Bengals win AFC title, secure 3rd Super Bowl bid
Joe Burrow and the Bengals struggled for most of the first half Sunday, but the second-year quarterback orchestrated a memorable second…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Break out the victory cigars. The Cincinnati Bengals are headed to the Super Bowl.
For the first time in decades, the Bengals are AFC champions. Cincinnati defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime on Sunday to capture its first conference championship since 1989. The Bengals will face either the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati rookie kicker Evan McPherson hit a 31-yard field goal in overtime to cap a furious Bengals rally. The game-winning drive was set up after Cincinnati safety Jessie Bates deflected a deep pass from Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes that was intercepted by Bengals safety Vonn Bell.
The turnover set up Bengals second-year quarterback Joe Burrow with his first possession in OT and plenty of momentum for the Bengals’ skilled attack.
Needing only to score a field goal to win — after Kansas City won the overtime toss, took possession and was stopped — the Bengals mixed the pass with the run, churning out first downs in front of a stunned Kansas City crowd, eventually giving way to McPherson 5:24 into overtime. The winning kick was his fourth field goal of the game.
“Usually when you lose a coin flip to those guys, you’re going home,” Burrow said on the field during his postgame interview on CBS. “But our defense really stepped up and made plays in the second half. And on offense, we made plays when we had to.”
Cincinnati’s comeback is tied for the largest ever in a title game during the Super Bowl era. The 2006 Indianapolis Colts also rallied from 18 down to win the AFC title against the New England Patriots.
Burrow became the first No. 1 overall draft pick to lead a team to the Super Bowl in just his second year. He finished 23-of-38 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also had some pivotal scrambles for first downs in a second-half performance to remember.
Cincinnati defied the odds and pulled off a road upset for the second straight week. After toppling the top-seeded Tennessee Titans in the divisional round, Cincinnati was a 7-point underdog against Kansas City, which made its fourth straight appearance in the AFC title game.
But the Bengals’ internal belief that they could beat any team in the NFL was justified following Sunday afternoon’s victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
Cincinnati trailed 21-3 at one point in the second quarter and appeared to be out of the game.
But the Bengals started to slowly chip away at the deficit, starting with a 41-yard touchdown reception by Samaje Perine off a screen play. Cincinnati defensive tackle B.J. Hill picked off Mahomes midway through the third quarter, a turnover that sparked a 2-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase just before the end of the quarter.
The way the game unfolded was very similar to Cincinnati’s Week 17 win over Kansas City, when the Bengals rallied from a 14-point deficit to win 34-31 and clinch the AFC North title and their first playoff berth since 2015.
The Bengals had to claw back from another big deficit on Sunday, and cornerback Eli Apple made a critical open-field tackle on Kansas City wide receiver Tyreek Hill a yard away from the goal line on the final play of the first half to keep the Chiefs’ lead at 11.
From there, the Bengals kept rolling. Cincinnati ended the infamous “Curse of Bo Jackson” when it beat the Las Vegas Raiders at home in the wild-card game, the Bengals’ first playoff win in 31 seasons.
The Bengals’ victory over Tennessee was the franchise’s first road playoff victory, setting up their showdown with the Super Bowl LIV champions, who were vying for their third consecutive conference title. Burrow and the Bengals had other plans. Cincinnati, which most recently went to the Super Bowl in 1989, won the franchise’s third AFC championship in as many attempts.
Just two years ago, the Bengals were the worst team in the NFL. That allowed them to draft Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Bengals are the third team to go from worst to first in a three-season span. The 1981 San Francisco 49ers were one of those squads. They went on to beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.
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