Chiefs vs Bengals

The Kansas City Chiefs take on Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have hosted an ...

On top of beating the Chiefs three straight times, the Bengals are a perfect 3-0 in AFC championship games. Mahomes (ankle) was a full participant in practice all week and is slated to start Sunday. The forecast was for the wind-chill factor to dip to 0 degrees by the end of the game. He was ruled out for the rest of the game shortly before halftime. ] [The game quickly spiraled out of control for the 49ers when quarterback Brock Purdy ] [suffered an elbow injury](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/niners/2023/01/29/brock-purdy-49-ers-qb-elbow-injury/11146329002/) in the first quarter. [Eagles advance to Super Bowl] [The Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC championship game. Philadelphia outperformed San Francisco in all phases of the game. In another sense, there's still a victory in there for the Bengals. “I talked to Tom (Brady) a little bit. Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, who extended the drive with two catches on the drive, appeared to be injured following his second catch. The Bengals defense forced Kansas City to go 1 of 5 on third downs. Kansas City’s defense sacked quarterback Joe Burrow four times in the first half.

The AFC Championship Game is here, and the winner moves on to represent the conference in Super Bowl LVII. Join us here for the game!

This is Cincy’s second-consecutive trip to the AFC Championship Game, as well as being the second-consecutive at Kansas City, where they won the AFC title a year ago. [cbssports.com](http://cbssports.com/) This is Kansas City’s fifth-consecutive AFC Championship Game, hosting the conference title each of the last four years, going 2-2 in those games, both losses coming in overtime.

These two teams met earlier this season, as well as in the conference championship game last year. Cincinnati won both of those contests, but the Chiefs are ...

[Ja'Marr Chase](/nfl/players/2966320/jamarr-chase/) [View Profile](/nfl/players/2966320/jamarr-chase/) (Two of the six games where he took longer were the AFC title game loss to Cincinnati last year, and the Even in the loss to Cincinnati earlier this season, Mahomes completed 16 of 27 passes for 223 yards (8.2 per attempt) and a touchdown, while also adding a score on the ground. The Bengals got a lot better at running the ball once they moved away from the way they wanted to run the ball at the beginning of the season. Honestly, I have no idea, and I think anyone (other than maybe the Chiefs' team doctors) who tells you they know with any degree of certainty is lying. Jacksonville's top receiving threat was [Christian Kirk](/nfl/players/2180820/christian-kirk/), so the Chiefs moved Sneed into the slot again. [Ja'Marr Chase](/nfl/players/2966320/jamarr-chase/) and [Tee Higgins](/nfl/players/2809208/tee-higgins/) give him two alpha No. The top threats for Cincinnati remain Chase and Higgins, not [Tyler Boyd](/nfl/players/2071582/tyler-boyd/), so it might make sense to get Sneed back to the perimeter and allow McDuffie to try to play physically against Boyd inside. How would the group in front of [Joe Burrow](/nfl/players/2179798/joe-burrow/) hold up while down three starters, and counting on the likes of [Jackson Carman](/nfl/players/2963278/jackson-carman/), [Hakeem Adeniji](/nfl/players/2261269/hakeem-adeniji/), and [Max Scharping](/nfl/players/2139404/max-scharping/)? [Buffalo Bills](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/BUF/buffalo-bills/) was the offensive line. Burrow's superpower is his ability to quickly decide where he is going with the ball and get it out of his hands when the situation calls for him to do so, but he also has the extended play ability that the league's other superstar quarterbacks bring to the table. The Chiefs actually pressured opposing quarterbacks at a higher rate (35.7%) during the regular season than did the Bills (33.7%).

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. It's the second consecutive season these two teams have met in ...

The NFL playoffs continue Sunday with the Chiefs hosting the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET with the game airing on CBS ...

The Bengals, meanwhile, are 5-1 against the spread during the postseason since 2021. This might be a welcome change for the Chiefs — or at least those who are inclined to bet on the Chiefs. Thanks in part to Patrick Mahomes' right ankle sprain, the Chiefs are 1-point underdogs against the Bengals, per BetMGM. Kelce caught a career-high 14 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-20 divisional-round victory against Jacksonville last weekend. “It wouldn’t put fear in them, that ‘Oh my god, we are walking into an environment that people don’t win in.’ It was going to be the opposite for our guys. The Vegas line was climbing, the Bengals were up to six-point underdogs. The Bills were 4-0 at home in the playoffs under head coach Sean McDermott. Mahomes didn’t make his usual number of superhuman plays and the offense wasn’t as explosive as normal, but he found ways to move the ball, manipulate the pocket with his limited mobility and make throws when it mattered. But throughout this season, including against the Jaguars on Saturday, Patrick Mahomes has shown his real greatest strength is his ability to continually adapt. After having the league's fifth-highest sack rate last season (8.9 percent), Joe Burrow has dropped to 18th this season (6.3 percent) thanks to improved pocket awareness — fewer of his pressured dropbacks turn into sacks — and faster processing. Cornerback Eli Apple leans against a wall in the visitor’s locker room of Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. [NFL](https://theathletic.com/nfl/) playoffs continue Sunday with the Chiefs hosting the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

While Kansas City is hosting the game for the fifth consecutive year, the Chiefs have had to fight for their status as favorites. With Patrick Mahomes battling ...

