My, how the fortunes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals have turned around.
A team that was once snake-bitten in postseason play, the Chiefs are making their fourth-straight appearance in the AFC Championship Game. That’s one more conference title game appearance than they had in the Super Bowl era from 1966-2017.
This is the new norm with Patrick Mahomes and his obscene arsenal of offensive weapons, though, that managed to outlast the Buffalo Bills in one of the wildest playoff games you will ever see last week in the Divisional Round.
Mahomes is simply performing on another level this postseason as he continues to cement himself as one of the elite quarterbacks of this generation.
But there’s a young gunslinger in Cincinnati who not only has reversed his tortured franchise’s fortunes but is one of the headliners of a group of young quarterbacks that will dominate the AFC for years to come. That’s a group that also includes Mahomes, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Baltimore Ravens dynamo Lamar Jackson and Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert.
For the first time since 1988 — when they ultimately lost the Super Bowl — the Bengals are in the AFC Championship Game. It’s also the third time in franchise history (dating back to 1968) that they are playing for a conference title.
A team that had lost eight straight playoff games took care of the Las Vegas Raiders in Cincinnati before going into Tennessee to face the conference’s No. 1 seed in the Titans — who got their superstar running back in Derrick Henry healthy just in time for this game — and took them down on a late interception that turned into a game-winning field goal as time expired.
It’s a new dawn in Cincinnati — and the sun’s name is Burrow with a moon called Ja’Marr Chase.
The young battery of quarterback and rookie wide receiver, though, is potentially looking at a shootout for the ages in Kansas City.
Will they have enough firepower to keep up with Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce?
Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC Championship Game Tale of the Tape
| No. 4 Bengals | Stat | No. 2 Chiefs |
| 12-7 (1st, AFC North) | Record (including playoffs) | 14-5 (1st, AFC West) |
| 27.1 (7th in NFL) | Points/game | 28.2 (4th in NFL) |
| 259.0 (7th in NFL) | Passing yards/game | 281.8 (4th in NFL) |
| 102.4 (23rd in NFL) | Rushing yards/game | 115.0 (16th in NFL) |
| 22.1 (17th in NFL) | Points allowed/game | 21.4 (8th in NFL) |
| 248.3 (26th in NFL) | Passing yards allowed/game | 251.4 (27th in NFL) |
| 102.4 (5th in NFL) | Rushing yards allowed/game | 117.6 (21st in NFL) |
Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC Championship Game Players to Watch
- Joe Burrow, QB, CIN: 52-of-71 (73.2%), 592 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT in playoffs
- Ja’Marr Chase, WR, CIN: 18 targets, 14 receptions, 225 yards in playoffs
- Joe Mixon, RB, CIN: 181 yards from scrimmage, 1 TD in playoffs
- Logan Wilson, LB, CIN: 20 tackles, 1 INT, 1 tackle for loss in playoffs
- Patrick Mahomes, QB, KC: 63-of-83 (75.9%), 782 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT in playoffs
- Tyreek Hill, WR, KC: 18 targets, 16 receptions, 207 yards, 2 TD in playoffs
- Travis Kelce, TE, KC: 16 targets, 13 receptions, 204 yards, 2 TD in playoffs
- Jerick McKinnon, RB, KC: 135 receiving yards, 85 rushing yards, 1 TD in playoffs
A version of this first appeared on AMNY.com.
