The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime to advance to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
Veteran safety Vonn Bell picked off Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the first offensive series of overtime to give the Bengals the ball back with a chance to end the game. Evan McPherson knocked a 31-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Bengals a 27-24 victory over the reigning AFC Champions.
“We have a special team,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said following the game. “We’re not done yet.”
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What we learned from the Bengals’ AFC Championship win over the Chiefs:
Cincinnati’s defense leads miraculous second-half turnaround
The Bengals trailed 21-3 at one point in the first half and right before the end of the second quarter, cornerback Eli Apple made a tackle on Tyreek Hill to prevent the Chiefs from scoring and putting the game out of reach. If the Chiefs had scored before the half, it would have been troublesome for Cincinnati as Kansas City got the ball to start the second half as well.
Apple tackled Hill to the ground as time ran out and the play proved to be the turning point for the Bengals. Kansas City lost momentum and never got it back.
Cincinnati’s defense kept Kansas City to a field goal in the second half, the second time they've done so against the Chiefs this season. Defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard led the way with 3.5 sacks combined.
The Bengals weren't able to affect Mahomes at the level they needed in the first half as they didn't record one quarterback hit or sack. As they've done all season, the Bengals' defense found a way to improve in the second half.
Cincinnati sacked Mahomes four times and hit him five different times in the win. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill recorded a game-changing interception in the second half. With Hill and Bell’s interceptions, the Bengals forced two turnovers on defense to ultimately win the game.
"It's fitting they made a play on the ball like that," Taylor said. "Proud of those guys. They've mastered this takeaway thing these last couple of weeks and it's really enabled us to play the type of game we want to play."
Joe Burrow continues to not flinch in the face of adversity
Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback went toe-to-toe with Mahomes all game. Once again, Burrow led the Bengals back from a significant deficit as he's done often in his second season in the NFL.
A year after tearing his ACL and MCL and having his rookie season end abruptly with surgery, Burrow is an AFC Champion and is headed to play in his first Super Bowl.
Burrow completed 23-of-38 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He also threw one interception.
"I wouldn't call it surreal," Burrow said following the game. "I would say it's exciting. I think if you would have told me before the season that we'd be going to the Super Bowl, I probably would have called you crazy. But then we played a whole season and nothing surprises me now. I know the type of guys we have and the team we have. There's still one left. We're excited about this one but we'll celebrate tonight and then move on."
Evan McPherson with a perfect postseason
The Bengals’ rookie kicker is a 12-of-12 in the playoffs and has been so reliable for Cincinnati all season long. McPherson hit four field goals in the win over the Chiefs and has now made three 50-plus yard field goals in the playoffs.
Cincinnati drafted McPherson in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and next to rookie Ja'Marr Chase, McPherson has been the most valuable draft pick of his class.
"Nobody blinked an eye," McPherson said of the message at halftime. "I think we all thought we were definitely going to come back and find a way to win and that's what we've done throughout the whole year. I think a lot of people wrote us off at halftime but we're a confident bunch of guys and we knew there was no way we were going out like this and we knew 100 percent we were going to come back and give them a run for their money."
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