Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Commentary from AFC Championship rematch
When the NFL schedule was released, this game looked like it might have serious playoff implications — possibly for the No. 1 seed.
The playoff implications definitely remained, but not quite how we all expected. The Chiefs secured an AFC West title with a 25-17 win over the Bengals, and they knocked their AFC rival out of playoff contention in the process.
Oh, and the Chiefs can rest everyone next week, because they’re locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC.
How did it get this way?
The Chiefs’ offense has been an issue, and KC’s search for answers involved changing up the offensive meetings this week. There’s been some visible sideline frustration in recent games, and that continued even as KC snapped a 3-5 stretch with a win on Sunday.
The drops? They remained, including an awful one from Marquez Valdes-Scantling once again.
The Bengals, meanwhile, saw their season get sidetracked when Joe Burrow went down in camp and struggled after returning to action. A second injury ended his 2023 season. Backup Jake Browning filled in admirably, but he couldn’t lead a win over KC.
As for today’s clash, the KC defense won it ... with a whole bunch of sacks late. The Bengals went up double-digits early, but the Chiefs came back with a bevy of field goals and clinched a playoff spot.
Relive Sunday’s Chiefs-Bengals game with our commentary as things unfolded...
This story was originally published December 31, 2023 at 1:14 PM.