ET (5:30 p.m. - Time: 6:30 p.m. The AFC championship game between the Bengals and Chiefs will kick off at 6:30 p.m. [DAZN](https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100lfPvV)(Canada) — The Bengals will start with the ball. — A false start backs the Bengals up on third down. — The Chiefs are rolling right now. INTERCEPTION — Burrow is picked off by Jaylen Watson, and the Chiefs will start with strong field position. — The Chiefs' defense had a big opportunity on third down, but a designed run up the middle by Burrow gives the Bengals a first down and more. TOUCHDOWN — Mahomes fits it in a tight window and finds Valdes-Scantling on the ground in the end zone. — The Chiefs are back to 3rd & 9. — The Chiefs are called for holding, and the Bengals accept it after deliberating.

The NFL playoffs continue Sunday with the Bengals battling the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Here are the highlights!

[Jerick McKinnon](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/jerick-mckinnon-player). But with Joe Burrow, anything is possible](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/bengals-werent-expected-to-be-here-but-with-joe-burrow-anything-is-possible) [Inside Patrick Mahomes' ankle injury, outlook for AFC title game](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/inside-patrick-mahomes-ankle-injury-outlook-for-afc-title-game) [Joe Burrow's path to unseating Patrick Mahomes as NFL's QB1](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/joe-burrows-complicated-path-to-unseating-patrick-mahomes-as-nfls-top-qb) [Lessons NFL team-builders can learn from Eagles, 49ers, Bengals, Chiefs](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/lessons-nfl-team-builders-can-learn-from-eagles-49ers-bengals-chiefs) [NFL odds: Betting edges on 49ers-Eagles, Bengals-Chiefs](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-odds-betting-edges-on-49ers-eagles-bengals-chiefs) [AFC Championship Game odds: How to bet Bengals-Chiefs](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/afc-championship-game-odds-how-to-bet-bengals-chiefs) [2023 NFL coaching tracker: News, rumors, interviews](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-coaching-tracker-news-rumors-interviews) [ National Football League](/stories/nfl/nfl-coaching-tracker-news-rumors-interviews) [Willie Gay](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/willie-gay-player) came up with the second on second down to make it third-and-18. Eagles highlights: Philly dominates in NFC Championship Game](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/49ers-vs-eagles-live-updates-nfc-championship-game-on-fox) [AFC's best clash for trip to Super Bowl: Analyzing Bengals-Chiefs showdown](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/afcs-best-clash-for-trip-to-super-bowl-analyzing-bengals-chiefs-showdown) [Bengals weren't expected to be here. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App), where they'll face the [Philadelphia Eagles](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles-team), which took down the [San Francisco 49ers](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/san-francisco-49ers-team), [31-7](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/nfc-conference-championships-san-francisco-49ers-vs-philadelphia-eagles-jan-29-2023-game-boxscore-10031), in the NFC title game earlier on FOX. [Isiah Pacheco](https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/isaih-pacheco-player) made his way into the end zone a few plays later, but the touchdown was wiped off the board due to a holding penalty. The Chiefs opted to go for it on fourth-and-short and the decision paid off. [Super Bowl LVII](https://foxsports.com/nfl/super-bowl/) in Arizona (Feb. The Chiefs were moving the ball down the field again on their second drive of the game. The Chiefs were able to get three points on the drive though, as It didn't appear to bother him on Kansas City's opening drive, however, as he made a grab and fought for 16 yards on the Chiefs' third play of the game. However, he wasn't able to secure the grab as he hit the ground, making it an incomplete pass.

Follow the AFC Championship Game as Patrick Mahomes takes on Joe Burrow for a chance to play in the Super Bowl: analysis & how to watch.

The Bengals have proven to be a worthy opponent this season. Zack Kerner of Kansas City, a season ticket holder since 2012, was there and said he was holding off on celebrating until the Chiefs won. Kyle smokes a cigar and cooks up a shrimp boil every game to make sure the team pulls through. The two went to their first Chiefs game together 12 years ago. With 2 minutes to get all the way down the field, they make it within 5 yards and settle for a field goal. A big pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling earned the Chiefs 29 yards on their next drive. Facing a fourth down, the Chiefs get their first completed touchdown of the game with a pass from Mahomes to Kelce. A few incomplete passes follow, and the Chiefs punt. The Chiefs challenge and get a first down. Seconds later, a flag was thrown and a Bengals defender was penalized for a late-hit on Mahomes, setting up Harrison Butker for a 45-yard field goal to put the Chiefs up 23-20 with 3 seconds left. Patrick Mahomes, on a scramble to the sideline, got just enough for a first down before being hit out of bounds. This year, the longtime Chiefs fans decided to make the drive down to do it again.

