Kansas City Chiefs managed to shake off the shame of last year’s fall in the AFC Championship by serving their revenge on the Cincinnati Bengals a year later.
It was not going to be an easy confrontation and it was clear that both halves had distinct stories to tell, with the Chiefs building momentum in the First and Bengals managing to scratch their fortunes back.
Following Patrick Mahomes injury in last week’s Divisional Round game, he wasn’t 100% but he had enough deliver a performance that got the Chiefs into the Super Bowl. Oh and we can’t forget Harrison Butker’s 45 yard Field Goal which sent them over the line.
Chiefs on top
Butker’s first kick of the game would come in the 6th minute of the game, opening the scoreboard for Chiefs a three-point Field Goal.
Chiefs’ offense was enough to close down any efforts by the Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow to throw, sacking him three times in the First Quarter and Bengals’ offence unable to gain any yardage.
That would be the First Quarter sown up until the Second.
Mahomes’ condition
He was not 100%. After his injury last week, the star Quarterback managed to put in a reasonable performance in the circumstances.
Thankfully, the throws he could make managed to throw for 326 yards and send two Touchdown Passes to Travis Kelce and Marquez Valdes-Scanting, which landed successfully.
That’s pretty good given that three of the Chiefs’ Wide Receivers are injured.
The SECOND
Within two seconds of the Second Quarter kicking off, Butker would deliver the Chiefs’ second Field Goal of the game and the first of three in the Second Quarter.
Evan McPherson would deliver the Cincinnati Bengals first points of the game with a Field Goal in the 6th minute, but the Chiefs would respond.
Travis Kelce would make it 13 – 3 with a 14 yard touchdown pass late in the Second. Butker would find the middle of the posts to rack up more points with his Extra Point kick.
Bengals would suddenly shake into life in the dying minutes of the Second. Another three points would end up in the Bengals’ scoreboard when Evan McPherson sent in another three-point Field Goal on the 15th minute.
Bengals wake up
The Third Quarter would see the Bengals realise they were actually playing in the Conference Championships.
Burrow would manage to send a throw up to Tee Higgins and he’d deliver a Touchdown Pass that would be quickly converted into McPherson’s fourth Extra Point Kick.
That squared the game to 13 – 13 and it looked like the Bengals were switching on.
The tit-for-tat would follow with Chiefs delivering a 77-yard touchdown which saw them retake the lead.
Fourth and Final
The last quarter of the game saw the Bengals reach the pique of their capabilities against the Chiefs and the latter looked like they needed to think about how to dismantle the Bengals.
Mahome fumbled in the opening minutes of the Fourth giving the Bengals the chance to find a route to victory.
Samaje Perine would collect the ball and run for the Chiefs’ endzone and scoring a Touchdown in the process. McPherson would convert that into a kick and another seven points on the Bengals’ scoreboard.
Not a good place to be
It was 20 – 20. Not a good place for Chiefs and a great opportunity for the Bengals to steal the game.
With less than 30 seconds to go, the Chiefs’ offence managed to push the ball 39 yards into the Bengals territory and forcing a punt which came from Butker.
At exactly 14:57, Harrison Butker would kick the ball between the posts to tip the balance in favour of the Chiefs. The buzzer would blast and Chiefs were 23 – 20.
The revenge had been sweet if hard fought. Bengals were close to stealing the game but Chiefs rushed the lines and were able to secure the end of their opponent’s hopes of Super Bowl final glory.
Where next?
Well… it’s the big one. Kansas City Chiefs head to the Super Bowl to face the NFC Championship winners; Philadelphia Eagles.
