Sunday was a frustrating day. To put it bluntly, it sucked. So why don’t I feel cut up about Kansas City’s 27-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals?
I mean, I should, right? It makes total sense to feel infuriated. The Chiefs got rolled by the Bengals for the third time in a row, losing a game that sees them relinquish the AFC’s one seed to Buffalo.
K.C. had more than 300 days to prepare for this game and extract some sort of revenge for their capitulation against Cincinnati in last season’s AFC Championship game. Instead, they ended up losing by the exact same score.
The KC Chiefs loss to the Bengals was a frustrating sight, but for some reason, the loss doesn’t sting so much for Bransen Gibson.
After talking smack about the Bengals during the week, Kansas City’s defense failed to rise to the occasion. They gave up scores on six of Cincinnati’s eight drives, and while Carlos Dunlap made a huge fourth-down stop just before the end of the half, they did not do enough to get off the field often enough.
There was a Travis Kelce fumble, a Harrison Butker field goal attempt that was wide right, costly penalties, and missed tackles galore.
So why am I not mad about this? As frustrating as that game was, why am I not more irritated about the result? Honestly, it’s hard to say. But at least for me personally, this loss does not seem as bad as the last two times the Chiefs played the Bengals.
In Week 17 last season, K.C. gave up big play after big play in a game that was opitimized by a 30-yard completion to Ja’Marr Chase on a 3rd & 27 on the game winning drive in the fourth quarter. This time, for the most part, the Chiefs didn’t give up those same kind of huge yardage plays.
In the AFC title game, Kansas City had a cataclysmic collapse in the second half, fueled by Cincinnati’s drop eight defense and the Chiefs’ reluctance to run the ball. This time, we saw the Chiefs rush the ball at 5.5 yards per attempt and have a near even run-pass balance.
To me, it seemed like the adjustments from the past two match-ups were in place, but in the end, Kansas City just didn’t execute enough to win the game. A Butker missed field goal and an uncharacteristic, but pivotal, fumble from Kelce—both in the fourth quarter—were two key miscues on offense.
The mistakes were far more common on defense. Missed tackle after missed tackle, broken coverages and the defensive line not getting home often enough. These things on both sides of the ball come down to execution, something that was clearly lacking on Sunday.
People might not agree, but for me, I think that makes the loss easier to take. Rather than getting blown off the park and, frankly, embarrassed like in the previous two meetings, the Chiefs played far better on Sunday.
Yes, they absolutely need to improve. Yes, there were flaws in the way the played. And yes, they absolutely need to find a way to beat the Bengals. But this game seemed more like one that slipped through the cracks rather than the last two which featured catastrophic implosions. And I guess, for me, it is easier to not feel as mad about that.