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in the AFC Championship Game Sunday to advance to Super Bowl LVII, where they will take on ...

Jones proved to be a problem for the Bengals early and often, recording a sack in the first quarter by beating replacement right guard [Max Scharping](https://www.nfl.com/players/max-scharping/), and recording six QB pressures in four quarters, the most in a playoff game in his career. Those are just three of the many that we'll tackle in the weeks ahead, but the strengths of both of these teams -- and both of these quarterbacks -- make for quite a showdown in the NFL's final game of the 2022 season. [Chris Jones](https://www.nfl.com/players/chris-jones/)delivers a signature performance. [Joe Burrow](https://www.nfl.com/players/joe-burrow/)in their Divisional Round meeting. It will be the first Super Bowl with two Black starting quarterbacks -- Mahomes and Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo moved Jones out wide for a one-on-one matchup with right tackle [Hakeem Adeniji](https://www.nfl.com/players/hakeem-adeniji/), and Jones powered through the outside shoulder of Adeniji, taking down Burrow to force a punt. They did just that, rattling off 10 straight wins and rediscovering their peak form on both sides of the ball, morphing into an explosive offense and enjoying the contributions of their defense down the stretch. Mahomes' third-down touchdown pass to [Marquez Valdes-Scantling](https://www.nfl.com/players/marquez-valdes-scantling/)stood as his best play of the half until the penultimate offensive play for the Chiefs, when a slightly hobbled Mahomes scrambled on third-and-4, turning the corner to pick up the first down before he was shoved late, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave the Chiefs the yardage necessary to attempt the game-winning field goal. He and the Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl with a hard-earned win led by a rare talent who once again proved he's among the very best in the sport. 28 in first round](https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-nfl-draft-order-2022-nfl-season) [Patrick Mahomes](https://www.nfl.com/players/patrick-mahomes/)paints another masterpiece. Cincinnati was feeling very good about its chances entering the weekend, so much that the city's mayor delivered some bulletin board material with a Friday proclamation that included multiple jabs at a team the Bengals have dominated in the last year. Mahomes completed 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns, keeping the Chiefs' offense afloat in a second half in which they ran aground.

Here are a few things we learned about the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of their AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If the Chiefs want to win this game, the pressure is going to have to continue throughout the remainder of the game. In Week 13, the Chiefs struggled to get to Bengals QB Joe Burrow, but that hasn’t been the case this week. If you don’t want a repeat of those previous losses, you need to capitalize on the opportunities you’re given. Missed opportunities and mistakes have been a huge theme in the Chiefs’ last three losses to the Bengals. There have been some BIG missed opportunities and mistakes by Kansas City in the first half. They’ll get the ball to start the third quarter and they need to keep their foot on the gas.

At halftime of the AFC title game, the Kansas City Chiefs lead the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 13-6. Patrick Mahomes -- playing just eight days after ...

And he just picked up a huge return to get the Chiefs close to FGF range. He broke a tackle and took off for a huge play last week against Jacksonville, and just did the same here. Cook tipped it up in the air and Williams (who is filling in for Sneed) came down with it. And obviously, the Chiefs have both of their timeouts to conserve time and try to get the ball back. Chiefs will get the ball for one last go at it. And Chris Jones picks up the sack! And now the Chiefs are in clear field-goal range. Mahomes scrambles for the first down and then gets hit late out of bounds. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense responded to that Cincy score with an 11-play, 77-yard touchdown drive of their own to retake the lead. Mahomes scrambled up the right side of the field for five yards and was hit out of bounds, which drew an unnecessary roughness penalty to put them within Butker's range and send them to the Super Bowl. From here, the Chiefs will travel to Arizona, where they'll face the Philadelphia Eagles, who defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship earlier Sunday. Harrison Butker was able to kick the 45-yard game-winning field goal after Patrick Mahomes and the offense moved the ball 39 yards down the field with less than 30 second left in regulation.

Patrick Mahomes wasn't 100% as he played through an ankle sprain in Sunday's AFC championship game. But even a limited version of the star Kansas City ...

Lightning-fast analysis of the Kansas City Chiefs' AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

- The offensive line, for most of the game, held up their end of the bargain. - Losing L’Jarius Sneed on like the fourth or fifth defensive snap of the game was a huge loss for this team. In the biggest moment of the game, he had a 29-yard punt return to set the team up at midfield. They’ve just no idea how to handle those situations without having the option of QB sneak and having overused the FB dive. They took full advantage of the Bengals having some backup offensive linemen in there. On many occasions, it felt like more of the same against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs have avenged their AFC Championship loss of a year ago and finally got into the win column against Joe Burrow and the Bengals, ...

