The Kansas City Chiefs made a statement in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. They matched up against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, who had beaten them three times in a row, including in last season's AFC Championship. Many picked the Bengals to make it four in a row, but the Chiefs did not let that happen.
Kansas City exorcised its demons in a 23-20 win over Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs came into this game dealing with injuries and left it with even more, but it wasn't enough to take them down. With the Bengals now behind them, the Chiefs advance to their third Super Bowl in four years.
This time around, they'll face the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona on Feb. 12. The biggest storyline from this game is Andy Reid facing off against the team he coached for over a decade, as well as the Kelce brothers facing off against each other. With both teams tying for the NFL's best record this season at 14-3, this should be a great matchup.
Before we can think about the Super Bowl, though, let's look back at who helped Kansas City get there, and who needs to step it up a bit. Without further ado, here are the Chiefs' biggest studs and duds from the AFC Championship Game.
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Studs
Patrick Mahomes – QB
After Mahomes suffered an ankle injury in the Chiefs' Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, many doubted how effective he would be in this game. Well, he put those worries to bed very quickly on Sunday. Mahomes looked just as electric as ever in this game, and it was easy to forget that he was dealing with an injury at all.
The Chiefs superstar completed 29-of-43 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Although he only had eight rushing yards, he still made some plays with his legs, which is especially impressive considering his injury. Mahomes had all the pressure in the world on him on Sunday, and he showed why he's likely the best quarterback in football.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – WR
The Chiefs dealt with some awful injury luck at wide receiver in this game. Juju Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, and Mecole Hardman all left the game with injury, leaving the offense in a bind. Those injuries left Valdes-Scantling as the top wideout, and he absolutely delivered.
MVS picked a wonderful time to have his best game as a Chief, finishing with six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 19.3 yards per catch and was the leading receiver between both teams. After recording just two touchdowns in the regular season, he matched that total in just two playoff games. Kansas City's offense easily could've folded without so many weapons, but Valdes-Scantling ensured that didn't happen.
Chris Jones – DT
Jones had a career season in 2022, finishing the regular season with 15.5 sacks and being a Defensive Player of the Year finalist. However, he still had a monkey on his back coming into this game, as he had no postseason sacks prior. After this game, though, that monkey is firmly off of his back.
Jones dominated this game all the way through, finishing with four tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and five QB hits. He generated eight pressures on Sunday, and not a single one of those plays resulted in a completion. As good as the offense was, Jones was probably the Chiefs' best player overall in this game.
Chiefs DT Chris Jones generated an incredible 8 pressures on Sunday.
The result of those 8 plays:
* 3 sacks (2 by Jones himself)
* 5 incompletionsNot a single positive yard generated by the Bengals.
He wrecked shop.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 30, 2023
Harrison Butker – K
Kickers can make or break an entire team's season, especially in the postseason. While no team is going to pay a kicker the same as other players, having a good one is absolutely crucial in the playoffs. Fortunately for the Chiefs, Butker proved that point with his performance on Sunday.
Butker was perfect in this game, making all three field goals and both extra points. Two of his field goals came from over 40 yards out, including the game-winning kick in the final seconds. Anytime a kicker sends his team to a Super Bowl, he's probably doing something right.
Duds
Nick Bolton – LB
Really, it's hard to complain about any Chiefs player's performance in this game. Nearly everyone played at least on par with expectations, and almost no one performed under them. In fact, Bolton wasn't even bad in this game, just a little disappointing.
The Kansas City middle linebacker finished with four tackles in this game, but only one was solo. Those are fine stats, but considering he posted at least eight tackles in every game but one this season, it's not great. Bolton is arguably the heart of the Chiefs' defense, and they need him at his best in the Super Bowl.
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