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis sacked Burrow on the drive, and Cincinnati’s drive stalled inside the red zone, forcing the Bengals to settle for Evan McPerson’s 30-yard field goal, which cut the Chiefs’ lead to 6-3.
The Chiefs got their first touchdown on their third possession, going 75 yards on eight plays. The Chiefs faced a fourth-and-1 situation at the Bengals’ 14-yard line, and Mahomes found his favorite target, Kelce, with a laser pass in the end zone. Butker was good on the extra point and the Chiefs led 13-3.
Cincinnati’s possession lasted just three plays, as Chiefs rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson picked Burrow and returned it 10 yards to the Bengals’ 39-yard line to put the Chiefs in good field position. Kansas City did nothing with the possession, though, and went three-and-out.
The Bengals were pinned at their own 5-yard line following Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend’s 34-yard kick with just a little more than 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The time didn’t affect the Bengals too much, as Burrow drove the offense 90 yards to set up McPherson’s 23-yard field goal to end the first half. Cincinnati’s drive was helped by Chiefs rookie safety Bryan Cook’s defensive pass-interference infraction, which went for 21 yards.
The two teams picked it up in the second half, leading to the exciting finish.
HARDMAN’S RETURN
Mecole Hardman appeared in his first game since Week 9 but didn’t have much of an impact.
The Chiefs utilized the fourth-year wide receiver in the run game and passing game, and he totaled 17 yards (7 rushing) before suffering a pelvis injury in the second half.
The Chiefs previously activated Hardman from the reserve/injured list in late December, but he was inactive for the regular-season finale and the AFC Divisional Round.
SACK PARTY
The Chiefs took advantage of the Bengals’ suspect offensive line by recording five sacks on Burrow.
Jones, Clark, Gay and rookie Karlaftis each recorded a takedown, while Jones had a team-high two sacks in the game.
Burrow finished the regular season getting sacked 41 times, which represented the fourth-most in the league.
INJURIES
Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed left in the first quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. The Chiefs later ruled him out for the game.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney suffered an ankle injury on the Chiefs’ second offensive series.
Linebacker Willie Gay left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, while wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a knee injury.
DID NOT DRESS
Wide receiver Justin Watson (illness), quarterback Shane Buechele, tight end Blake Bell, defensive lineman Malik Herring, rookie offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs advance to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Arizona.
