Cincinnati Bengals Defense (Photo from Google Images)
The Cincinnati Bengals defense just proved why NFL overtime rules are fine just the way they are. The AFC Championship game featured two of the most likeable quarterbacks in the league; Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. While Mahomes career has been in the postseason spotlight, the Cincinnati Bengals defense dominated the stage.
How it started
Patrick Mahomes started off as typical playoff Pat by making it look easy. Late in the second quarter the Chiefs took an 18-point lead and social media said this game was over. While the internet is undefeated, people never seem to learn. This game was far from over. Joey Cool and the Bengals running back, Samaje Perine, found the end zone on a 41-yard pass from Burrow and McPherson’s extra point ended the first only half down 11-points. In other words, this game was far from a blowout. Another key point in the game was the Bengals defense stopping the ego-inflated Chiefs offense for 2nd & goal on the Cincinnati 1-yard line as time expired.
What a stop by the @Bengals defense to end the half! #NFLPlayoffs #RuleTheJungle
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS
📱: https://t.co/dKNUFkxkbU pic.twitter.com/Rxtmq9cnBt— NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2022
It’s important to realize, that when the clock leaves you with only one play, being greedy and going for the end zone instead of kicking a field goal will haunt you.
Halftime Adjustments
Slow and steady, the Bengals played smart football. A field goal late in the third quarter and all of a sudden, the Bengals were only down by eight points. Mahomes threw a short pass that was intended for Chiefs WR, Demarcus Robinson, but the ball was intercepted by Bengals big boy DT, B.J. Hill. The interception lead to a touchdown by Bengals WR, Ja’Marr Chase and a two-point conversion was a success. BOOM! The game was now tied 21-21! The B.J. interception was the game changer. The Bengals believed in their game plan and they started to play with more and more confidence and energy. I’m pretty sure I was running around like Keven McCallister rooting for the Bengals.
— Last Nut Standing (@lastnutstanding) January 30, 2022
How It Ended
Mahomes fumbled in shotgun and was sacked with 0:39 left in the 4th. The Chiefs were 3rd & goal and most would have thought this would have been an easy touchdown and the Chiefs win. To emphasize how Cincinnati adjusted their game and Mahomes started playing street ball instead of smart ball. As Mahomes scrambled and danced around waiting for players to get open, the Bengals covered strong, disrupted routes and shattered Mahomes confidence. The Bengals let Mahomes play in the pocket and gave him time to think, however, he couldn’t think or make plays. Mahomes’s mental game was exposed and he couldn’t use his legs. In summary, when a defense can change the way a quarterback plays the game and the QB can’t respond, the defense wins. The Chiefs were lucky they recovered their fumble or the game would have been over in regulation. The Bengals defense held the Chiefs to a field goal and the game went to overtime.
Heads or Tails
Here we go again, we all know the NFL OT rules by now. But this game wasn’t a Madden video game and a coin toss had no impact when the Chiefs won the toss. The Cincinnati Bengals defense rattled Mahomes and Bengals safety, Vonn Bell, intercepted a deep pass intended for Chiefs WR, Tyreek Hill. All Cincinnati had to do was kick a field goal to win. Even McPherson drilled an easy 31-yard field goal and the Bengals proved defense wins championships!
While it’s easy to root for Joey B, the Bengals defense won this game! They held Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to barley three points in the entire second half! To clarify, the Cincinnati Bengals Defense held the Kansas City Chiefs to ONLY THREE points in the entire second half. The Bengals won the coin toss and still could not find the end zone.
This was Mahomes’s first career loss (including playoffs) after leading by 15+ points. Mahomes is now 0-2 when up by 14-points vs Joe Burrow and is 39-2 vs everybody else (including playoffs). The Bengals beat the Chiefs 34-31 in the final game of the regular season and they beat them again for the AFC Championship and are headed to Super Bowl 56!
Super Bowl LVI
For the first time ever, there will not be a #1 or #2 seed in the Super Bowl. #4 Cincinnati will play #4 Los Angeles Rams in SoFi Stadium. This will be the second time (and in back-to-back years) that a team playing in the Super Bowl is at the home stadium of one of the teams playing in the Super Bowl.
For the second time this year, LA has eliminated San Francisco in the playoffs. (The Dodgers beating the Giants and now the Rams beating the 49ers.)
No quarterback has won the Heisman, a National Title, and the Super Bowl. I’m rooting for Joe Burrow to win the Super Bowl and achieve the triple crown (I just made that phrase up for football) in just three years! Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase were teammates at LSU where they won a National title in 2020. Now, they are teammates for the Cincinnati Bengals and playing for a Super Bowl title.
(As a Washington fan, it’s hard to believe that Urban Meyer chose Dwayne Haskins over Joe Burrow at Ohio State.) But it won’t be hard to root for the Bengals on Super Bowl Sunday February 13th 2022 at 6:30 on NBC.
You help keep the posts coming! Make donation of any size, I really appreciate your support! https://alisonstclair.com/donate/