Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs looked like they would get back to the Super Bowl once again. Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals dashed those plans in the AFC Championship Game.
The Chiefs collapsed badly in the second half, allowing the Bengals to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Kansas City forced overtime and won the coin toss again, but ended up losing thanks to a Mahomes interception and a game-winner from Evan McPherson. By a score of 27-24, Kansas City went home.
The Bengals dealt Mahomes some unfortunate history, too. In the Chiefs' loss, they led 21-3 midway through the second quarter, marking the first time in Patrick Mahomes' career that he blew a 15-point lead.
Patrick Mahomes is now 37-1 when leading by more than 15+ points 😳 pic.twitter.com/1o5QxcBq8f
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 30, 2022
Mahomes threw three touchdown passes in the first half but didn't add any scores of his own in the second half. It was a brutal cold stretch for Kansas City, whose offense has looked like a cheat code at times. The Bengals, though, solved it just long enough to advance to the Super Bowl.
While the defense slowed down Mahomes, Joe Burrow threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Tee Higgins tallied 103 receiving yards on six catches. McPherson went 4/4 on field goals. The Bengals are young but they have proven they know how to punch up and now are on the cusp of taking home the franchise's first Super Bowl.
Cincinnati's effort was punctuated with a Von Bell interception, the second of the day that the Bengals got off of Mahomes. In true underdog fashion, they beat the AFC's top seed and arguably the AFC's best team en route to the big game.