Analysis: Taylor’s fearless gamble pays off for Bengals

Zac Taylor wasn’t born until four years after Molly Hatchet released “Flirtin’ With Disaster” in 1979.

The southern rock group’s ballad came to mind in the final minute of the Cincinnati Bengals’ monumental 34-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

On fourth-and-inches from inside the 1 with under a minute left, Taylor, the Bengals coach since 2019, decided to go for a touchdown instead of calling on rookie Evan McPherson to kick a chip shot field goal that would have given the Chiefs the ball back with a chance to win.

“I knew we’d go for it,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said. “They’ve got Patrick Mahomes on the other side. He could go down and win the game.”

It was Burrow who went down on the next play.

Burrow, who threw for nearly 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in the last two weeks, threw incomplete when blitzing safety Tyrann Mathieu knocked him to the ground.

Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was whistled for hands to the face of receiver Tyler Boyd, and while most eyes were on the yellow flag in the end zone that would give the Bengals a first down and a chance to keep Mahomes on the sideline until postgame handshakes, Burrow was grabbing his right knee and hopping off the field.

“Burrow might have been hurt. He hobbled to the sideline,” Jim Nantz told viewers and broadcasting partner Tony Romo.

Backup Brandon Allen went in, took a knee at 45 seconds and spiked the ball at 2 seconds, bringing McPherson on to kick the game-winner as time expired.

Burrow was still lumbering around the field when the Bengals were celebrating their worst-to-first AFC North title and shaking hands with the Chiefs, whose loss handed the Tennessee Titans the pole position in the conference playoff race.

JEFF DEAN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Bengals head coach Zac Taylor looks on during the first half against theChiefs, Jan. 2, in Cincinnati.