Eighteen stats that told the story of the 2023 AFC Championship

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving on to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles, thanks to their thrilling 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. It will be their third trip to the Big Game in four seasons and the first since the 2020 season.

There were numerous storylines heading into the game and coming out of it, but what type of story do the numbers tell? What were the most important statistics from the game? What figures should Chiefs fans remember from this game?

Let’s review some notable numbers from Sunday that tell the tale of the game:

Stat #1: 5-32/3-11

These are the number of sacks and yards lost on sacks by the Bengals and Chiefs, respectively. Heading into the game, one of the biggest storylines was the health of Cincinnati’s offensive line and how they were missing three starters. If Kansas City didn’t generate pressure and sack/hit Joe Burrow enough, they likely would have lost the game. That was not the case. The Chiefs not only sacked Burrow five times, but they also forced a key intentional grounding penalty late in the game.

Stat #2: 3-8

Patrick Mahomes had three rushing attempts in this game for 8 yards, including a 5-yard scramble at the end of the game that drew a key penalty. Mahomes’ ankle was a giant question mark coming into the game as to whether the star quarterback would be able to scramble and avoid pressure. It wasn’t his most prolific game running the ball but it was more than what many people were expecting.

Stat #3: 66.7%/33.3%

Both teams had three trips to the red zone this game but the Chiefs scored two touchdowns (66.7%) and the Bengals scored just one (33.3%). Cincinnati had the ball at the Kansas City five-yard line at the end of the first half but couldn’t punch the ball in. To be fair, they ran out of time and had to kick a field goal on third down with just a few seconds left. If the Bengals were able to go 2-for-3 as well, this game might have had a different result.

Stat #4: 0

Zero. Zip. Nada. The Chiefs’ defense surrendered a net zero yards to the Bengals in the first quarter of the game. The defense did allow 309 yards across the game as a whole but shutting Cincinnati down early was key to limiting them to only 20 points in the game.

Stat #5: 10

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Marcus Kemp, Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Noah Gray. Those are all the players that caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes on Sunday.  This was a game where players were dropping like flies on Kansas City, especially the wide receivers. Hardman, Toney, and Smith-Schuster all left the game and did not return but that didn’t stop Mahomes from making magic.

Stat #6: 13-41/17-34

The Bengals (41) and Chiefs (34) combined just 75 rushing yards that were not via quarterback scrambles. Cincinnati’s leading rusher was Joe Burrow, who had 30 yards on four attempts. Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine had eight attempts for 19 yards and five attempts for 22 yards, respectively. The Bengals could not run the ball all game and that affected their ability to pass-protect Burrow. Isiah Pacheco ran ten times for 26 yards and Jerick McKinnon netted only a single yard despite having four attempts.

Stat #7: 116

Marquez Valdes-Scantling recorded six catches for 116 yards, plus a touchdown in the victory. The yardage was a season-high for him and it was the most for a Kansas City receiver. The next closest was Travis Kelce who had 78 yards. It’s fair to say that MVS is the MVP of this game for anybody that isn’t named Chris Jones or Patrick Mahomes. Valdes-Scantling was the subject of a lot of criticism throughout the season and he shut a lot of his haters up with his memorable performance.

Stat #8: 9-71/4-55

One of the more under-the-radar storylines of the game was the fact that the Chiefs were only called for four penalties, while the Bengals were whistled for nine. Kansas City played disciplined, while Cincinnati did not.

Stat #9: 2-1

One of the biggest issues for Kansas City all season was their turnovers on offense. They also did not force enough many takeaways throughout the regular season but they were able to pick Joe Burrow off twice, something he’s never done in the playoffs. Both were on third down and one was in the middle of the third quarter, while the Bengals were driving to take the lead. Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams had plays that will last a lifetime. Although Patrick Mahomes had a rough fumble in the second half, I don’t think he cares about that right now.

Stat #10: 3

The number of rookies on the Chiefs that had a sack or interception was three. It was almost four as Bryan Cook had an interception taken away as Juan Thornhill was (correctly) penalized for defensive pass interference. Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson both had picks, while George Karlaftis had a sack. The rookies on defense have been a story all season and they paid dividends on Sunday.

Stat #11: 5

Five is the number of defenders on Kansas City that recorded at least half a sack or had a QB hit on Joe Burrow Sunday night. One of the bigger concerns for the Chiefs coming into the year was their pass rush. It was a rough start but the unit had quietly been improving down the stretch and has been amazing in the playoffs so far.

Stat #12: 100%

Harrison Butker did not miss a single kick in this game. He had been managing a lower-body injury since Week 1 and had also missed a field goal and/or extra point in seven different games this year but has yet to miss one in the playoffs so far. He’s been as clutch as ever and nailed 43 and 45-yard kicks in cold weather in the most important game of the season to date.

Stat #13: 15

One of the more forgotten plays of the night will be Isiah Pacheco’s 6-yard run with 30 seconds left on the final drive of the game. Yes, it was only six yards, but Mahomes tossed him the ball nine yards behind the line of scrimmage and forced cornerback Mike Hilton to miss a tackle to net the offense six yards. The box score will only remember it as six yards but it was actually 15 yards and it could have been a very ugly play.

Stat #14: 7 / 2

The Kansas City defense defended seven passes on the night, while the Bengals only defended two. Justin Reid, Joshua Williams, and Bryan Cook all had one, while Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson both had two. The Chiefs’ secondary young secondary was incredible against Cincinnati.

Stat #15: 15

Patrick Lavon Mahomes II.

Stat #16: 12

It took potential future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Christopher Deshun Jones 12 career playoff games to finally record a sack. This was arguably the best game of his career and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He faced a lot of criticism in the offseason for his lack of playoff production but the quality of play has been very good in the postseason. Not elite but he’s always been good and never a ghost in his prior playoff games.

Stat #16: 7

The Chiefs, a team playing for a Super Bowl title, played five rookies on defense for the majority of the game and seven rookies made key plays throughout the game. Brett Veach, for some reason, has been criticized as a bad drafter, but he shut a lot of his haters up with how his rookie class has played so far this season.

Stat #17: 58

Joseph Ossai (#58) drew a game-altering 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on the second to last play of the game for the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes scrambled for only five yards to the 42-yard line but Ossai foolishly pushed him after he was well out of bounds, drawing a flag. That set Harrison Butker up for a 45-yard kick, instead of a 60-yarder.

Stat #18: 3

The Kansas City Chiefs will be pushing for their third Lombardi Trophy in franchise history on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona. They will be attempting to become only the tenth team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls. For a team that won three playoff games between 1969 and 2015. Twelve have never won a Super Bowl, with four not even getting to the Big Game, so Chiefs fans should absolutely not take this stretch for granted.