BENGALS STOP K.C. FOR TITLE
Take North for first playoff in 6 years
CINCINNATI — Patrick Mahomes had a message for young Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase when the two met on the field after Cincinnati’s dramatic 34-31 victory over Kansas City to clinch the AFC North title.
“Keep going — we’ll see you in the playoffs,” the Chiefs quarterback told Chase.
The Bengals (10-6) are finally back in the postseason, thanks to Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow, who both shattered team records on Sunday. Chase’s 266 receiving yards was more than Mahomes had passing (259) in the game.
Kansas City (11-5) saw its eight-game winning streak snapped and fell out of the top seed in the AFC, ceding that spot to Tennessee.
The last Cincinnati playoff appearance was 2015 when the team started 8-0 and won the division, only to lose a bizarre wild-card game to the Steelers. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game in three decades.
There were plenty of heroics from a new generation of Bengals.
In addition to breaking Jerry Butler’s NFL rookie record of 255 yards for Buffalo against the Jets on Sept. 23, 1979, Chase set a record for receiving yards in a season by a rookie. He has 1,429 yards with one game left in the league’s first 17-game season, surpassing Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, who totaled 1,400 yards in 2020.
He caught 11 passes, two for touchdown.
Joe Burrow threw for 466 yards and four scores while outdueling Mahomes, and the Bengals rallied from three 14-point deficits against the AFC West champs, finally closing them out when rookie Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired.
“That was fun,” said Burrow, who puffed on a victory cigar that running back Joe Mixon had left for him a few weeks ago. Cincinnati completed a worst-to-first turnaround, winning its division the year after finishing in last place. It makes 17 of the past 19 seasons in which at least one team finished in first place the season after finishing in last or tied for last place. The Bengals’ winning drive was filled with drama.
On fourth-and-inches with under a minute left, Cincinnati decided to go for a touchdown instead of calling on McPherson for a field goal and giving the Chiefs the ball back with a chance to win.
“I knew we’d go for it,” Burrow said. “They’ve got Patrick Mahomes on the other side. He could go down and win the game.”
Burrow threw incomplete in the end zone, but Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was flagged for illegal use of hands, giving the Bengals a fresh set of downs. With Burrow limping on the sideline, backup quarterback Brandon Allen was called on to kneel twice before McPherson came on for the game-winner.
Burrow said his right knee was sore but insisted he could have stayed in the game and will be fine.
The second-year quarterback was outstanding again, completing 30 of 39 attempts. He was sacked four times and hit at least six more times but was as accurate as ever, and Chase caught everything that was thrown near him. “If you play one-on-one, good luck with that,” Burrow said. “I know he’s down there somewhere. I just throw it and let him make a play.”