Chiefs vs Bengals score, takeaways Patrick Mahomes Kansas City advance To Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated Cincinnati 23-20 in the conference championship game on Sunday to progress to Super Bowl LVII, exacting revenge for their loss to Joe Burrow and the Bengals in the AFC Championship a year prior.With fewer than 30 seconds left in regulation, Patrick Mahomes and the offence pushed the ball 39 yards down the field, setting up Harrison Butker to attempt the 45-yard game-winning field goal. That drive's pivotal play occurred on a third-and-4 from the Cincinnati 47-yard line. They were struck out of bounds after scrambling up the right side of the field for five yards, which resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty that put them in Butker's line of sight.This game was essentially a story of two halves, with Kansas City dominating the opening half. The Bengals got off to an unusually poor start, especially in the first quarter when they managed just 0 total offensive yards. The Chiefs were effectively moving the ball throughout, and they quickly took a 13-6 lead, in large part because of a touchdown run of 14 yards by Travis Kelce late in the second quarter. Cincinnati did, however, make a comeback in the closing seconds of the first half, moving 90 yards in little over two minutes to kick a field goal just before halftime to trim the deficit to a score.On their opening drive of the second half, they would tie the game at 13, starting a back-and-forth final two quarters between these two rivals. After Cincinnati scored, Mahomes and the Chiefs offence replied with a touchdown drive of their own that lasted 11 plays and 77 yards, giving them the lead once again. However, a turnover by Mahomes on their subsequent drive energised the Bengals, who would go on to tie the game at 20, thanks in large part to a crucial fourth-and-6 exchange between Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase. For the most of the fourth quarter, that score was 20. However, Kansas City's defence was able to force a punt with less than a minute remaining in regulation, and the offence took care of the rest to secure their berth in the playoffs.In the end, Mahomes completed 29 of his 43 passes for 326 yards and two scores. Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was his go-to target that evening, hauling in six of his eight targets for a team-high 116 yards and a touchdown. Burrow's performance was the opposite, as he completed 26 of his 41 passes for 270 yards, a score, and two interceptions. He gained 30 more yards on the ground as well. With six catches for 83 yards and a score, Tee Higgins led Cincinnati in production at the skill positions.

See our key findings below for a more in-depth analysis of how this game developed

Why the Chiefs prevailed

Although Patrick Mahomes' performance in this game was obviously not at 100%, it was still an all-time high. He was shrewd right away, completing 13 of his first 19 throws for 165 yards and a score in the first half to establish K.C. a seven-point lead. Mahomes' high ankle sprain from the divisional round a week ago did appear to be less bothersome during that period. He completed an 11-yard throw to Mecole Hardman while rolling out to his left in the second half, but it seemed as though he worsened the injury. Mahomes has to fully commit to the pass in order to make it.

he put weight on his injured ankle and continued the game with a more noticeable limp. Despite this, he still managed to pull off a few tremendously crucial plays, including as the dart to Marquez Valdes-Scantling that led to a 19-yard score. When Andy Reid chose to keep the offence on the field on fourth-and-1 from the Cincinnati 14, Mahomes also performed admirably earlier in the game. This was prior to Mahomes aggravating his ankle, yet despite his restricted mobility, he stretched the play long enough for Travis Kelce, who was also injured, to ultimately reach him for the score.Kansas City's success was largely attributed to Mahomes' ability to perform wonderfully even when not at full capacity.During Cincinnati's opening three drives of the day, the Chiefs' defence was able to smother Joe Burrow early and frequently, and they sacked him four times. The game's tone was established by it, which also assisted in the quarterback throwing two interceptions. The crucial effort by Steve Spagnuolo's defence, especially from veteran Chris Jones, helped slam the door shut on Cincinnati pulling off another late-game comeback, as we mention in our "Turning Point" second below. Harrison Butker's game-winning field goal was preceded by a series of flawless complementing plays from the defence and special teams, which provided the offence a short field and set up the kick that sent Kansas City to Arizona.

Why the Bengals fell short

Cincinnati didn't help their cause by getting off to a slow start. Prior to this game, the Bengals were able to score in each of their first postseason possessions, making them one of the top first quarter scoring teams during the season. After only five plays, they punted the ball away, and on their subsequent possession, they went three-and-out. The Chiefs were able to score a field goal during that span even though the defence was able to play well against them and keep the score at 6-0.The offensive line's leaky play was a recurring issue during the game's opening drives.

Over the course of their first three possessions, Burrow was sacked four times. On the fourth drive of the game, Tee Higgins was intercepted after Burrow threw a ball that was underthrown to him. Right before halftime and throughout the second half, the offensive line appeared to be coming together at that moment, but a crucial sack of Burrow late by Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones helped bring Cincinnati's season to an end. The Bengals were 14-1 when Burrow was sacked less than five times and 0-3 when he was sacked five or more times this season before Sunday AFC Championship. On their next-to-last possession, Cincinnati also had a number of perplexing play decisions. Burrow threw back-to-back long passes, the first of which fell incomplete and the other of which was intercepted by the Chiefs, giving the team a second-and-3 scenario from their 36-yard line after Joe Mixon gained 7 yards on first down to put the team in that position. Although the Bengals' running game was nonexistent in this game (Perine and Mixon together rushed for only 41 yards), this may have been a position to just advance the chains and survive to battle another down.It's difficult to criticise the Bengals' defence much because they controlled the Chiefs early while the offence faltered, forced four punts in the second half, and recovered a crucial fumble.fumble. But the Bengals committed nine penalties on the day, several of which came from the defence in less-than-ideal moments. Eli Apple was given a DPI penalty on a third-and-9 situation to reverse a Mahomes sack, and Joseph Ossai's unnecessary roughness penalty undoubtedly contributed to the game-winning field goal being made possible.

Pivotal moment

The momentum of the game fluctuated a lot during the evening, as one would anticipate in a contest of this importance. But it was Kansas City's late vital defensive stop by Steve Spagnuolo's team that really turned the game in their favour. Just before the two-minute warning, Cincinnati's defence was able to force the Chiefs to punt the ball, negating a chance to profit from a Joe Burrow interception.that occurred on the previous drive. Burrow delivered a 23-yard throw to Hayden Hurst with just over a minute remaining in the game, moving the Bengals closer to midfield and maybe setting up a game-winning field goal if they could get a couple more big plays. The Chiefs were in a good enough field position to kick the game-winning field goal thanks to their defensive stand and outstanding return by Moore.Mahomes and the other players appeared to be letting the chance pass them by with a three-and-out. One of the bravest decisions made that evening was Zac Taylor's decision to keep his offence on the field for a fourth-and-6 try.Burrow uncorked a 35-yard ball to Chase, who was able to beat two defenders and make the catch, showing the value of his choice. Samaje Perine scored a touchdown two plays later to level the score at 20 and briefly save Cincinnati's season.

Next steps

The Philadelphia Eagles, who earlier Sunday upset the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, will be the opponents the Chiefs face when they depart from this location and arrive in Arizona. On Sunday, February 12, Super Bowl LVII will begin at State Farm Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET.