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

Second Half Defensive Woes

Another reason the Bengals were able to hang around until the end to win was the fact the defense just could not seem to come up with a crucial stop when the team needed them to the most. However, I do not believe the defense is totally at fault here.  It is hard to be successful when your offense is going three-and-out or turning the ball over and you are constantly on the field. You know how I mentioned a chain reaction? Well there it is!

Just the put the whole “no run game really screwing everything” into more perspective, lets break down the third quarter time of possession a bit further. K.C.’s first drive of the second half lasted 2:02. The defense tried to help them out by making the Bengals go three-and-out, with a drive lasting 1:35 right after. Well, the offense proceeded to gift their efforts with a whopping 2:09 drive that saw Mahomes throw two incomplete deep balls on 2nd-&-6 and 3rd-&-6 respectfully.

All in all, the defense was on the field for 10:55 of the 3rd quarter.. That much time spent on the field would gas anyone, especially a unit trying to contain a young, explosive Bengals offense. That leads us to what I am calling, “the drive,” that fully shifted the momentum to the Bengals side.

Obviously, the whole jacked up scheme to close out the first half started the momentum swing, but this fourth quarter drive is what, in my opinion, fully put the nail on the coffin. I am talking about the drive that saw Joe Burrow break three potential Chris Jones sacks, and piece together a six-plus minute drive that put Cincinnati up by 3.  L

ike I said, it is hard to totally blame the defense when they seemed to constantly be on the field, but it’s in situations like this very drive where you expect to see big-time players make big-time plays, and the defense just could not come up with one. I mean, this play alone really did it for me …

Now about that overtime approach.