San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Bengals look to extend run against Chiefs

Burrow, Cincinnati bring three-game win streak against Kansas City into AFC final

- By Dave Skretta

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have lost three straight games to the Cincinnati Bengals, including last year’s AFC title game, when they blew an early 21-3 lead in an overtime defeat before a sea of stunned fans inside Arrowhead Stadium.

Quarterbac­k Patrick Mahomes, who expects to lead the Chiefs against the Bengals on a sprained right ankle in Sunday night’s rematch, is likewise winless against Bengals counterpar­t Joe Burrow, the only quarterbac­k to have beaten him three straight times.

In other words, there’s a reason the AFC North champions are imbued with a certain degree of confidence as they return to Kansas City, where the burgeoning rivals will once again determine who represents the AFC in the Super Bowl.

“Your preparatio­n leads to confidence. That’s just what you see from Joe and all of our players,” said Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who has out-schemed Chiefs coach Andy Reid while getting his team to out-execute the Chiefs over the past 13 months. “So when they walk on the field on Sunday, they’re relaxed.”

In fact, the Bengals are so confident that some have taken to calling the Chiefs’ home “Burrowhead Stadium.”

Which, as you can imagine, doesn’t sit well with the AFC West champs.

“I’m sure a lot of guys are aware of the comments they’re making,” Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “The Bengals have always been the rah-rah team, and they back it up. And they’re doing so again in the postseason.”

Yet, it’s not as if the Bengals, who roared past the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, have dominated the Chiefs, who took care of the Jacksonvil­le Jaguars despite losing Mahomes for most of a quarter following his injury.

Each of the three recent Bengals-Chiefs meetings have been decided by three points.

“We know what team we’re playing, a team that has been to this game the last five seasons, and they’ve all been in that stadium,” Burrow said. “So, to me, they’re still the team to beat and we’re coming for them, but we know it’s going to be tough.”

Their matchup in last year’s title game was a classic. Mahomes threw three first-half touchdown passes, then Burrow led a dramatic comeback for Cincinnati. And after the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker kicked a 41-yard field goal with no time left to send the game to overtime, the Bengals quickly picked off a Mahomes pass to set up Evan McPherson’s winning kick.

“Listen, they probably should be confident. They’ve won three games,” said Reid, who is trying to guide Kansas City back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons. “That’s OK. We’re still going to play the game.”

Besides, the Chiefs have a quiet confidence about them, too.

“I would say they know us. We know them. And we’re all searching for that little extra that you can throw at them,” Reid said. “We’ve played each other enough that I’m sure both sides feel the same way.”

Chiefs safety Justin Reid said getting pressure on Burrow could be the key.

“We can’t let him sit back in the pocket and get into rhythm throws because that’s when he’s most dangerous,” Justin Reid said. “You’re not going to win games if you don’t get sacks and turnovers, especially against a team like this.”

 ?? Jamie Squire/Getty Images 2022 ?? Quarterbac­k Joe Burrow led a comeback in last season’s AFC Championsh­ip Game to send Cincinnati to the Super Bowl.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images 2022 Quarterbac­k Joe Burrow led a comeback in last season’s AFC Championsh­ip Game to send Cincinnati to the Super Bowl.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States