The Kansas City Chiefs had to rely on some last-second heroics, but they were able to put away the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship.
The Kansas City Chiefs relied on heroics from faces both familiar and new, but the roster built by Brett Veach ultimately came together in the last seconds of the game—aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Joe Ossai—to put away the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship.
With the win, the Chiefs now head to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona to face the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coming into the last minutes of the game, it actually looked like a game that was once firmly in control of the Chiefs would slip away to the Cincinnati offense as Joe Burrow had the ball and a chance to drive for a game-winning score. The Chiefs had several players injured on both sides of the ball, and their own quarterback was hobbling with a high ankle sprain that was clearly bothering him more and more as the game progressed. But just like so many other key moments in the game, a young defender rose up to give K.C. another chance.
On the Bengals’ final drive of the game, Chris Jones came up with another big sack to force the Bengals to punt, and from there, the Chiefs were able to move the ball just enough to get into range for Harrison Butker. What was so key on the final drive was that Mahomes was forced to scramble to convert a third-and-4 play which was clearly painful for him to do. Ossai came up with a hit out of bounds on Mahomes that was flagged, giving the Chiefs another 15 yards.
Just like that, the Chiefs were comfortably within range in a game that looked like it was going to go to overtime. Instead, Butker was able to line up from 45 yards out and nail the kick.
BUTKER GIVES THE @CHIEFS THE LEAD. #CINvsKC pic.twitter.com/VOeIUlSRwI
— NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2023
Just like that, Butker reversed course on a season marked by injuries and inconsistency and the Chiefs were able to shake the monkey from three previous consecutive losses to the Bengals. Just like that, Mahomes and company were in their third Super Bowl in four years.