The destructive chain reaction that ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ season

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 30: Quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals eludes the tackle of defensive end Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs in the second half of the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 30: Quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals eludes the tackle of defensive end Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs in the second half of the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 30: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 30: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Well, here we are, Chiefs Kingdom, finding ourselves a little under two weeks out from a Super Bowl that will not feature Kansas City.

I know I thought things were all clicking at the right time after last week’s “13 seconds.”  After that Divisional game, I truly believed the Chiefs were well on their way to bringing the Lombardi back to K.C. The narrative just seemed so right, especially heading into this past Sunday.  But yet, as we are reminded year in and year out in this sport, the Super Bowl ain’t no guarantee.

Don’t get me wrong, we are currently very spoiled as Chiefs fans. I mean, things could be a whole lot worse than four straight AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowls, and a Super Bowl title. It was not terribly long ago that the season was a “success” if K.C. just managed to make the playoffs.

The AFC Championship was defined by a destructive chain reaction for the Kansas City Chiefs.

But like Patrick Mahomes said: “This isn’t our standard … Whenever you taste winning the Super Bowl, nothing less than that is success.”

That leaves us with the ever-looming question, what exactly went wrong? How could a team up 11 points at half fail so terribly? Because at the end of the day, the Chiefs lost that game more than the Bengals won it.  And after taking a day to be down in the dumps and sulk, here are my reasons why.