KC Chiefs vs. Bengals recap: Key storylines from Week 17
By Matt Conner
Chiefs get taste of their own medicine
It took the Bengals only a few drives to start clicking offensively (and by “clicking offensively”, we mean “throw it to Ja’Marr Chase”). In watching the Bengals rookie wide receiver do this thing on Sunday, it felt like getting a dose of our own medicine for Chiefs Kingdom.
For the last several years, opposing teams have typically felt powerless trying to slow—let alone stop—Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill from dominating a pass defense to great effect. At this point in his career, Hill is still setting team records and earning Pro Bowl nods even as he regularly faces double teams (or more) in coverages as opposing defensive coordinators focus a significant part of their game plan on limiting Hill for four quarters.
On Sunday, the Chiefs began to get a sense of how it feels to be on the opposing side. Chase took a nice pass from Joe Burrow that should have been a modest gain and turned it into a thrilling 72-yard touchdown that put the Bengals back into it after going down by two scores in the first quarter. From there, Chase continued to make one jaw-dropping catch after another, including multiple scores—an exhibition in which he clearly displayed the reasons why he should be Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Fortunately the Chiefs came away with the win, which is what matters most in the end, but it was not fun to be on the opposite side of watching such a talented receiver for once.