And he just picked up a huge return to get the Chiefs close to FGF range. However, Zac Taylor elected to keep his offense on the field for a fourth-and-6 attempt, which was one of the gutsiest calls of the night. He broke a tackle and took off for a huge play last week against Jacksonville, and just did the same here. Eli Apple was called for DPI on a third-and-9 to erase a sack on Mahomes, and, of course, the unnecessary roughness penalty on Joseph Ossai assisted in allowing the game-winning field goal. While the running game had been nonexistent for the Bengals in this game (Perine and Mixon combined for 41 yards rushing), this might have been a spot to simply move the chain and live to fight another down. That punt was returned 29 yards by rookie Skyy Moore which put the offense already at midfield, needing a manageable amount of yards to get within field goal range. That set the tone for the remainder of the game and helped force the quarterback into two interceptions. That score stood at 20 for the bulk of the fourth quarter until Kansas City's defense was able to force a punt with less than a minute in regulation, and the offense took care of the rest to clinch their spot in the Super Bowl. Over that stretch, the defense was able to play stout against the Chiefs, but they still came away with a field goal to go up 6-0. While this was before Mahomes aggravated the ankle, he was still limited in his mobility but extended the play enough to eventually find Travis Kelce -- who was also dealing with an injury of his own -- for the touchdown. Mahomes scrambled up the right side of the field for five yards and was hit out of bounds, which drew an unnecessary roughness penalty to put them within Butker's range and send them to the Super Bowl. Harrison Butker was able to kick the 45-yard game-winning field goal after Patrick Mahomes and the offense moved the ball 39 yards down the field with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.

We have his four biggest takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' AFC title game win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Julie WAS the reason i was the guy i was on the field today! As much credit as the players, coaches and front-office executives are getting for this win, the Chiefs don’t get anywhere in the AFC Championship Game without their athletic training staff. Not only did they limit Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, but they managed to get two interceptions off of Burrow in the process. As gutsy of a performance as the offense had against the Bengals in the AFC title game, the defense was the star of the show for the Chiefs. “But the training staff and Julie (Frymyer) did a great job of giving me enough mobility that I was able to protect myself. They could have responded and said something about it in the days leading up to the game, but they instead let their preparation and play do the talking for them.

Get a recap of the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs football game.

[Jalen Hurts](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4040715/jalen-hurts). "They represent themselves the right way, and we’re going to fight, scratch and claw to be back in this position next year.” Mahomes [strained to reach the mark he needed](https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1619893298017046529?s=20&t=rMO7et-wnRbd1SF1K--GtYQ) and was headed out of bounds when he felt the hands of [Joseph Ossai](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4362094/joseph-ossai) send him sprawling into the bench. Even [Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval](https://twitter.com/AftabPureval/status/1618358368183418881?s=20&t=UYEKHyWVeZk3GI5d83tiVg) started in on the trash talk. We’ve got the right people in the locker room, the right men leading this team and this organization. “I’ve got some wise words for that Cincinnati mayor,” Kelce said. [Tee Higgins](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4239993/tee-higgins) had six catches for 83 yards and the score. But I’m going to celebrate this first.” “It’s a tough bunch. “They worked so hard this week. It will also feature a brother-against-brother showdown between Chiefs tight end [Travis Kelce](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/15847/travis-kelce) and Philadelphia center [Jason Kelce](http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/14124/jason-kelce). All of those defeats were by three points.

What's a playoff game without a dash of controversy, right? One of the more head-scratching moments of Kansas City's AFC Championship Game victory over the ...

After the play was over, he came in and we discussed that he was trying to shut the play down before the ball had been snapped. He was coming in to shut the play down so that we could get the clock fixed but nobody heard him, and the play was run. So, we reset the game clock back to where it was before that snap and replayed third down." We reset the play clock and the game clock started running. "We spotted the ball, but the line judge came in and re-spotted the ball because the spot was off. While Torbert was adhering to the rule, the call did come in very late, which made it feel like Kansas City was effectively getting a do-over on what otherwise would have been a situation where they'd have to punt.

Bengals fans were irate only Joseph Ossai was called for a flag on the most pivotal play of the game.

The rip move is one of the most potent moves in a defender's arsenal, and it forces offensive linemen to hold to combat it. Watch the play above again and take note of Hill's pass-rush technique in the center. It is a foul regardless of whether the blocker’s hands are inside or outside the frame of the defender’s body. When that happens, there's more of a no-holds-barred mentality among officials all over the field, not just in the trenches. Use his hands or arms to materially restrict an opponent or alter the defender’s path or angle of pursuit. Instead, the Chiefs were able to kick what was effectively a game-winning field goal.